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.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Hello there!

I would definitely take the position as an ED tech over Med/Surg. If this is your first job I feel that Med/Surg might give you the full experience of all the variety that nursing has to offer, but the ER would also be a wonderful experience, plus you are trained in so many more areas. PCAs where I currently work don't draw blood (we have lab do it or the RN), we don't place IVs (again lab or RN), we don't read EKGS (I'd love this but unfortunately we have a tech from another dept. do that also), and most of our time IS spent rounding, taking care of incontinent patients, toileting patients, and doing the fundamental patient care.

If I were you I would start out in the ED, so you are not only trained in these wonderful things but you will also get to apply them directly to emergency situations. I think this would be a wonderful position for someone who is just beginning in the healthcare field. Good luck and I hope you get the job!

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Thank you for your input! The asst manager of the ed tech informed me that they do not hire techs w/o experience but she loves my attitude and believes I'll do great. Ed it is then!

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Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

Emergency tech positions typically pay more and bring a wealth of knowledge/experience. You will go far if you start as one.

Great choice.

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Great about the pay. Not sure what is normal here in texas but in any case thanks!

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DEF ed tech! As a med/surg PCA most of your time will be spent on incontinent care and getting vitals. I LOVE floating to the ER when I get a chance. Take my advice lol i work on a med/oncology floor as a CNA and if this is your first job in this line of work.... i'd rather be an ER Tech! :)

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Thank you for your advice. I will be pursuing the ed tech position then!

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You will definitely learn more in the ER. Not to bust your bubble, but realistically there is very little chance you would get hired as an ER tech with no health care experience. They usually prefer EMS and phlebotomy experience. It would also be difficult getting hired as a med surg tech without experience, but the odds would be a little better. Either job would be difficult at first without experience and additional training. A lot of CNAs start out in nursing homes, not because its any easier starting out, but because there are more jobs available.

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You will definitely learn more in the ER. Not to bust your bubble, but realistically there is very little chance you would get hired as an ER tech with no health care experience. They usually prefer EMS and phlebotomy experience. It would also be difficult getting hired as a med surg tech without experience, but the odds would be a little better. Either job would be difficult at first without experience and additional training. A lot of CNAs start out in nursing homes, not because its any easier starting out, but because there are more jobs available.

Thanks for your input. No bursting any bubble here. I have a peer review with the er and have been told that my lack of experience is nothing in comparison to my willingness to learn. And with med surg I met with the director and left her speechless the only thing she asked me was if I wanted to set up a peer interview. I already have a job offer on a rehab floor in another facility but would rather an er position. With the hospitals before they hire any employee they all must go through a peer interview, even directors, cn's, etc. I am just thankful for the opportunities. Thanks!

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I definitely expect a surge of difficulty in either floor or wherever I start off either at a ltc or nursing home or hosp as all of this is all new to me.

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Some ERs seem to have really high turnover for techs, with new faces all the time. I know some Paramedics that took a job as an ER tech at some point, then decided they couldn't stomach having to take orders from nurses, the low pay, and the frustration of only being able to do a fraction of the things in the ER they can do on the road. It has to be maddening watching some resident repeatedly struggle to tube a patient they know they get in their sleep.

It doesn't hurt to interview, you might impress someone enough to get hired even without experience, or at least its good practice for future interviews and gives you an idea of what managers are looking for.

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Thanks everyone but i asked a simple question of which one would be better in terms of experience. Not will I get hired? Or whats the turnover rate etc. i don't care about turnover rates or whether they will hire me. The manager called me for a reason because she wants me to work there and has faith in my potential. If no one has anything to say about which dept would offer the best experience then don't comment. Your replies are irrelevant. I've already chosen the ed as my primary focus and have an interview in a few days.

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