Respiratory Therapy Extern
Posted Jul 21, 2025 · 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
Where are you in your respiratory therapy program, and what clinical experience have you had so far?
What they are checking: Whether they can describe their skill level honestly so the team knows what they can safely do.
Tell me about a time you received critical feedback in a clinical setting. How did you respond?
What they are checking: Whether they can take correction without getting defensive, which decides how fast an extern learns.
This externship may place you in Appleton, Neenah or Shawano. What do you hope to learn from each kind of setting?
What they are checking: Whether they have thought about what they want from the experience and see the externship as a step toward a career.
What would you do
A patient on your therapist's assignment looks more short of breath than an hour ago. What do you do as an extern?
What they are checking: Whether they know their limits and alert the therapist or nurse right away instead of acting alone.
You're asked to do a task you haven't been checked off on yet. What do you say?
What they are checking: Whether they will speak up about their scope instead of guessing, which protects patients and themselves.
How do you calm a patient who panics when you put a mask on their face?
What they are checking: Whether they can coach anxious, breathless patients with patience, which is half of respiratory care.
About the work
How would you explain the difference between a nasal cannula, a non-rebreather and high-flow oxygen?
What they are checking: Whether their classroom knowledge of oxygen delivery is solid enough to build on during the externship.
Walk me through how you would give a nebulizer treatment and what you would check before and after.
What they are checking: Whether they assess the patient before and after therapy, not just deliver the medication.
What would you listen for in breath sounds, and what might wheezes versus crackles tell you?
What they are checking: Whether they can connect what they hear to what is happening in the lungs.
How do you protect yourself and others when working with patients who have airborne illnesses?
What they are checking: Whether they take infection control seriously in a field where they work right at the patient's airway.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by ThedaCare.