Seasoned nurse..interview in ER

[CardioTrans, BSN, RN]

Hi all,

I have been an RN for 15 years...all my hospital direct patient care experience has been in a CCU, MICU etc....at a large Level I hospital. I have been asked to come in for an interview for an ER position at another facility. I have never done ER and am REALLY excited about the opportunity.

I was told by HR that I would meet with them first to discuss benefits and pay, then go to the ER for a "peer interview". In 15 years, I've never had to do one.

As a seasoned ER nurse, what types of questions would you ask?? I want to make the best impression and would LOVE to transition to the ER

Any advice/tips would be GREATLY appreciated!!

[Emergent, RN]

I had a recent interview. They often ask questions to help ascertain your interpersonal skills. How do you handle conflict? How do you respond to possible bullying situations? Give an an example of how you had to assert yourself to advocate for your pt. Give an example of your response when you received correction and what you learned. Give an instance that you were able to particularly intervene effectively for your pt.

[Medic2BSN13, BSN, RN]

I also recently had a peer interview for an ED position though I don't have near the experience as you. The questions were behavioral based, but they weren't that difficult to answer. Anyone with experience and an ability to communicate effectively can answer the questions well. The interview itself was more relaxed and seemed more like an ongoing conversation than an actual interview. It is also used to see if your personality will fit in with the current staff.

There were three staff RN's during my interview all ranging from one year ED experience to 30 years ED experience. They were all really friendly and I think it will be a good bunch to work with. Good luck!

[jguiney]

As a manager. The first question I ask interviewees Is, What makes you want to work in the ED?

Then I often ask, what do think the ED is all about, and what can you bring to this position?

I ask about their interest in caring for sick children?

[CardioTrans, BSN, RN]

Thanks all for the replies. Regular interview questions, just done with more than one person all at the same time. :)

I am hoping that my ICU experience will help. I know that it's not the same in many aspects. I have been reading ER references for the past two days to refresh myself with things that I haven't dealt with in some time.

ICU experience can be a help but it can also be a hindrance.

Some nurses off of the units have difficulty with the chaos of the ED and the need to forgo some of the niceties in favor of keeping the flow going.

I'm not sure how I'd word it but from me you would get questions which would try to ascertain how well you could let go of some of your ICU thinking and adopt the ED thinking.

Some of our best nurses have come out of the ICUs but so have some of our most dramatic flame-outs.

While there is some overlap with critical patients, the ED and the ICU are vastly different arenas with different priorities, possibilities, goals, and resources.

I think a good nurse can learn to work in any unit.

[CardioTrans, BSN, RN]

I had my interview this morning. Talk about intimidating! Not so much the questions as it was the number of people. 8!!

I was thinking maybe 3-4... I walked in and was surprised to say the least.

No strength/weakness question, thank goodness...that's always a hard one. One that I had never heard before was "What are the 3 most important aspects that a nurse should possess?"

I did ask them what qualities they were looking for and what they thought my biggest learning curve would be with my ICU background and having never worked ER before.

I honestly can't get a feel for how it went. The director said that they score the answers and whichever candidate scores the highest is who they hire.

Now I wait.... She said they will make a decision by the end of next week. Keeping my fingers crossed and saying lots of prayers!!!