How to hire an emergency department registered nurse

How to hire an emergency department registered nurse, step by step

Here's a step-by-step emergency department registered nurse hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an emergency department registered nurse job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency department registered nurse
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an emergency department registered nurse do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the emergency department registered nurse you need to hire. Certain emergency department registered nurse roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An emergency department registered nurse's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, emergency department registered nurses from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents emergency department registered nurse salaries for various positions.

   Type of Emergency Department Registered Nurse	Description	Hourly rate
   Emergency Department Registered Nurse	Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.	$23-64
   Staff Nurse	Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents... Show more	$20-52
   Registered Nurse Charge Nurse	A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge... Show more	$22-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Acls
   • Acute Care
   • Life Support
   • Patient Outcomes
   • Advanced Life Support
   • CPR
   • Discharge Planning
   • Triage
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Critical Care
   • Compassion
   • TNCC
   • Patient Safety

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Monitor and manage chest tubes and various drainage devices along with pacer wires, epidural lines, and PCA pumps.
   • Stabilize critical patients through the use of BLS and ACLS protocols.
   • Assess patients and prioritize care: stabilize multiple critical patients using ACLS and BLS protocols.
   • Provide direct patient care including triage evaluation and treatment of patients presenting for care for medical/trauma/psychiatric care.
   • Perform triage, assessments, complete MD orders assist in treatment and admit or discharge patients requiring/receiving emergency care
   • Provide comprehensive care to patients that addressed the physical, social, spiritual and mental aspects of care and rehabilitation.

   More emergency department registered nurse duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the emergency department registered nurse job description is a good way to get more applicants. An emergency department registered nurse salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an emergency department registered nurse in Texas may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level emergency department registered nurse. Additionally, an emergency department registered nurse with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average emergency department registered nurse salary

   $81,260yearly

   $39.07 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level emergency department registered nurse salary

   $48,000 yearly salary

   Updated November 7, 2025

   Average emergency department registered nurse salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$124,643	$60
   2	Connecticut	$123,445	$59
   3	Massachusetts	$114,075	$55
   4	New York	$113,038	$54
   5	Maine	$109,095	$52
   6	New Jersey	$105,045	$51
   7	Virginia	$92,154	$44
   8	Maryland	$92,124	$44
   9	Illinois	$91,864	$44
   10	Oregon	$91,738	$44
   11	Nevada	$90,880	$44
   12	Indiana	$88,563	$43
   13	Georgia	$86,230	$41
   14	Washington	$84,780	$41
   15	Arizona	$84,048	$40
   16	Minnesota	$83,448	$40
   17	Oklahoma	$82,680	$40
   18	North Carolina	$80,845	$39
   19	Pennsylvania	$80,078	$39
   20	Kansas	$80,033	$38

   Average emergency department registered nurse salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Whidbey General Hospital	$134,549	$64.69	6
   2	Valley Presbyterian Hospital	$128,986	$62.01	9
   3	Dignity Health	$124,852	$60.02	1,022
   4	Baptist Health Care	$124,488	$59.85	42
   5	Medical City Arlington	$121,778	$58.55	112
   6	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	$118,715	$57.07	59
   7	Cook Children's Medical Center	$113,955	$54.79	54
   8	Soliant	$113,329	$54.49	38
   9	The Arora Group	$113,243	$54.44	51
   10	Maxim Healthcare Group	$112,522	$54.10	1,550
   11	University of California-Berkeley	$112,232	$53.96	1
   12	East Alabama Health	$111,354	$53.54	56
   13	Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital Inc	$108,538	$52.18	199
   14	Mission Regional Medical Center	$108,446	$52.14	648
   15	Schuyler Hospital	$106,414	$51.16
   16	Southeastern Med	$106,252	$51.08
   17	St. Joseph's Hospital - Chippewa Falls, WI	$105,879	$50.90	2
   18	Colorado Canyons Hospital & Medical Center	$105,067	$50.51
   19	Roper St. Francis Healthcare	$104,273	$50.13	41
   20	Enloe Medical Center	$104,180	$50.09	93

4. Writing an emergency department registered nurse job description

   An emergency department registered nurse job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an emergency department registered nurse job description:

   Emergency department registered nurse job description example

   *$30k Sign On Bonus!* *Up to $40k Student Loan Repayment!*

   Regional Hospital of Scranton is hiring nurses for the Emergency Department! Come join our team and be a part of a culture that's dedicated to improving lives.

   Registered Nurse (RN) ED
   7a-7:30p / Rotating Shifts, Weekends and Holidays
   Full Time
   36 hrs. Per week (.9 FTE)

   Scranton is a city steeped in rich history, a vibrant arts scene, outdoor adventures, and a wide variety of delicious cuisine. "Every season is Peak Season" with a variety of activities any time of the year. There is always something to do and somewhere to go in Lackawanna County.

   Regional Hospital of Scranton is a 186-bed, acute care hospital nationally recognized for quality, especially in the areas of orthopedics, robotic surgery, cardiac care, stroke care, and neurology. Offering all private rooms, Regional is the first hospital in Pennsylvania to earn all four orthopedic certifications by The Joint Commission - hip fracture, and knee, hip, and shoulder replacement as well as advanced certification.

   In order to give the best patient care, we must be at our best. Thats why were committed to providing a range of competitive benefits for your health, family, and future:

   • Competitive compensation and sign on bonus of up to $30,000
   • Affordable, comprehensive medical plans with three tiers of services (effective 1st of the month following date of hire)
   • Tuition reimbursement of up to $5K per year for nursing programs
   • Loan forgiveness of up to $10K per year for 4 years
   • Paid vacation and personal time
   • Flexible spending accounts
   • Life and Disability Insurance
   • 401K plan with Employer match

   Experience/ Requirements:

   Current PA RN License or Practice Permit

   BLS and ACLS required, must be completed prior to the end of orientation period

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right emergency department registered nurse for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your emergency department registered nurse job on Zippia to find and recruit emergency department registered nurse candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting emergency department registered nurses requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency department registered nurse

   Once you have selected a candidate for the emergency department registered nurse position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new emergency department registered nurse first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an emergency department registered nurse?