Objective: describe the skills of nurses to conduct family interviews based on the Family Care Guide for Nursing Clinical Practice. Method: exploratory case study that analyzed the content of 16 guides applied to a child emergency service by a novice nurse from the family nursing area. Results: the records indicated the presence of perceptual, conceptual, and executive skills required to conduct family interviews, in particular skills for the development of genograms, therapeutic relationships, and actions to fulfill family needs. Final considerations: the Family Care Guide for Nursing Clinical Practice is a useful tool to guide the training processes, promote the development of family interview skills in novice nurses, and allow the cognitive consolidation of essential elements of patient-and family-centered care.