Respiratory Therapist (RT)
Posted Sep 10, 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 a patient's condition changed suddenly while you were treating them. What did you do?
composure and clinical judgment under pressure in a real acute event
Tell me about a time you caught an equipment problem before it caused harm to a patient.
vigilance around equipment safety and follow-through on troubleshooting and reporting
Describe a situation where you disagreed with a physician's order or plan for a patient's respiratory care. What did you do?
ability to advocate for patient safety while working within the chain of command
Tell me about a time you had to give a handoff report during a chaotic shift. How did you make sure nothing got missed?
communication discipline and reliability during shift transitions, which matters especially on nights
What does a culture of safety mean to you in your daily work, beyond just following protocol?
genuine internalization of safety practices versus reciting policy language
Technical
Walk me through how you'd assess a patient who's just been intubated and put on a ventilator in the ICU. What are you looking at first?
whether the candidate has a real clinical assessment framework covering blood gases, hemodynamics, and vent settings, not just a checklist recital
What's your process for setting up and adjusting a ventilator for a critically ill patient versus a non-critical care patient?
depth of hands-on ventilator management experience across different acuity levels
How do you interpret a blood gas result that doesn't match what you're seeing on the monitor or in the patient's appearance?
clinical correlation skills, not just rote lab interpretation
What adjustments do you make in your assessment and communication when treating a pediatric patient versus an elderly patient?
understanding of age-specific care principles required across the patient population
Situational
Say you're covering the floor at 3am and two patients need urgent respiratory support at the same time. How do you decide who you see first and how do you get help?
triage skill and willingness to escalate or call for backup rather than trying to handle everything alone
How would you explain to a patient why they need to keep using their inhaler correctly even though they feel fine between flare-ups?
patient education skill and ability to translate clinical reasoning into plain language
If you noticed a near-miss, like a wrong gas setting almost applied to a patient, but no harm happened, what would you do next?
honesty and follow-through on reporting culture rather than letting things slide
How would you approach teaching a new orientee or student who is struggling to get comfortable with a procedure?
precepting ability and patience, since the role explicitly includes training new staff
Working nights on a 0.9 FTE schedule means covering a lot of ground with less staff around. How do you manage your time when you have several patients needing treatments around the same time?
time management and prioritization skill specific to the night shift staffing reality
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As published by Advocate Health.
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