Selection Criteria Response: Nursing Examples

While it might feel like your cover letter and resume should suffice when you’re submitting a job application, sometimes your recruiter expects a little more, depending on the field of work you’re in.

If you’re working in nursing, you’re often expected to respond to some key selection criteria in the application process.

This is an excellent opportunity to make your application stand out by matching your real-life experiences to your resume.

Here are some selection criteria examples for a registered nurse application in Australia, along with some answer examples to help you out:

1. Effective Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Effective communication skills are essential for nursing. Show the recruiter that you’re good with people by explaining your methods, and reiterating your relevant skills.

Example

Throughout my career in nursing care, I have proven my robust verbal communication skills when interacting one-on-one with my patients or their partners/spouses. I can effectively communicate medical terminology in digestible terms, making outcomes easier to understand by clearly indicating what any new information will mean for their overall diagnosis.

I have also proven to be an effective communicator in group settings, with my patients’ larger family groups. One of my techniques is to direct my speech and eye contact between both my patient and their loved ones, to ensure that everyone feels included in the conversation.

I know that I need to be conscious of the emotional impacts of what I am communicating to the group since health concerns often come hand-in-hand with hardship. 

2. Teamwork Skills

Teamwork is essential in any workplace, but especially in a hospital environment where you work with others every day. In your response to this prompt, don’t just exemplify your ability to work collaboratively – you should also prove that you’re a great team leader. 

Example

In my five years working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a registered nurse, I did a lot of shift work, meaning that I would not always be working with the same team. Through this experience, I thoroughly developed my teamwork skills and proved to be very adaptable as a team member. My team members were different every shift, but the outcomes of my work remained consistent, as a result of my effective interpersonal skills. I can slot into any working team and adapt my methods accordingly.

Towards the end of my time at the RMH, I was occasionally rostered on with several junior staff members, meaning that I would have to step into a senior position and delegate tasks accordingly. My ability to perform as a team member or as a team leader, depending on the circumstances is one of my strongest assets.

3. Problem Solving Skills

In a nursing environment, you’re faced with new problems every day and need to be able to think on your feet, with an ability to act quickly. Provide examples of your skills in this area in your response.

Example

When I first began my career in nursing, I primarily worked in aged care. A majority of my patients were living with degenerative brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. This meant that new problems arose all the time if a patient wandered off and got lost or was otherwise confused, having forgotten something significant. Patients would be lucid one second, and then stubborn and disoriented the next.

This meant that I had to adapt to new circumstances quickly and efficiently, addressing new concerns every moment. It was also essential that while I solved each problem, that I had to remain calm and conscious of the patient’s vulnerability.