Registered Nurse (RN) - Emergency Department (ED)
Posted Sep 10, 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 a patient's condition changed suddenly and you had to act before a provider was available.
comfort with autonomous clinical judgment and recognizing deterioration early
Tell me about a shift where you were assigned more patients than felt safe. What did you do?
how the person balances patient safety advocacy against team pressure, and whether they escalate appropriately
Describe a time you disagreed with a physician or provider about a patient's care plan. How did you handle it?
ability to advocate for patients respectfully within the care team hierarchy
Tell me about a time you had to deliver difficult news or manage a frustrated family member in a high-stress environment.
communication skill and composure with families under emotional strain
Why emergency nursing, and why this kind of schedule, nights, every third weekend, every other holiday?
genuine fit with the specific shift demands and long-term retention risk
Technical
You've got a patient coming in by EMS with signs of an acute stroke. Walk me through what you do from the moment they hit the door.
familiarity with stroke protocol and door-to-needle time expectations given the unit's Primary Stroke certification
This is a Level 4 trauma center seeing about 42,000 visits a year, including pediatric and geriatric patients. What's different about how you assess a geriatric trauma patient versus a younger adult?
clinical knowledge specific to the geriatric-certified ED population, like atypical presentations and fall risk
Where are you with ACLS, PALS, and TNCC, and if you're not fully certified yet, what's your plan to get there?
readiness to meet the role's required certifications within the expected timeframe
What does evidence-based practice look like in your day-to-day work in the ED, versus just following the way things have always been done?
whether the candidate actively applies current clinical guidelines rather than relying purely on habit
Situational
Walk me through how you triage a busy waiting room when you've got a chest pain patient, a kid with a fever, and someone in behavioral health crisis all checking in around the same time.
whether the candidate can apply acuity-based prioritization under pressure rather than first-come-first-served thinking
A patient comes in agitated and possibly in a behavioral health crisis, and they start to become physically aggressive. What's your approach?
de-escalation skills and knowledge of safety protocols for behavioral health patients in a non-psych ED
You're working a night shift, it's 3 AM, and you're the only experienced nurse on with two new grads. A critical patient rolls in. What do you do?
leadership and mentoring instinct on off-hours shifts with less senior backup
How do you keep yourself and your patient assessments sharp on a 7 PM to 7:30 AM shift, especially toward hour 10 or 11?
self-awareness about fatigue management and its effect on patient safety during long night shifts
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As published by Advocate Health.
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