Registered Nurse (RN) Nursing Supervisor - CVICU
Posted Sep 17, 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
Walk me through a night shift in the CVICU where things started to go sideways with more than one patient at once. How did you decide where to put your attention first?
What they are checking: whether the candidate can triage competing clinical demands under pressure as a charge-level decision maker
Tell me about a time you had to train or bring a staff nurse up to speed on a device like an Impella, IABP, or ECMO circuit while the unit was still running full patient care. How did you structure that teaching in real time?
What they are checking: actual hands-on experience with mechanical circulatory support devices and ability to teach under working conditions, not just classroom exposure
Tell me about a performance issue you had to address with a staff nurse. What did that conversation look like, and what happened afterward?
What they are checking: comfort with the human resources side of the role, including coaching and documentation, not just clinical leadership
Describe a time you noticed a gap between how your unit was practicing and what policy or a regulatory standard required. What did you do about it?
What they are checking: ownership of compliance and quality improvement rather than waiting for someone else to flag it
Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager on a process change for the unit. How did you raise it, and what was the outcome?
What they are checking: ability to collaborate upward on process improvement while respecting reporting lines
What's your experience serving as a preceptor, and what do you do differently when the person you're precepting is struggling versus when they're doing well?
What they are checking: required preceptor experience and adaptability in teaching style
What would you do
A nurse on your shift pushes back on a physician's order because it doesn't match what they're seeing on the ECMO console. How do you handle that conversation, and what do you do next?
What they are checking: how they mediate between nursing and medical staff and back up their team's clinical judgment appropriately
You've got a heart transplant patient, an ECMO patient, and someone on CRRT all on the unit at once, and staffing is thin. How do you assign nurses for the shift?
What they are checking: practical staffing judgment based on acuity and skill matching, a core charge nurse function
A medical device rep wants more time on your unit than your staff can reasonably give during a busy shift. How do you handle that relationship?
What they are checking: skill in managing external vendor relationships without disrupting patient care
Weekend night shift, you're the only supervisor in the building for CVICU, and a family is escalating a complaint about a physician's communication. Walk me through how you'd handle that in the moment.
What they are checking: capacity to act as a liaison and problem-solver without direct backup, matching the standalone nature of the shift
About the work
Say a patient is coding and their LVAD is showing a low flow alarm at the same time. What is your first move, and what are you assessing before you touch anything?
What they are checking: depth of device-specific clinical knowledge and whether they can prioritize correctly under a true emergency
How would you go about building an orientation plan for a new CVICU hire who has ICU experience but has never touched a Centrimag or an Impella before?
What they are checking: ability to design structured education programs for advanced device competency, a named job duty
What does flow through your unit look like when a bed is needed for a transplant admit and you don't have one open?
What they are checking: operational understanding of patient throughput and resource coordination specific to a cardiac ICU
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As published by Advocate Health.