UC San Diego Emergency Department Nursing Certificate

rhnurse3 · Aug 2, 2014

Looning at the same program am located in Texas please let me know if you hear anything.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2014

I just looked this up, this looks great! Can the preceptorship be done outside of California? Maybe I'll do it while I am on a travel nurse assignment there, I am already licensed in the state.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

megamiepona · Mar 31, 2015

I know this is an old posting but I'm also looking into this certificate program. Does anyone have any experience with it?

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2015

Obviously the people that pursue this certificate are not on allnurses. I'm sure it's popular enough for them to keep offering courses every quarter. I'm still hoping someone replies.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Aug 26, 2015

Since I am quite eager to change my specialty next year to ED nursing, I have decided to bite the bullet and begin this certificate program. I have just enrolled in the first online course and it starts next month. Seems quite interesting and reasonable, and I have to do continuing education anyway so I might as well kill 2 birds with one stone. I will keep you all posted on how it goes.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2016

Wanted to post an update to this thread. Since writing my last post I successfully completed the two online courses for this certificate program. I will soon begin the process of seeking a mentor for my preceptorship, the last requirement for the certificate which is 60 hours in an ER. I am hoping to arrange this at the ER at my next assignment (I am a travel nurse and work currently in telemetry/stepdown).

The courses are taught by an experienced nurse in San Diego. They consist of pre-recorded lectures (with Powerpoints) posted on Blackboard from a previous live version of the course. Each course has five or 6 lengthy lectures covering a variety of topics and conditions that can be encountered in an ER. Although some of the information will seem repetitive from what you may have learned in nursing school, the lecturer injects anecdotes and tips from her vast experience which many will find good learning. Along with the lectures are 5 assignments in each course which must be submitted to the lecturer for grading (she is good with getting your assignments back quickly, graded and with comments). The assignments consist of case studies, multiple choice exams or short essay answers. They are not immensely difficult but by the same token they do require some thought to complete. Along with the lessons and assignments is a discussion board, which to be honest was not used much at all to interact with other students during the course, except to introduce ourselves at the beginning. Outside of that, I felt like I was pretty much on my own with the learning with no interaction with other students. That is probably the one disappointing part of the whole experience. The lecturer however was very responsive to questions during the course.

The courses are offered every quarter so it is possible to start the course sequence during any of the four per year. The preceptorship from my understanding does not need to start with a quarter, it can start anytime as it is arranged separately from coursework. You are also required to complete the requirements of the certificate within 5 years of filing your intention to pursue the certificate.

I have yet to start the actual process of finding my preceptor. I have been sent the paperwork required and will have to likely wait until I am on site to speak to ER staff in person at my next hospital. If I were in San Diego, I would likely have had an easier time finding a preceptor as I am sure many have completed their preceptorships at the UCSD Medical Center. I however am on the East Coast and not sure the program has enough ties outside of California to assist me with locating one.

This certificate is not something that is required or guarantees to get a job in the ER of course. I decided to embark on it on my own just to have as something on my resume so that my future employers can see that I am serious about transitioning to the ER as an experienced nurse. I also learned many things along the way, so in that respect it was worth the time, money and effort I put into it. The coursework also offers a generous amount of CE credit, so that was also a plus towards the RN licenses I have that require them.

I will update further on my progress as things get rolling, especially with regards to how my preceptorship goes and whether or not the certificate was a plus to have on my resume in landing my first permanent ER job.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2016

It has been about 6 months since my last post, so I thought I'd write a little update. I am not even sure if anyone is following my thread but the info I am sure is good for anyone who chooses to look for it later.

So as of right now, I have started the ED preceptorship at the same hospital at which I am currently completing my travel assignment (I hesitate to post the name of the hospital where I am at this time due to anonymity, but what I can say is that it is one of the top 10 hospitals in the USA based on US News and World Reports). My current hospital did not have an existing relationship with UCSD to allow their students to do preceptorships there, so I had to go through a little red tape to make this happen.

