Resource Registered Nurse - Medical Surgical Float Pool
Posted Sep 25, 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 floated to a unit where the staff were not welcoming. How did you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they can build quick working relationships and stay professional as the outsider on a unit.
Tell me about a time you used your ACLS skills or responded to a rapid response.
What they are checking: Whether they can act calmly and correctly in an emergency, which every float site may present.
How do you decide whether to pick up day-to-day floating or a six-week assignment?
What they are checking: Whether they understand their own strengths and can stay flexible to meet the team's needs.
Tell me about a time you caught a medication error before it reached the patient.
What they are checking: Whether they double-check carefully and speak up, even on an unfamiliar unit.
What would you do
As a float nurse, you may work at St. Luke's one night and Kenosha the next. How do you get oriented quickly on a unit you have not worked on in weeks?
What they are checking: Whether they have a routine for learning a unit's layout, people and practices fast so patients stay safe.
You arrive for a night shift and get a full med-surg assignment with two patients you think are unstable. What do you do first?
What they are checking: Whether they can prioritize by acuity and ask for help early instead of quietly falling behind.
A unit's policy is different from what you are used to at another hospital in the system. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they follow the local policy and look it up rather than relying on habit.
About the work
Walk me through how you would recognize and respond to a post-operative patient who is starting to go septic.
What they are checking: Whether they catch early signs of sepsis and escalate using the right protocol before the patient crashes.
How do you give and receive a safe handoff report at 0700 after a 12-hour night?
What they are checking: Whether they use a structured handoff so critical details are not lost when they are tired.
How do you manage pain for a patient after surgery who is also at risk for respiratory depression?
What they are checking: Whether they balance comfort and safety with careful monitoring and reassessment.
Practice this interview out loud.
Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Advocate Health from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.
Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Advocate Health.