How does inexperienced RN do ER?

Specialties Emergency

Published

Hi. I'm an RN with 0-3 years nursing experience. How does an RN break into the ER? I talked with a rectruiter in my area, and she said that experienced RN's must have several years of experience, telemetry, and EMT background or you must be a SNE in the ER. It's confusing to me that the recruiter stated that you either have to be super experienced or be a new grad!

I was thinking about volunteering in the ER. Any info or advice would be appreciated!

Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

How much experience do you really have? 0, 1 , 2, or 3 years? There is no such thing as 0-3 years of experience. Each year significantly counts. I hope that isn't how you put it on the resume.

Thank you for all of the replies and help! I have 1 year and 3 months of Med-Surg experience and a few months of nursing home experience. I also did agency for doctor's offices. I really didn't like the nursing home/LTC, and the Med-Surg unit I was on wasn't a good fit for me at all. Our Med-Surg unit had budget problems, personnel problems, supply problems, cultural communication problems, and any other problem you can think of! After 20 years of work experience outside of nursing, what I saw on this Med-Surg unit was truly shocking to me. Despite the unnecessary drama, I became bored from a nursing standpoint, and I wasn't getting code experience. So I'm trying to find an area of nursing that I enjoy and a unit that isn't a disaster.

I advise being an EMT first. There is a huge learning curve for the ER and if you are not at the top of your game you will be eaten alive. Sad, but true!

Specializes in Emergency.

Hi op, I will tell you my experience and you take what you want. I was a shiny new grad in 2007 and was certain i wanted to do er/trauma right out of school. In spite of my eagerness, i listened to more experienced nurses and got my first job on a cardiac stepdown unit. There i saw all aspects of heart disease as well as alot of med surg. I learned alot on that unit after 3 years i then went agency briefly and through them found that ed job i wanted,i have now been there over a year and i love it and the staff and the people/patients. Could i have done this fresh out of school.? I doubt it. I needed those first years to gain some learning and practical experiance. I am glad i didit this way,now even after a year, i am trusted by the docs due to my experience. We do have a fellowship program for new grads, but it is hard andnot everyone makes it. I advise a couple years on a cardiac unit prior to ed Amy

Hi op, I will tell you my experience and you take what you want. I was a shiny new grad in 2007 and was certain i wanted to do er/trauma right out of school. In spite of my eagerness, i listened to more experienced nurses and got my first job on a cardiac stepdown unit. There i saw all aspects of heart disease as well as alot of med surg. I learned alot on that unit after 3 years i then went agency briefly and through them found that ed job i wanted,i have now been there over a year and i love it and the staff and the people/patients. Could i have done this fresh out of school.? I doubt it. I needed those first years to gain some learning and practical experiance. I am glad i didit this way,now even after a year, i am trusted by the docs due to my experience. We do have a fellowship program for new grads, but it is hard andnot everyone makes it. I advise a couple years on a cardiac unit prior to ed Amy

We share a similar story. I hated floor nursing... seeing the same patients for several nights in a row, doing a lot of repetitive tasks, etc. However, seeing that variety of cardiac patients and learning to read tele as a necessity of my job.. so invaluable. I work with a lot of very good ER nurses who have never worked anything but ER and they struggle with tele. As boring as I find floor nursing, I'm a much better ER nurse because of it.

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