[Happeetxn]

Howdy All,
Well I am making the big leap from cardiovascular med surg to the ED.

I have 1 year exp as an RN and have thoroughly enjoyed nursing as a career change. The main reason for going to the ED is because I believe that it will make me a better nurse, being exposed to a wide variety of illnesses and injuries, and learning how to treat them. I start the first week of Feb and I am pretty excited about the change. I have an orientation that lasts approx 6 weeks and then off on my own.

My biggest concern is staying healthy. I have a good friend who seemed to catch all kinds of bugs the first 6 months or so she worked there. She is a healthy person who exercises.

All pointers, guidance, and free advice gladly accepted. What did you find was a necessity to have in the ED equipment wise. I realize a stethoscope, scissors, penlight, are all a must. Anything else?

Thanks in advance,
Craig

[RNSacht]

I made the transition to ER nine months ago, I myself had 14 months experience as a new nurse on telemetry and finally decided to follow my dream to ER. Can I tell you how much I love, love, love it!!!!!! I use my palm pilot ALL the time, you are giving meds in the ED and there is no Pharmacy to check reactions, compatabilities, etc like on the floor and you are dispensing meds at a much faster rate. This is really the only extra equiptment that I would suggest. Send me a message any time, I luv to talk about my passion,.....ER!!!!!!!! Good Luck and congrats
Just thought I would share that I have truly been sick the last 2 months, as I type this I am drinking some Emergen C, I am desperate, I can only attribute this sickness to the recent move to ER. I can only hope I get healthy, I really have spent most of my 40 years healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Happeetxn]

Thanks for the response RNSacht. I'll keep you in mind when I have questions.
Being the Techno novice, who makes the palm pilot and what do they run $$ wise. I can see where it would be an invaluable tool to have for medications alone.
Thanks,
Craig

Never mind.....just found the forum on PDA's.

[bill4745]

Trauma shears, hemostats, calculator until you get a PDA. Eat-on-the-run food - fruit bars, peanuts,etc. I like aviator.com scrubs - many pockets, well-made and worth the price. Good luck with making the switch. You will love it or hate it. I learn something new every shift, it's never boring.

[SDS_RN]

I just started in the ER Nov 1st and I love it. I was a surgical and pediatrics nurse for 1 year before I started in the ER and I'm glad I made the switch. I love the fact that it's not monotonous and that you just never know what to expect. I just had the busiest day since being off orientation on Sun with 4-5 deep in the waiting room. It was go all day long it was stressful but yet exciting. I've ran across so many different things already and I've only been there for 2mo. I have learned so much since being there and I know now that I did make the right choice making the move. I'm now preping for my ACLS and TNCC so I'm looking forward to gaining more knowledge and skills to apply to my new area of nursing. Good luck to you and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.

[bigsyis]

Don't forget the importance of keeping your hands as clean as possible, don't touch your face, eyes, hands, or mouth without washing them, and you might dodge quite a few bugs. Simply because of the constant exposure to all forms of crud that you haven't usually encountered from peds right on up and down the spectrum of pts, your immune system has to learn to dodge a whole array of new germs and their mutations. You likely may have a few bouts of illness, but if you eat right, get enough rest, and take good care of yourself, maybe you won't. After a while you'll be one of the "oldtimers" chuckling at the newbies.
Good luck, and have fun! It is the best place to work, I think.

[d l a 666]

4 yrs in ER


but 60% good