Registered Nurse (RN) - Emergency Department
Posted Sep 14, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 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.
Behavioral
Tell me about a time you recognized a patient was deteriorating before the monitors or anyone else caught it.
clinical assessment skills and willingness to trust and act on nursing judgment
Tell me about a shift where you had more patients than you felt you could safely handle. What did you do?
judgment about escalating staffing concerns and advocating for patient safety rather than silently absorbing risk
Tell me about a code or a resuscitation you were part of. What was your role and how did the team communicate?
experience functioning within ACLS/PALS team dynamics under pressure
Describe a time you had to deliver hard news or manage a scared family member while still focused on the patient.
ability to balance clinical duties with compassionate communication under stress
This is a mid-shift, nine to nine-thirty, every fourth weekend schedule. What's your experience with that kind of pace, and how do you keep your energy and focus up through a full shift like that?
realistic fit with the specific shift pattern and sustainability of the candidate in that slot
Tell me about a disagreement you had with a physician or another nurse over a patient's care plan. How did you handle it?
ability to advocate for the patient while maintaining a working relationship on a collaborative team
Technical
This unit sees STEMI patients who need the cath lab activated fast and stroke patients who need tPA on a clock. Walk me through what you'd do in the first ten minutes of either scenario.
working knowledge of time-sensitive protocols specific to this facility's cardiac cath lab and stroke center
A patient becomes agitated and starts threatening staff. What do you do before you consider restraints, and what has to happen if you do use them?
competency in verbal de-escalation and correct, safe use of restraints per policy
What's your process for a geriatric patient who comes in confused, and how does that change your workup compared to a younger adult with the same complaint?
awareness of geriatric-specific emergency care considerations tied to this department's Level 2 Geriatric Emergency designation
How do you keep track of your TNCC-level trauma assessment steps when a trauma patient rolls in and things are chaotic?
systematic trauma assessment skill rather than relying on memory alone in high-stress moments
Situational
Walk me through how you triage a waiting room that has a chest pain patient, a crying toddler with a fever, and an elderly fall victim who just arrived by ambulance, all within a few minutes of each other.
whether the candidate can apply acuity-based prioritization under real time pressure across a mixed pediatric and adult population
How would you handle a pediatric trauma coming in by ambulance when you don't do pediatrics every day?
comfort and preparedness treating both adult and pediatric patients in a combined ED
If you made a medication error or caught a near-miss, walk me through what you'd do right after and how you'd report it.
honesty and commitment to patient safety culture over self-protection
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As published by Advocate Health.
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