Nursing Infomatics

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 14, 2015

Does the assignment explicitly state it can be conducted via email? There are many downfalls to conducting an interview via email or on a site such as this. First, you have no guarantee that the person responding is a nurse at all. There really are people on this site who will respond who are in no way, shape, or form a nurse. Secondly, you miss out on a lot of the benefits of a face to face interview: nonverbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice; you also lose out on a lot of flexibility that would allow you to much more easily explore tangents. Having to type out responses also puts a large burden on anyone who would respond; a face to face interview allows the person to simply talk while you listen and take notes.

I was tasked with interviewing a nurse educator as one of my assignments during my MSN classes. Because this was a face to face interview that provided a lot of flexibility, I was able to explore a few tangents, including the transition from staff nurse to educator as this nurse had only recently accepted the educator position. Had I attempted to conduct the interview via email, these tangents would have been much harder to explore and would have required a larger time commitment and work on the part of the educator.

So, what are some of the other reasons AN isn't the best for interviews and where else can you look? This post will help: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/dear-nursing-students-970183.html