Has anyone ever asked you why it is that you want to be an ICU nurse? Do you know what you’d say if you were asked that question during a job interview?
Chances are if you’re interviewing for an ICU nurse position, the interviewer is going to want to know why you’ve chosen that particular specialty.
They will want to know what circumstances in your life or during the course of your training led you to pursue that particular specialty.
Although all nursing fields are challenging in their own way, ICU nursing is unique. You are connecting with patients and their families during such an intimate and challenging time.
It’s not for the faint of heart and most nurses who love this specialty have a specific reason for it.
In the rest of this article, we are going to explore some of the most common reasons why you might have chosen this field and help you craft an answer that you feel confident and comfortable relaying during your ICU nurse interview.
5 Why ICU Nursing Interview Question Answers
Before you go into a job interview for an ICU nursing position, you want to be completely comfortable talking about the journey that brought you to the field in the first place.
Interviewers and potential managers want to hear the truth about why you love your field because it allows them to see what you’ll bring to their team.
It’s important to have a “short version” of your story ready to tell in an interview setting.
Think of it like an elevator pitch, a blurb about why you ended up in ICU nursing that you could tell in the length of an elevator ride.
Keep it short, sweet, and truthful.
To help you prepare to answer confidently when you’re asked “Why ICU nursing?”, here are 5 of the most common reasons why people find and love the field.
Hopefully, these will help you identify and expand upon your own personal reasoning for finding the field.
1. I enjoy challenges in my work.
One of the most common answers that you will hear when you ask an ICU nurse why they love their job is that they love a challenge. Maybe this is you.
When you are working in the ICU, you are seeing very sick patients who are often in a tender place between life and death.
You are responsible for assessing their situation and helping them get better even if they can’t talk back to you or aren’t even awake sometimes.
ICU patients are often unresponsive, comatose, or just very ill, so it’s up to you to assess their situation and create a care plan without them even talking back sometimes.
If you love solving complex puzzles, that might just be part of what makes you love ICU nursing.
See also: ICU Nurse Interview Questions
2. I prefer a collaborative team environment.
Because ICU patients are sometimes experiencing multi-system issues, as a nurse you often become the person who is coordinating all specialties to maintain proper care for your patient.
If you thrive on being the go-to person who knows what’s going on and enjoys working with other team members, ICU nursing is a great field for you.
It is such a collaborative effort between specialties that it’s important to be a people person who enjoys working with others towards the common goal of healing your patient.
3. I have a straightforward, fact-based style.
Many ICU nurses remark that one of the things they love about it is that it’s pretty straightforward.
Although there are certainly complex cases that will challenge you, for the most part, ICU nursing is very fact-based.
When you are treating the very ill, you are focused on stabilizing and repairing your patient so they can regain their health.
There is a very focused way to go about this, so ICU nursing is often a preferred specialty for nurses who like to have a plan.
See also: PICU RN Interview Questions
4. I like being a comfort to patients and their families.
As an ICU nurse, you are going to be faced with patients who are near death almost daily.
This also means that you will lose patients as well.
Many nurses in this field love the role that they play in comforting patients and families as they navigate difficult days of dealing with illness, loss, and grief.
While it’s certainly not for everyone, this can be a very rewarding aspect of the job to bring comfort and peace during such trying times.
5. I was inspired by a compassionate ICU nurse during a critical time.
Another common reason why ICU nurses may get into this particular field is that they were touched by the compassionate care they experienced from an ICU nurse themselves.
If you have ever been sick or been with a loved one who was very sick and had a nurse who really went above and beyond to show that they care, it can make an imprint on you.
Sometimes nurses are so inspired by the care they received that it may motivate them to pursue the field.
How to Answer Why Do You Want to Work in ICU Interview Question?
This question is a big part of ICU nurse interviews because the ICU nursing field is a difficult one.
You will be dealing with very sick patients and their families as they go through some of the most trying times of their lives.
You have to be able to handle the full range of emotions that comes with that territory.
The interviewer will be looking for things in your answer that lead them to feel that you are qualified for the job and genuinely interested.
They also might be looking to gauge your care style and personality to make sure you will be a fit with the rest of the team.
Conclusion: Why ICU Nursing Interview Question
The simplest way to prepare to answer why you chose ICU nursing is just to think honestly about what drew you to the field in the first place.
Whether you are always solving challenging puzzles or you love to provide a shoulder for patients and their families to cry on, those are the kinds of things your interviewer will want to hear.
Be honest and open about why you love your field and your passion will shine through.
Best of luck with your upcoming ICU nurse interview!
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