University of Utah DNP interview

MathewB · Feb 18, 2018

First, congratulations on the interview. You know what that means, right? They think your application, grades, references, essay, etc. show that you can succeed in the program! You're way more than halfway there!

Just relax, and see these folks as other humans, and you are just finding out about each other.

As to the interview:

They WILL (probably) ask:

1) Why do you want to be a DNP? (Don't say "money")

2) Why do you want to go to school at University of Utah? (Don't say "easy commute")

3) Tell us about a time you failed. (Don't say "I haven't failed at anything") What they are looking for is your honesty in owning up to the situation, and how you learned from it. They don't want to hear "The doctor had horrible handwriting so he made me give doxycycline instead of dicloxicillin." They want to hear "I did not clarify an order I was unsure of, so I administered the wrong medication. I learned that if there is ever any doubt, I need to get clarification before I proceed."

Those questions are almost certainly going to be asked, along with some others. But these are the big ones. If you can nail these with honest, thoughtful answers, you probably have a great chance of being accepted.

Lastly, they will ask if you have any questions for them. Now might be a good time to ask about the program retention rate, the board pass rate, max distance to clinical sites, whether they arrange clinical sites at all, etc.

Good luck! They have all the reason in the world to want you in the program!