RN Inpatient - Critical Care- PICU - Straight Weekend Position
Posted May 22, 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 cared for a critically ill child while the parents were scared and asking hard questions at the bedside.
What they are checking: Family-centered care in a PICU means calming parents and keeping them informed while still doing the clinical work.
We are a small, eight-bed unit. Tell me about a time you jumped in to help a coworker with a sick patient who was not yours.
What they are checking: In a small close-knit unit, everyone covers each other, so teamwork is as important as individual skill.
Tell me about a patient outcome that stayed with you. How did you take care of yourself afterward?
What they are checking: Pediatric critical care brings real grief, and they want nurses who can process it and keep going.
What draws you to pediatric critical care rather than adult ICU?
What they are checking: Whether they have a genuine reason to choose pediatrics, which predicts whether they will stay on the unit.
What would you do
This is a straight weekend position. How do you get up to speed on a patient when the weekday team made most of the plans and many specialists are not in the building?
What they are checking: Whether they can work independently on weekends with lighter support and still keep the care plan on track.
A parent wants to stay at the bedside during a resuscitation. How do you handle that?
What they are checking: Their judgment on family presence during codes and how they support parents without disrupting the team.
You notice a small change in a ventilated infant's numbers that the resident does not seem worried about. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they will escalate concerns clearly and persistently when their nursing judgment says something is wrong.
About the work
Our PICU cares for everyone from newborns to 19-year-olds. How does your assessment change between a three-week-old and a teenager with the same diagnosis?
What they are checking: Whether they truly adjust vital sign norms, dosing and communication across the whole pediatric age range.
Walk me through the early signs that a child in respiratory distress is about to decompensate, and what you do in the first few minutes.
What they are checking: Children compensate well and then crash fast, so spotting subtle early signs is the core PICU skill.
How do you double-check a weight-based medication dose before you give it to a small child?
What they are checking: Pediatric dosing errors can be tenfold mistakes, so a reliable personal checking habit matters more than speed.
Which pediatric certifications do you hold, like PALS, and how do you keep your skills sharp for emergencies that do not happen every week?
What they are checking: Rare high-risk events need practiced skills, so they want to see a plan for staying ready.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Sanford Health.