What would YOU ask the E.R.? (interview)

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

Hello all!

I have an ER interview this Thursday at the hospital across town. Ive worked at the Main Hosp of my city for almost 9 years in different capacites, 2 years as an RN on a telemetry floor. Im ready for a change. The ER I applied to is not a trauma center; its the smaller for profit hospital in town. 265 bed hospital i think, 16 beds in the E.R.

Ive scoured the board for questions the ER may ask me and have found many useful things, so now I want to ask...what is it YOU would ask the ER if you were interviewing? Aside from the standard Q's of pay, hours, benefits.

I look forward to all responses. :p

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I'd ask them to describe their staff and support personnel. Do they utilize midlevel practitioners, LPN's, ER techs, Paramedics, lab techs, resp, etc? And describe how communication takes place in the ER via charting, phones, pagers, radios, verbal orders.

Number of nurses employed during a shift, type of leadership, professional development opportunities.

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Specializes in icu/er.

the avg pt census per 24hrs or per shift.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Is meal coverage a big deal? Standing orders? talk to rns, see what they think, do they look stressed? Try and go on a monday, around 1500.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

I am a charge RN for my ED so this is an easy question to ask.

1) Patient ratio, is it set or change

2.)Do u have support personal.

3)Average d2d and d2f times. (Holding patients for long amount of time gets boring)

4)Scheduling

5) How many patients in a day do u see?

6)Holiday rotation

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

Forgot most important. Do they have computer charting?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Do they flex ED staff according to census? How are schedule holes filled (float pool, on-call, etc.)?

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Specializes in ER.

Acuity level of patients, pt ratios is a MUST (from what I understand 3-4 is pretty standard), when they would want you to take TNCC (or if they even offer that to their nurses *they should!!*) How many nurses in their ER have their CEN?

Just throwing out ideas. The TNCC and CEN may not be your highest priority questions, but it may show you know something about the expectations of the certs? :)

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What color scrubs can I wear?

Does this ER make nurses give enemas? Or a Fleets-to-go?

Anything else is unimportant...

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Specializes in ER.
What color scrubs can I wear?

Does this ER make nurses give enemas? Or a Fleets-to-go?

Anything else is unimportant...

AMEN!!!

Like others have said: Daily Census, Average acuity of those patients (it makes a huge difference if you're seeing 100 lvl 1's or 10 lvl 1's and 40 lvl 5's), will you be asked to float to other floors, do they pay for certification classes (my current employer does not; highly recommend TNCC even if it's on your own dollar).

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Specializes in icu/er.

yes..most certainly find out if you'll be yanked to some rotten medical floor when they have a call in. i have balked at some job offers cause they do this type of staffing.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Do rns disimpact? How do they handle the pt load when you have to go 1:1?

This thread should be a sticky.

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