Reality VS Fiction of ER

Specialties Emergency

Published

Hello, sorry if posted in wrong place. I am a freshmen in college and had goals to become an ER nurse. I must admit part of it definitely has to do with the adrenaline rush. Is ER nursing an adrenaline rush? Would I be disappointed if I wanted to adrenaline rush that paramedics have? Thanks in advance.

*I also am aware that a lot of ER cases are not life and death.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Most ER cases are non adrenaline ones, and while we do tend to be adrenaline junkies, it is nothing like the TV shows. Generally long stretches in between, and even then it may not be your pt or zone, you may end up watching over the rest of the zone during the "big one". That is not to say we don't work hard, nonstop, no BR breaks and not enough staff most of the time, which takes a good deal of energy whether it is "adrenaline" producing or not. Most EMS runs are just as non-rush as the ER.

I love the ER, been there 19 years, and don't want to give it up. Check out the threads in the Emergency section of specialties, see the top bar.

Good luck and God Bless on your journey!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to our Emergency Nursing forum.

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It really depends on where you work. A level I trauma center will see a lot more "excitement" than a level IV.

It also depends on the person.

95% of my shifts in the ER are boring and monotonous (but very busy). I would say over 3/4 of the patients do not even need to be in the ER, but that is another topic entirely. The most exciting part of most of my shifts is when I clock out. Someone else could work the exact same shift as me and get a total rush.

But then again, I did EMS for 16 years (which was mostly boring, routine calls).

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Depending on the area, the community you serve and the level of care the ER provides, you can see "action"; you can have rooms filled with sick people boarding with constant monitoring, then find yourself rolling out with 2-3 traumas rolling in, where it is all hands on deck, then managing to keep monitoring your other pts while managing their emotional dissatisfaction when they have to wait...

A lot of what happens in an ER is level of care, flow, decision making; I spend more time educating than anything else, whether the pt is a high acuity (Level I) pt to the lowest acuity (Level 5) pt; guiding the process to help the pt and family be informed and help manage the psychosocial aspect-it works MOST of the time.

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Specializes in Emergency Department, ICU.

But then again, I did EMS for 16 years (which was mostly boring, routine calls).

I think this hits the nail on the head. I think the misconception is that being a Paramedic is an "Adrenaline rush". Those 95% of ER patients that come in by ambulance that should have gone to their PCP? They make up 95% of our EMS calls. Get what I'm saying?

Depending on where you live, you may actually see more "exciting"/adrenaline scenarios in the ER than you will on a truck, because instead of being 1 out of however many medic units on the road, you may be the only ER destination... but the reverse could also be true- you may work in a city where you don't get all the traumas because you end up in an ER that isn't trauma center designated.

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