Registered Nurse (RN) - Cardiac Intermediate Care
Posted Sep 15, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you had a gut feeling something was wrong with a patient before the monitors or labs confirmed it.
What they are checking: clinical judgment and willingness to act on subtle cues rather than waiting for hard data
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a physician's order or plan of care for a patient. How did you handle it?
What they are checking: advocacy skills and ability to communicate concerns respectfully within the care team
Describe a rapid response or code situation you were part of. What was your specific role and what happened?
What they are checking: real experience with acute deterioration events and ability to function under pressure as part of a team
How do you stay current on evidence-based practice for cardiac care, and can you give an example of when you changed something about your practice because of new evidence or a hospital policy update?
What they are checking: commitment to ongoing learning versus relying purely on habit
Tell me about a time you had to train or support a newer nurse or a float nurse on your unit.
What they are checking: willingness to mentor and support the collaborative team culture the posting emphasizes
What does patient-centered care mean to you in practice, especially with cardiac patients who may be scared or in denial about lifestyle changes they need to make?
What they are checking: depth of understanding of patient experience beyond clinical tasks
What would you do
You're managing four or five stepdown patients on a night shift and two of them start to decompensate around the same time. What do you do first and how do you decide?
What they are checking: prioritization and triage skill under real unit staffing pressure
A family member is upset and questioning the care their loved one is getting on your unit. How do you handle that conversation while still managing your other patients?
What they are checking: communication skills and composure under competing demands
On a 36-bed unit with a mix of new admissions, transfers, and patients being stepped down from ICU, how do you keep track of who needs the most attention throughout your shift?
What they are checking: organizational systems and time management on a busy intermediate care floor
About the work
Walk me through how you'd assess a patient on your stepdown unit who just came back from a cardiac cath and started showing new chest pain and a change in their telemetry rhythm.
What they are checking: whether the candidate can recognize and act on cardiac deterioration using monitoring data, not just recite a protocol
What's your experience with common cardiac drips like heparin, nitroglycerin, or amiodarone, and how do you monitor a patient while they're on them?
What they are checking: hands-on familiarity with the medications and titration protocols specific to cardiac intermediate care
The job mentions getting chemotherapy administration certification within a year even though this is a cardiac unit. Have you worked with chemo patients before, or is this new territory for you?
What they are checking: honesty about a specific credential gap and willingness to pursue required training
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Advocate Health.