I am a nursing student and wanted to ask any ER nurses what attributes make a good ER nurse? Also, what is the length of time and where do you need to work to have the right experience to get into the ER? This is the area that I think I want to follow, so any advice is greatly appreciated.
Sonya
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January 30th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Hello! I graduated from nursing school in the spring of 2008 and started right away in the ER. Some challenges that are unique to ER nursing are:
1) Patient turnover – where I work, we are assigned 4 rooms, but we might take care of 20 people in a shift. People are always coming and going.
2) Education – education and teaching are a huge point of nursing but in the ER there is simply not enough time to be as thorough as you would often like.
3) Staying calm – you very often have seriously unstable patient and there are a lot of “unknown” factors… i.e. pt codes outside and is brought in to the ER. You have no medical history, allergies or information about that patient. You have to act quickly, calmly and efficiently without much info to go on.
4) Proficiency – you become very proficient in tasks. There is no IV team, no respiratory therapist and not many nursing assistants. You must be prepared to be an independent practitioner.
5) Violence – violence is becoming more prevalent these days, but is particularly surfacing in ER’s across the country. An ER nurse must be skillfull at de-escalating situations.
6) Humor – you MUST have a sense of humor b/c people do all kinds of crazy things!!
7) Be able to move on – you only get a snapshot in somebody’s life; of course there are always those certain patients that you remember, but you cannot get emotionally attached and involved.
There are lot of perks to ER nursing but it is not for everybody! That’s why nursing is so awesome, everybody can find an area that is their niche!
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Well said Lindsey. I agree with all of them. I too am a new grad in the ER, although I have worked there for a year as a tech while in school. You also have to have a sense of humor to deal with the nasty stuff, the death and destruction that happens. But the good FAR out weights the bad.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I was made aware that usually you have to have at least a year before entering into the ER. How did you guys get right in? In there a backdoor you go through
What kind of facility do you work at? Small or large?
February 5th, 2009 at 12:45 am
I was a tech in the ED for almost 5 years before graduating RN school. I also did my preceptorship there. I work at a Level I trauma facility so we get everything. We are the referral trauma hospital for our region and for the southern part of the state right above us. We rarely hire new grads unless they are techs that are graduating or students who have precepted in our dept. It is hard to be a new grad in the ED with ED experience, much less a new grad who’s never been there. I worked 5 years before I started nursing and it has been TOUGH. But I’m getting through it and knock on wood, so far all my patients have been A & O x 3 and breathing on their own when they left me. LOL
March 18th, 2009 at 1:55 am
I am a new RN that just finished a residency program at an ED. I found it was really easy to get into the ED right out of school. I work in a mid-sized ED it has about 32 beds but is expanding to 52 beds by the end of the year.
I agree with the first posting. ED nursing is really rewarding but you have to be prepared, its a little more demanding than many other areas of nursing, but if you have the personality for it its a great place to work.
When you graduate just look for ads for ED residency positions, many ED’s like to hire new grads, at least thats what my manager said. I found in my area that most of the ED’s had new grad positions open.
Good luck!
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I have been a nurse for almost 11 years. The first 2 were spent in critical care/telemetry, then I moved on to the ER.
I highly recommend at least a year of nursing experience in medsurg/tele prior to working in an ER. The ER is really not the place to learn how to be a nurse. Time mngt, technical, and critical thinking skills are crutial in a busy emergency environment. Most new grads are not yet efficient at these. You may have 4 critically ill patients without any help, but who needs what and when first? It’s not something taught, it’s something you learn through experience.
On a lighter note, working in an ER is always fun, entertaining, and exhausting. You’ll find a “certain” personality type that attracts to the ER and you’ll know immediately if you fit that category!
January 4th, 2010 at 8:23 am
always remember, you don’t have to know it all. ED nurses are amazing, and very knowledgeable. Be patient and you will get there, so don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know or are unsure. Part of being a safe nurse is knowing your limits and knowing when and how to get help.