I started the process by contacting the nurse educator of the ED, who in turn referred me to someone else, specifically someone whose job is to arrange student externships and clinical experiences. She was spot on the person I needed to speak to. She explained to me what was needed to establish a relationship with the hospital and the school. She forwarded me the information and I in turn sent it to UCSD. They already knew what to do with the information, having already done this with other hospitals, so as far as my legwork this was done. My only problem was that I discovered that this process would take about 12 weeks (!!!) to complete, and was told that their affiliated school's nursing students would take priority in clinical placement before I would. I understood that. So what I ended up doing was extending my travel assignment another 3 months so I could accommodate simultaneous preceptorship and work. It was a success.

I was later informed by mid-summer that I was able to start in late August (after all the nursing students completed their summer externships) and was given the name of my preceptor. She and I got in contact and arranged a schedule around her. The beauty of the 60 hours is that I can complete them in five 12h shifts. I have already completed one shift with her, and tomorrow will be my next. As long as I complete them before I leave (but according to UCSD, complete before the current quarter ends in Dec), I am good. So far, the one shift has demonstrated to me that I am on the right track in choosing this specialty. I really enjoy the dynamic and the fervor of the ED and I am sure I will enjoy working in one in the future.

BTW, I must make mention that I am happy to report that I have ALREADY secured a full-time RN job in an ER back home! This will start 2 weeks after I leave my current assignment. I have been blessed to have gotten a job even before I totally earned the certificate. They were actually impressed that I was pursuing this certificate as it shows that I was committed to ED nursing and that it shows my eagerness for advancement and learning. So even though I have not fully earned the certificate yet, I believe it served the purpose I intended it for, and that makes the cost worth it to me in this competitive environment.

In my next post later on, I will talk about what I have to do paperwise to complete my preceptorship aside from attending the 60 hours.

SeaH20RN, BSN · Sep 18, 2016

congrats! thanks for the update. what experience did you have previously? Good luck in the ER keep us posted.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2017

I can't believe it has been a year since my last post. A lot has transpired since then so I will briefly update:

I completed my 60-hr preceptorship at a major trauma hospital and it went very well. All that was required was documentation of my having participated in certain procedures (preceptor signoffs on a form) and I had to submit journal entries on each of my shifts (which were about 5 shifts of 12 hours each). In addition, I had to submit a 50 question multiple choice final exam which did not seem too hard but was based on info I would have learned in the ER. A month later, I received a very nice embossed completion certificate which is now in my portfolio. Done!!

I started working in a different ER back home sometime after that (job I had obtained before finishing up the certificate) -- and I resigned at my 90-day evaluation (!!!). This happened NOT because I did not like the ER, I actually liked it. But it turns out I was at a horrible hospital with a horrible orientation and a much more horrible preceptor who threw me under the bus based on misinformation. I decided I could not stay in that environment, I am too valuable a nurse to be trashed like that. Unfortunately, this was not evident in the interview and had I even known this at the beginning I would have gone elsewhere. So I returned to travel nursing and ended up taking an assignment ironically in ED holding. I enjoyed my time there and moved on to another assignment.

So in sum, I remain interested in ED nursing though I am now trying to be very careful where I choose to continue that specialty. I have since become quite interested in ICU so I am also considering that route. So I am at a crossroads in my career.

However, I don't regret taking the course because the experience is invaluable and shows a lot of personal initiative. It remains on my resume and I am proud of that! I do recommend this course to anyone interested in entering the ER as an experienced nurse.

The End!

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2017

congrats! thanks for the update. what experience did you have previously? Good luck in the ER keep us posted.

Thanks! I was a pcu/tele nurse for 4 years at the time I finished the course (about 3 years when I started). You probably read my last update above so that is what has transpired since. Good luck to you too!

KrysyRN, BSN · Jan 2, 2018

Thank you so much for all of your updates. I am considering working in the ER and have been reading posts on how to prepare. You've answered so many of my questions. Much appreciated.