Cutting my ties to this specialty

Specialties Emergency

Published

Next week is my last week as a scribe. It's time for me to move on, not only from that job, but from the ED in general. My rotten experience as a student has scarred me for life and I want nothing to do with the ED. I don't have what it takes to work in such a crazy-ass environment. I'm not vicious enough. If the fire risk wasn't so high where I live, I'd burn all my old issues of the JEN and ENA Connections. I'm just leaving it in the nurse's lounge instead. And I'm going to cancel my ENA membership. I'm done. Just done.

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I read your post with interest, because I was considering working as a scribe - were you a nursing student while working as a scribe? May I PM you? I'd like to pick your brain - if you don't mind talking about what made your experience a bad one, that is. I also notice in a past posts references to your overcoming your quiet nature - which interests me because I do consider myself quiet. I am wondering whether your relatively quiet/introverted (?) nature figured into your dislike of emergency nursing?

Questions, questions; I've got so many questions I wish to pose:nurse:

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That's nice of you to donate old issues you won't need anymore. Best of luck in your next job :)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a scribe?

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

I'm not sure if this is a passive-agressive attempt on the part of the OP to get readers of this message board to ask what happened.

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I read your post with interest, because I was considering working as a scribe - were you a nursing student while working as a scribe? May I PM you? I'd like to pick your brain - if you don't mind talking about what made your experience a bad one, that is. I also notice in a past posts references to your overcoming your quiet nature - which interests me because I do consider myself quiet. I am wondering whether your relatively quiet/introverted (?) nature figured into your dislike of emergency nursing?Questions, questions; I've got so many questions I wish to pose:nurse:
Sure, feel free to PM me.
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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I think the OP has had a bad experience and needed to vent. I think as a new grad the reality of becoming a nurse isn't what we thought it would be. I think there are toxic work environments. The first year after graduationis the most difficult wheter or not you have a "medical background". I think the ED is a tough place for anew grad.

OP....I'm sorry you have had a bad experience:hug:. If you are willing to talk I'll Listen. If not...there are other emergency departments and other specialities.

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I fortunately did not get a job in the ED as a nurse, but I was treated badly as a student. Now I realize how woefully unprepared I am to start in such a crazy environment. Even with five years of experience, I don't think I can go into the specialty that tore me to pieces. I know in my head it was only a couple of nurses that screwed me over, but all it takes is a couple of rotten apples to spoil the bunch. Most of the ED nurses I've encountered have been helpful and kind for the most part. And I did my best to be helpful to them as a scribe. In my heart, the way I was treated has scarred me for life, and now I associate ED with ravenous wolves. It will be hard to disassociate the ED from that image.

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I fortunately did not get a job in the ED as a nurse but I was treated badly as a student. Now I realize how woefully unprepared I am to start in such a crazy environment. Even with five years of experience, I don't think I can go into the specialty that tore me to pieces. I know in my head it was only a couple of nurses that screwed me over, but all it takes is a couple of rotten apples to spoil the bunch. Most of the ED nurses I've encountered have been helpful and kind for the most part. And I did my best to be helpful to them as a scribe. In my heart, the way I was treated has scarred me for life, and now I associate ED with ravenous wolves. It will be hard to disassociate the ED from that image.[/quote']

I have read your post a few times, and I keep thinking (I'm guessing you are fairly young) this is wrong. You feel disheartened and discouraged now, but it's a big wide world out there and you've got time on your side. I hear your disappointment, but opportunities to work in the ER will come again. Maybe working in another specialty such as med/surg for a while, while continuing to study emergency nursing, will help you with getting hired in the ER when the time is right. Life doesn't just take a straight course. Many nurses on this forum have spoken about the convoluted paths they took before they arrived in the area they wanted to work in. Your not getting hired in the ER this time around doesn't mean you will never be able to work there. It may just mean with patience and perseverance you will still get there.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
Forgive my ignorance, but what is a scribe?

A scribe works for the ED physician and does the paperwork aspect of the physician's job. In my ED, a scribe stands in the room with the doc writing up all of the H&P as the questions are asked. They are a wealth of knowledge because they've "seen" so many patients, they can anticipate what orders will be placed for many presentations. They can also be a good go-between for the RN and the doc, but they can't actually tell the RN the orders.

OP, sorry that it didn't work out for you in the end, but I'm sure your training will be a big boost in other units too. Good luck.

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My scribe training has served me well, no doubt. It helped me earn a unit secretary job on a medical floor, and I hope and pray it works out there. I would have loved to be an ED nurse, but the experience I had as a student in an ED that I worked in for 3 1/2 years as a scribe was terrible. I'm not sure what I did to earn the treatment I got.

The only way I'll ever work in the ED again is if I move to another place or the person I precepted with no longer works in that ED.

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Specializes in ER.

I'm lazy and didn't read previous comments too thoroughly. Who treated you poorly? I'm assuming it is tied with your preceptor...

I've been in the ER for 2 years and a couple months. I've learned many things. I couldn't be a floor nurse - I can't stand these people for the short time I have them, much less for three whole nights. Working in the ER has made me pretty cynical and I believe just about nothing patients say. ER can be a ***** but I couldn't see me any where else right now... Good luck with whatever you do

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