Respiratory Therapist - Float WI
Posted Sep 14, 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 to manage a ventilator patient in a critical care setting where things weren't going as planned. What did you notice first, and what did you do?
What they are checking: hands-on ventilator competence and whether they can narrate clinical reasoning under pressure, not just recite protocol
Tell me about a piece of equipment that malfunctioned on you mid-treatment. What did you do right then, and what did you do afterward?
What they are checking: troubleshooting skill and follow-through on equipment reporting, not just improvising a workaround
Describe how you'd explain a new inhaler technique or a home oxygen setup to a patient who seems anxious or confused about their diagnosis.
What they are checking: patient education skill and ability to read emotional state, not just clinical accuracy
Tell me about handing off a patient to another therapist or shift, maybe under time pressure. What do you make sure gets said?
What they are checking: quality and discipline of handoff communication, since resource team members hand off constantly across unfamiliar teams
Have you precepted a new teammate, orientee, or student? Tell me about a moment where you had to correct something they were doing without shaking their confidence.
What they are checking: teaching ability and tact, relevant since the role includes precepting despite requiring no prior experience
Tell me about a time you had to push back on a plan of care, or push forward on something you thought was being missed, with a physician or a more senior team member.
What they are checking: confidence and collaborative skill in clinical problem-solving across disciplines
What would you do
This role means rotating between different hospitals across a zone, sometimes with little notice about which unit you'll land in. Walk me through how you'd get oriented on a floor you've never worked before, fast enough to be useful within the first hour.
What they are checking: whether the candidate has a real strategy for rapid self-orientation rather than just saying they'd 'figure it out'
A physician orders a treatment that conflicts with what the respiratory-driven protocol suggests for that patient. What do you do?
What they are checking: judgment in navigating physician authority versus protocol-driven care, and comfort speaking up
You show up to a new facility in your zone and the equipment setup, or even the charting system, isn't what you're used to. How do you handle that in the moment with a patient waiting?
What they are checking: adaptability to different equipment and EMR systems across sites without patient care slipping
You're floating to a facility you don't normally work at and you notice a near-miss, something that almost went wrong with a patient but didn't. What do you do, and who do you tell?
What they are checking: commitment to reporting safety events even as a temporary presence on an unfamiliar unit
What's your read on working three 12-hour shifts a week with no fixed home unit? What do you think will be hardest about that, honestly?
What they are checking: self-awareness about the specific demands of a float/resource team role and whether they've thought past the pay differential
About the work
How do you pull together pulmonary diagnostics, a chest x-ray, blood gases, and labs into one picture of a patient? Give me an example where those pieces didn't agree with each other.
What they are checking: ability to synthesize multiple data sources rather than treat each in isolation
You're treating patients across a wide age range, a newborn on one unit, an elderly patient with COPD on another. How does your approach change?
What they are checking: understanding of age-specific care principles across the lifespan
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.