"Given my experience working in inpatient care for my entire nursing career--with the last five being in a critical care setting--I would expect your standard orientation period to include getting comfortable with caring for newborn patients and learning to utilize equipment like the NICU ventilators, incubators, and OG tubes. I am confident that I bring a level of competency to the position with my past experience, but this work will be new to me. If I am fortunate enough to join your unit, I would take advantage of shadowing opportunities with staff to learn quickly and be up and running hopefully after just two or three months of training."

This is a tricky question, so think it through ahead of your interview and be prepared to give an answer that illustrates that you are "coachable" without being too dependent or needy. You also want to project that you are confident and competent without being arrogant or trouble for the NICU leadership. Your interviewer wants the best of both worlds in looking for a new NICU Nurse to join their team, so be prepared to describe your competency, initiative, and willingness to both ask for and receive supervision and direction.

"Since this is such a specialized area of nursing, I think it would depend on what level of care this NICU is considered. As a new grad, I know I have a lot to learn and be oriented and trained on at your facility. I would imagine I would need supervision for several weeks until I was acclimated and passed my skills checklist during onboarding and orientation. I'm a quick learner, so I feel confident I will not take long to get up to speed and ready to be on my own."