7 Important Nurse Midwife Interview Questions to Ask

Nurse midwifery is a field that requires special attention when interviewing candidates. Certified nurse midwives are advanced practice registered nurses who provide primary care to patients of childbearing age and support them through the prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum healthcare journeys. Knowing the right midwife interview questions to ask is an important step in finding the best employee for your organization.

As a hiring manager, selecting the right candidate means finding a nurse midwife with the right combination of emotional intelligence and clinical expertise to meet your patients’ needs. Prior to conducting your interviews, it’s important to list the skills and qualities you’re looking for in your nurse midwife job description to ensure the right candidates apply. See which attributes competing facilities are looking for by perusing current nurse midwife jobs on our healthcare job board.

Here’s a look at some key interview questions to ask your nurse midwife candidates along with insights on how to analyze their responses. As you start the process of assessing candidates, consider downloading our free candidate evaluation form to use during the interview process.

Midwife Interview Questions

Before any interview, it’s always good to remember that this is a mutual process. The nurse midwife candidates will have questions of their own. They’ll also interpret your manner and social cues as a reflection of the organization. So, we’ve organized and worded these questions to exemplify a positive company culture and get candidates even more excited to join your team.

1. Why did you become a nurse midwife?

This question allows you to set a positive tone for the interview. It can give the candidate more direction than the standard “tell me about yourself” midwifery interview question. It’s an excellent way to learn about the nurse midwife’s intrinsic factors that drew them to the profession and what drives their commitment to provide excellent care.

While there isn’t a single perfect answer, consider the energy in how the candidate responds, as it likely reflects how they’ll engage their patients and families. All parties benefit from a nurse midwife who is dedicated to — and excited by — their profession.

2. What is the role of the nurse midwife?

This is one of the most popular midwife interview questions, and for good reason. It allows you to assess the candidate’s understanding of their professional role and responsibilities within your state’s scope of practice.

The candidate’s response should contain a high-level overview of nurse midwife duties and functions specific to your focus of practice, such as:

• Providing care during a patient’s pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
• Educating patients on sexual and reproductive health, and family planning services.
• Treating patients from adolescence throughout their lifespan as well as care for the healthy newborn during the first month of life.
• Performing initial and ongoing comprehensive assessments, diagnoses, and treatments.
• Conducting physical examinations, prescribing medications, ordering and interpreting laboratory and diagnostic tests, and providing home health services.
• Leading health promotion, disease prevention, risk assessment, and individualized wellness education and counseling sessions.

3. How has your previous clinical experience prepared you for this role?

This is one of the questions to ask a midwife that can reveal how well they’ll meet your practice needs. If the nurse midwife has previous experience in a facility similar to yours, they’ll be better able to integrate into your practice without extensive training or orientation. However, if you want to add to your current skill set, this is the perfect opportunity to hire a nurse midwife with a different background to complement and balance your team.

4. What do you do to help your patients feel comfortable and safe?

Nurse midwives care for their patients during a sensitive and vulnerable time in their lives. Each pregnancy is different and has varying risks to both mother and baby. The nurse midwife must be able to build a trusting relationship with their patient as early as possible by creating a comfortable and safe space for them.

This is one of the midwife interview questions that offers insight into the candidate’s interpersonal soft skills required to be effective in their role. Their answer should contain elements of person-focused care that include the following abilities:

• Compassion
• Empathy
• Respect
• Cultural competence
• Responsiveness to the needs, values, and wishes of the patient

If the candidate has trouble answering this question, consider providing a typical scenario in your practice. When it comes time to make a decision, you’ll want to know your decision was based on the response that most reflects the nurse midwife’s practice style (and not simply their ability to interview).

5. How have you managed a birth experience that quickly turned high-risk?

A seemingly normal pregnancy or birth can present with unexpected complications at any given time, placing both the mother and baby at risk. It’s important that a nurse midwife can confidently identify and manage medical emergencies during pregnancy, the birthing process, and postpartum period. This entails knowing how to quickly and calmly treat complications and when to escalate or consult for help, always keeping within their scope of practice.

As you consider how the candidate responds to urgent or emergent situations, reasonable follow-up midwife interview questions might include what they would have done differently or what they learned from the experience. Clinicians are constantly growing in their practices, and with every experience comes a learning opportunity. An overly confident candidate with nothing left to learn can pose a significant safety risk to your patients and organization.

6. How do you address health disparities in your patients?

The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among the developed nations in the world, with Black mothers having a significantly higher death risk during pregnancy and postpartum than their White counterparts. These statistics are not new to practitioners working in maternal health. Luckily, midwives — when supported by their healthcare organizations — are in a prime position to help improve these dire circumstances.

Asking these types of midwife interview questions allows you to better understand a candidate’s knowledge and experience so you can determine the training or support they may need during orientation. It can also help find candidates who can strengthen your program if they have solid experience identifying and treating at-risk populations.

7. What has been your proudest achievement as a nurse midwife?

After answering these vital but difficult questions, it’s the nurse midwife’s time to shine as they share their most meaningful career moment with you. It’s also the perfect opportunity to end your questioning on a positive note before giving them the opportunity to ask questions.

The nurse midwife’s nonverbal communication should relay enthusiasm or excitement as they recall this special event. A lackluster response may warrant a follow-up question to assess their intrinsic motivation.

Find Qualified Nurse Midwives Today

After developing these midwife interview questions, you may be looking for an easier way to find and recruit high-quality professionals. By posting your vacant positions to our nursing job board, you can quickly hire and onboard the healthcare employees your facility needs.