Respiratory Therapist (RT)
Posted Sep 8, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 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.
Behavioral
Tell me about a time you placed an arterial line or assisted with esophageal balloon monitoring and something didn't go as planned. What did you do?
real procedural experience and how they handle complications calmly
Tell me about a time you had to explain a ventilator or breathing treatment to a scared family member.
communication skill and bedside manner with non-clinical people
Describe a situation where you disagreed with a physician or nurse about a respiratory care plan. How did you handle it?
how they advocate for the patient while staying collaborative
Tell me about the most complex patient case you've managed and what made it complex.
clinical maturity and how they define and handle complexity
Why are you interested in a high-acuity, multi-ICU role like this one instead of a more specialized or lower-acuity setting?
genuine motivation and whether they understand the pace of this specific job
Technical
Walk me through how you'd manage a patient on NAVA ventilation who starts showing signs of asynchrony with the vent.
whether the candidate has hands-on comfort with advanced ventilation modes, not just textbook knowledge
What's your experience with inhaled pulmonary vasodilators, and what do you watch for once a patient starts one?
depth of knowledge on a specialized therapy specific to this unit
Have you worked with hyperbaric medicine or a multi-place chamber before? If not, how would you get up to speed quickly?
honesty about a niche skill gap and their approach to fast learning
How do you keep your assessments and interventions consistent when you're rotating through five different ICUs with very different patient populations?
adaptability and whether they understand how care differs across cardiac, neuro, and surgical populations
If a ventilated patient suddenly desaturates and you're not sure if it's the tube, the lung, or the machine, what's your process for figuring it out fast?
structured troubleshooting under time pressure, a core RT skill
Situational
You're covering multiple ICUs overnight and get called to two unstable patients at the same time, one in the cardiovascular ICU and one in neuro. How do you decide what to do first?
prioritization and triage judgment under real staffing pressure
A new grad RT you're mentoring is about to make a mistake setting up a ventilator. What do you do in that moment?
teaching instinct and how they correct others without shaming them
How do you handle a night shift where you're pulled thin across units and still need to document and communicate handoffs accurately?
time management and whether documentation quality holds up under fatigue
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As published by Advocate Health.
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