How to Answer: Tell me about an experience when you had to use ACLS, BLS, or PALS protocols in your nursing practice.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Nursing job interview.
9. Tell me about an experience when you had to use ACLS, BLS, or PALS protocols in your nursing practice.
How to Answer
The interviewer is asking this question to assess the candidate's knowledge and skill level of Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) protocols. Every nurse, at a minimum, should be trained in ACLS and BLS, and depending on their work environment, they should also be trained in PALS. This training includes a set of clinical interventions for the urgent treatment of cardiac arrest, stroke, and other life-threatening emergencies, as well as knowledge and skills to execute those interventions. The candidate's ability to effectively respond to a crisis using appropriate life support interventions directly correlates to patient outcomes. To effectively answer this question, the candidate should articulate their knowledge of life support protocols and describe how they have used them in the past.
Written by Elisabeth Walter
1st Entry Level Example
"Part of my nursing training was to become certified in both ACLS and BLS, and I am interested in becoming certified in PALS as well; however, I have not yet encountered a patient situation where I have had to utilize these life-saving skills. While I have never had experience utilizing these skills, with the training that I received, I am very confident that I will be able to properly execute the protocols. I take my responsibility as a nurse very seriously, and when it is time for me to provide life support measures, I will be ready to do so with confidence and skill."
Written by Ryan Brunner
2nd Entry Level Example
"I am a relatively new nurse, as I have only had my license for two years. However, I am certified in BLS, ACLS, and PALS. Fortunately, I haven't had too many experiences in the outpatient clinic where I have had to administer life support to patients, but there was one situation where I had to utilize my PALS skills. A young couple with a newborn with pertussis, or whooping cough, had brought their baby to the clinic instead of the ER, and the baby stopped breathing and turned blue while in the waiting room. Once I was alerted of this, I had the front desk call a code and I immediately responded to the family and began resuscitation efforts on the newborn. By the time the paramedics arrived to take the baby to the hospital, he was breathing on his own again, so our efforts in the clinic likely prevented him from dying in our waiting room."
Written by Kelly Burlison on March 17th, 2019
1st Experienced Example
"I am very familiar with all the life support protocols that you mentioned and have used all of them in my nursing career, but most recently, while working in pediatrics, I have used PALS most often. I actually had to initiate PALS protocols while working on my unit earlier this week, when a young patient unexpectedly coded. While we waited for our hospitalist physician to arrive on our unit to help us with the response, I led the nursing team in giving the patient CPR and determining which meds were needed to stabilize them until the physician arrived. If I had not taken action and properly followed PALS protocols, the patient would have died, but because of the appropriate action I did take, they are expected to be discharged later this week."
Written by Elisabeth Walter
2nd Experienced Example
"I have been ACLS and BLS certified for many years and have had to use my skills in these life support methods many times when patients were in distress. While I have never worked directly with pediatric patients and have never been required to be PALS certified, I am confident that I would be able to effectively execute such protocols when necessary, if I receive proper training. Because I have been a practicing nurse for so many years, I have been required to use my advanced life support skills many times, including recently when a patient I was triaging in the emergency department went into full cardiac arrest. After I pressed the emergency button, which alerted my colleagues of an emergency, I immediately got the patient onto the floor and started CPR until my attending physician could get there. Even after my attending got there to take the lead, I continued to assist, and we were able to revive the patient and get them stabilized."
Written by Ryan Brunner
3rd Experienced Example
"Working on higher acuity level units in my career has required that I become very familiar and comfortable using my BLS and ACLS skills. I once witnessed a frail patient aspirate during their breakfast. Although I was not the primary nurse for this patient, I was the closest at the time the patient aspirated and was able to jump into action quickly to help them. The patient's airway was compromised, and he began desaturating quickly. I promptly called for help and requested a rapid response be initiated. While another nurse initiated the rapid response call, I began supporting the person's airway. Unfortunately, the person declined rapidly, and I had to initiate CPR. Once the full team arrived, we rotated who was giving compressions to prevent fatigue, and because of our quick response time and working together seamlessly we were able to revive the patient and promptly transfer him to ICU."
Written by Tabitha Cumpian on January 31st, 2023
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About the Author
I began my healthcare career when I was a sophomore in high school and became an STNA (state-tested nursing assistant) at a local long-term care facility. I then went on to work as a nursing assistant at a local hospital and home healthcare agency. During that time, I pursued my Bachelor's in Business Administration: Human Resource Management and transitioned to working for one of the largest long-term care and post-acute rehab companies in the country. I supported the talent acquisition function, and in the span of 8 years, I screened and interviewed over 1,500 nurse aides, LPNs, and RNs.
I hold a very special place in my heart for nurses, as it's often a thankless and tiresome job. Not everyone is cut out to be a nurse, and I have great respect and admiration for those that choose this career path. As a content writer and interview coach for MockQuestions, my goal is to help you prepare and succeed in your upcoming interview. This article offers interview tips and advice along with 50 practice interview questions and answer examples to help you better understand what to expect and prepare for interview day! Wishing you the best of luck!
Learn more about Jaymie Payne