NICU Interview Help!

[Ctierney]

I am a new grad and am interviewing for a NICU position next week as a registered nurse! This is a very competitive position in my area and new grads are rarely thought of for this position. I have been a nursing assistant for 3 years on an adult intensive care unit so I am familiar with critical care. Any ideas what kind of interview questions they may ask and how can I use my critics care experience to my advantage??!!

Any advice is helpful!

[Semper_Gumby]

Congratulations on your interview! It's been a few months since I interviewed in a NICU but I'd recommend looking up common interview questions and preparing answers--this will serve you well with other interviews as well. I actually had two interviews, one with a recruiter and one on the unit. Some questions I was asked were "What do you look for in an employer?" "Where do you see yourself in five years?" "How do you work in high stress situations?" "What are your strengths?"

Ironically, I was not asked "Why NICU?" although I was probably best prepared for that one! It was the only unit which did not ask me "Why -this unit-?" so I would be prepared with a good answer--and many will want to see something more than just "I love babies!"

Hope your interview goes well and you get into a NICU like you hope! I'm still working my way there lol.

[Ctierney]

Thank you for all of your advice! Did you find they asked you an NICU specific questions like critical thinking based questions?

Good luck you as well!

[Semper_Gumby]

Thank you for all of your advice! Did you find they asked you an NICU specific questions like critical thinking based questions?

Good luck you as well!

They did not. I actually got the feeling as I interviewed that they already had someone in mind for the position and interviewing me was a formality. Either that or they got annoyed with my questions about the unit (I did have a lot lol).

As far as things you can ask--definitely find out about their orientation (length, structure, etc.). Most NICUs do a good 12-16 weeks orientation, and some places have formal new grad programs that add additional time/support in the position.

[vintage_RN, BSN, RN]

My interview was a lot of questions asking how I would handle certain situations...how I handle conflict, how I would handle an irate family etc. And a few specific NICU questions - such as if my baby was intubated and desating what would I do....at the time I had no NICU expereince so I tried to answer the best I could. I still ended up getting the job even though I may not have answered all the questions correctly :)

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

As a new grad the questions were about why I wanted NICU and about my NICU capstone because they know you have no experience in NICU. As an experienced NICU nurse, the interview was exclusively about NICU experince with different types of babies and different types of respiratory support.

[cmary]

When I was interviewed for NICU RN positions, I was asked to give examples of difficult situations I had encountered and what I did to better that situation. Prior to having true NICU RN experience, I reflected on situations I experienced during my work as a nurse's aid/tech, as an intern, and throughout my clinical rotations at school. I think focusing your answers with strong emphasis on family-centered care and overall ICU/critical care would serve you well.