er tech or pca? new to healthcare

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hi everyone!

I have 2 weeks left in my cna course and today I attended a job fair and was offered an interview with the med surg dept and the ed dept(level 4) will be contacting me on monday to set up an interview.

I understand both depts come with a wealth of knowledge but wanted to hear from your all. I have no experience and am transitioning into the healthcare field. I wanted to know which dept would be the greatest for me in terms of exp? The ed dept told me they'd train me to draw blood, place iv's, read ekgs, etc. med surg dept only told me about adls and rounding on pt every hour.

Looking for some insight. medsurg would hire me as a pca, the ed would hire me as a er tech/unit secretary.

ER all the way. I worked as an ER tech for a year in nursing school and the experience you will get is like no other! You will get tons of practice with skills like phlebotomy as well as codes and interacting with patients in general. You also will get practice with prioritizing and organizing your work flow. I work as an RN in ICU now and having the ER experience not only helped me to secure that position as a new grad, it gave me many useful skills that I still use today.

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ER all the way. I worked as an ER tech for a year in nursing school and the experience you will get is like no other! You will get tons of practice with skills like phlebotomy as well as codes and interacting with patients in general. You also will get practice with prioritizing and organizing your work flow. I work as an RN in ICU now and having the ER experience not only helped me to secure that position as a new grad, it gave me many useful skills that I still use today.

That is great to hear. I'm starting an accelerated bsn program and having some experience will hopefully help with school. I've been told prioritizing will be one thing that I need to know how to do. Thank you for the insight! Did you have any experience prior to working as an er tech?

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That is great to hear. I'm starting an accelerated bsn program and having some experience will hopefully help with school. I've been told prioritizing will be one thing that I need to know how to do. Thank you for the insight! Did you have any experience prior to working as an er tech?

One year of nursing school with some clinicals. I had taken CPR several times as a lifeguard but that's about it. It is scary the first few times you stick people, etc., but you will get better and patients are usually understanding. Make it known that you are very interested/eager and nurses will often track you down when something cool is going on or ask you to assist with things that are a good learning experience. Also, remember an RN position may be waiting for you if you do a good job! My ER pretty much exclusively hired their ER techs as new RNs. Try to pay attention to what tests are ordered for what complaints/diagnoses. This will help you in school!

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One year of nursing school with some clinicals. I had taken CPR several times as a lifeguard but that's about it. It is scary the first few times you stick people, etc., but you will get better and patients are usually understanding. Make it known that you are very interested/eager and nurses will often track you down when something cool is going on or ask you to assist with things that are a good learning experience. Also, remember an RN position may be waiting for you if you do a good job! My ER pretty much exclusively hired their ER techs as new RNs. Try to pay attention to what tests are ordered for what complaints/diagnoses. This will help you in school!

Wow thanks for the tips. I'll have to take a small notepad with me during my shifts. What advice do you have as far as what I can do to better prepare myself for this change into the ed?

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Wow thanks for the tips. I'll have to take a small notepad with me during my shifts. What advice do you have as far as what I can do to better prepare myself for this change into the ed?

Sometimes it helps to make to do lists at first. Don't be a "chicken" ?, take every opportunity you're given (within your scope of practice of course). Ask lots of questions. If you don't know something, ask! If you have a stethoscope, bring it and if you have a chance listen to heart and lung sounds for practice. Other than that not much you can do to prepare. Just dive in head first.

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Sometimes it helps to make to do lists at first. Don't be a "chicken" , take every opportunity you're given (within your scope of practice of course). Ask lots of questions. If you don't know something, ask! If you have a stethoscope, bring it and if you have a chance listen to heart and lung sounds for practice. Other than that not much you can do to prepare. Just dive in head first.

No chickens over here! Lol I want to learn everything! Thanks for the advice. Question, what is my scope of practice? Would I follow the cna scope?

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When you are trained they should tell you what you can and cannot do, it will depend on your training. For example in my ER we could do straight stick blood draws but not start IVs. Some states techs can start IVs. We did catheters, wound care, ortho splints, helped with codes. If you're ever unsure, just ask your preceptor, charge nurse or manager

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Ok thank you so much for your help!

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What is the salary for an ER tech?

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Depends on the hospital. I am patient care tech on the med surg floor but i go to the ER occasionally for OT and we get paid the same. 20.79/hr

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PrettyPlease88That's good. How did you get your hospital job? I've been a working CNA with pysch experience for five years and I want to work at a hospital. I work nights and make 13.22/hr. I did see a job opening for an ER tech. I may apply for the position. I *really* want to work at Kaiser.

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what state/area do you live?

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