Registered Nurse (RN) Intensive Care Unit
Posted Sep 16, 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 patient who was deteriorating but the signs were subtle. What did you notice and what did you do?
What they are checking: clinical vigilance and willingness to escalate before a situation becomes an emergency
Tell me about a time a physician's order didn't sit right with you clinically. What did you do?
What they are checking: willingness to advocate for patient safety and use the chain of communication appropriately
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker about a plan of care in front of a patient or family. How did you resolve it?
What they are checking: professionalism and conflict resolution skills in a high-stakes team environment
Tell me about a shift that didn't go the way you planned. What happened and what did you take away from it?
What they are checking: self-reflection and resilience, since ICU night shifts are unpredictable and physically taxing
How do you personally decompress after a hard code or a patient death, so it doesn't follow you into your next shift?
What they are checking: sustainability and self-care habits that predict long-term retention in a high-acuity unit
What would you do
You're managing two critical patients and one starts to code while the other's family is asking urgent questions at the bedside. How do you handle that?
What they are checking: prioritization and composure under simultaneous demands typical of a busy ICU night shift
How do you approach communicating with a family when a patient in this unit is not expected to recover?
What they are checking: comfort with end-of-life conversations and compassionate communication under emotional pressure
You're on the overnight 7p to 7a shift and short-staffed with an unexpected admission coming in. Walk me through how you'd organize the next hour.
What they are checking: real-world time management and delegation skills specific to night-shift staffing pressures
About the work
Walk me through how you'd assess a patient in the first five minutes after they roll into your ICU bed, whether they're a fresh post-op, a trauma admit, or a crashing medical patient.
What they are checking: whether the candidate has a reliable rapid assessment framework that adapts to the ICU's mixed patient population
This is a Level 1 trauma center. What's your experience with trauma resuscitation, and how comfortable are you jumping into that role on short notice?
What they are checking: actual trauma exposure versus general ICU experience, since this unit takes trauma admits directly
Describe how you'd titrate vasopressors or sedation drips for a hemodynamically unstable patient, and what you're watching for as you make changes.
What they are checking: depth of critical care pharmacology knowledge and comfort with high-risk medication management
This is a 32-bed unit with medical, surgical, and cardiac patients. How do you keep your assessments and priorities straight when your patients have such different underlying problems?
What they are checking: ability to hold multiple clinical pictures at once without losing precision on any one
What's your experience with patient handling and lifting protocols, and how do you decide when you need equipment or a second person?
What they are checking: safety awareness for both patient and self given the physical demands listed in the posting
Where are you in your BSN or certification progress, and how are you thinking about meeting that requirement here?
What they are checking: whether the candidate understands and is already planning for Advocate's education requirements
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As published by Advocate Health.