[gam3rchic]

Hey all,

I'm not an ER nurse (yet) but I've been reading these posts and learning a lot about ER life for a while now. I've been a nurse for about 2 years now and have recently moved and am looking for a new job. I have an interview coming up for an emergency room which is a level 1 trauma center and is a HUGE center (48,000 square feet big!). Anyways, I guess I'm just posting for encouragement b/c I'm really nervous! and kinda scared too to work in ER.

When I first was in nursing school, I wanted to only do ER, but I got away from that and decided to do a year of telemetry/step-down before I did anything, but then I moved to ICU instead for a bit (was actually bored in ICU b/c it was for a small community hospital and on night-turn, a lot of times, we didn't do a lot) and have had trouble finding a field of nursing I enjoy since then. Well, now I'm gonna try what I wanted to do in the first place to see if it is a good fit for me.

From reading posts, I guess 4-6 weeks is a good length for orientation and no more than 1 nurse to 4 patients ratio, so I'll see how this hospital does things. Anyways, wish me luck and if anyone can think of anything extra I should know or any words of advice, lemme know! Thanks!

[JulieRN07]

Hello! Just wanted to wish you luck with your interview! I recently had a job offer in a level one trauma center as well. It is such a great opportunity for knowledge and experiance because you will see it all! I've heard you either absolutely love it or hate it. You'll be great!

[billsnurse]

Hi there,

Your background sounds like mine. I am starting a new job in a level 2 ER soon. I am nervous and excited all at the same time. I figured I will give it 100% for a year and hope I have found my niche or else I will move on. I have not been too happy with my job choice so far and I have always been attracted to the ER. After two years at the bedside I am afraid to admit that my IV sticks are still about 50/50. I am hoping with all the experience that will be thrown at me I can keep up and improve my skills.
Good luck to you.

[loricatus]

The hardest part of the transition is getting away from that intense patient focus you must do in the ICU (and the IV starts). What you have going for you is that you can take over on the critical patients and teach the long time ED nurses a few things, know what to look for before they actually turn critical, make independent judgements prior to the doc's examination, communicate appropriately to the medical staff & handle a code with minimal difficulty. Although many think that med-surg nurses are best to transition into the ED, I think that the juggling act will come with time, but the critical care component does not come as easily. Keep a good cheat sheet to manage your patient load and don't let them convince you that the best practice for IV starts are on the dehydrated little old ladies, the chemo patients, the obese and HD patients (just tell them to call the IV team and let you start up the ones with the veins you can see across the room).

Good Luck to you. In the right place, the ED can be a fantastic place to work.

[gam3rchic]

Thanks all for the encouragement....I've heard that it takes at least a year to get anywhere comfortable with ER so I figure I should give it at least that long to see if I like it.

As far as IVs go, that's not one of the things I'm nervous about! I worked as a phlebotomist before I was a nurse and actually worked at a plasma center and am used to putting big needles into people (15 gauge anyone?). The part I'm worried about, as one poster said, is the juggling act. I know prioritization isn't my strongest point....I'm not terrible at it, but not the best either. Sometimes I get soooo caught up on stuff and when I start getting swamped, I get frustrated because I'm the kind of person to like to have EVERYTHING done and caught up....I hate being behind!!! I've gotten better at realizing that sometimes I'll never be caught up and accept it, but I'm working on it! On the other hand, nurses have told me that I'm a very confident nurse...and I am....if I'm ever unsure of something, I get help and ask questions...otherwise, I do my thing!

Anyways, I'm rambling again . Interview is in a couple days....I'll let y'all know how it goes!