NICU interview!! ...examples of any NICU specific interview questions you were asked?

Specialties NICU

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

Hello everyone!

I have been an adult oncology nurse for about 18 months (mostly surg-onc and gyn-onc). I have always wanted to be a NICU nurse ... even before Nursing School. (I became an Oncology nurse by way of a PCT position in Pediatric Oncology.) My husband and I are moving out of state and I decided it was a great opportunity to fulfill my dream!! (I know no one in the new area that is even remotely in the nursing field ... if anyone is in NICU in the Chattanooga, TN area I would LOVE to pick your brain!! :D)

I have just started applying for positions and received the call this evening for the NICU interview!! That's the great news ... the "bad" news, if you want to call it that, is that the interview is on Monday ... THIS Monday! Oh, and I will be interviewed by the Nurse Manager and two Assistant Nurse Mangers. Anyway, I feel well prepared in interview skills (appearance, etc) and basic interview questions (strengths vs. weaknesses and basic nursing questions); however, I feel at a complete loss for NICU specific interview questions. I have been (and will continue) searching allnurses.com and other websites. However, it finally dawned on me to just ask!

I would love to hear your NICU interview experiences and any questions you were asked. I found one website that had these questions:

  • If one of the infants in your care showed signs of breathing difficulty, what would be your first response?
  • If two infants both showed signs of distress at the same time and no one else was on duty, what would you do?
  • How would you resolve a dispute with your superior regarding treatment?

and more technical questions:

  • What is the purpose of ultrasound and how would you use this technique?
  • What is meant by fetal monitoring?
  • What is the Glomerular Filtration Rate and what does it measure?

Are these good examples or too specific?? (I would still really, really like to have more examples if you have any!!)

Thank you all so much!! :yeah:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

Some of those are ridiculous questions! I wouldn't worry about being asked the last 3. You would never be the only NICU nurse on so that's an irrelevant scenario!

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

Shew!! I wasn't 100% sure (never having had a NICU interview before) but I thought some of those questions were strange.

I know I'm just stressing because I want it so badly (and haven't been on an interview in 2 years!). Thank you so much ... your answer has relieved some stress :up:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

They might ask you some prioritization questions and behavioral analysis questions, that's about it (I'd hope). Remember that ABCs are as pertinent to babies as adults. I don't think asking about what to do if you saw a baby having trouble breathing would be fair, because you don't know what kind of airway the baby has, if they're already on oxygen, what has been going on with that baby. I just don't see getting into that much detail with someone who doesn't have previous NICU experience. They're mostly looking to see if you would be a good fit for the unit. They want to know how you handle conflict, how you would advocate for your babies, how you deal with difficult families. Prepare yourself for those kind of questions.

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

seriously ... thank you so much!!

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I love this question because I am a new grad RN and it is my absolute DREAM to work in the NICU and I've been applying to a number of NICU jobs and I'm scared of what they can possibly ask me in the interview (especially at this one hospital because my friend had an RN interview there and apparently it was the hardest interview she's ever had).

My friend had an interview in the Oncology ward at the hospital that I'm anticipating an NICU interview from and she said that for her interview, they asked her what the main traits were in the population that she was going to work with (i.e. if it was mostly elders, things like pressure ulcers) and then after she identified a number of typical problems that the population she was going to work with had, they followed up by asking her what immediate interventions were. So I'm guessing if they have the same interview style for NICU, they'd ask things like what typical problems are (although I'm unsure if they would seeing as to how vast of an array of problems an NICU baby could have) but I'm thinking of things such as hyperbilirubinemia and whatnot. They also asked her to walk through a physical examination of a patient (so I'm guessing, if they did this for NICU, they would ask for what you're looking for when doing a physical exam of a healthy baby so things like symmetrical features, patent airway, normal heart rate, etc.)

This probably isn't much help but as mentioned above, I'm anticipating an interview in the NICU and I've been brainstorming what they could possibly ask me in terms of specific questions and this is what I've been really looking into/ becoming familiar with.

GOOD LUCK!! I know what it feels like wanting NICU so badly.

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

Thanks LR_C ... I will let you know what types of questions they ask me ... hopefully it will help! Say a little prayer for me tomorrow; my interview is at 1pm!! I'm still giddy-excited ...

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

How did it go??

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

@NeoPediRN ... it went very well!! your advice was right on the money!! ... they said they had been interviewing for about 2 weeks and had 2 or 3 more interviews already scheduled and that they would be making their decision next week and then run background checks etc BEFORE calling their choice ... gonna be a long 2 weeks!! ... great news is i've already been called to another NICU interview at a different hosptial ... yay!!! ... thank you again ... i do appreciate all the advice!!

@LR_C ... NeoPedi's advice above was great! ... there weren't any NICU specific questions asked at all ... most all of my questions were to determine my work ethic, initiative and personality, i.e.:

1. why NICU (of course)

2. when is the last time you suggested an improvement to your nurse manager that was implemented?

3. What do you like least about your current position and what have you done to improve the situation?

4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I think another thing that helped me tremendously was that while I was preparing for my interview, I answered my questions out loud. (If you have someone you can practice with is even better, but I didn't have anyone available on such short notice.) But doing it outloud helped me to remember things better AND see where I might stumble.

Just keep practicing questions and keep applying for positions ... good luck!!

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Specializes in Oncology (Surg-Onc; Gyn-Onc; Heme-Onc).

just got a call from the hospital ... they are doing the background check and reference check on me ... whooo-hooo!!!! :yeah:

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

Good luck!

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I had an interview in a level III NICU earlier in the week. Some questions they asked were... "what qualities will you bring to this unit?, What will be your biggest challenege? and what kind of babies and diagnoses have you worked with in your clinical rotations?"

Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK! Just be confident and be yourself :)

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