er tech vs pca-new to health care

[hopefulprayers1]

I posted this in the cna category but thought maybe this forum would be better appropriate:

Hi everyone!

I have 2 weeks left in my cna course and today I attended a job fair and was offered an interview with the med surg dept and the ed dept(level 4) will be contacting me on monday to set up an interview.

I understand both depts come with a wealth of knowledge but wanted to hear from your all. I have no experience and am transitioning into the healthcare field. I wanted to know which dept would be the greatest for me in terms of exp? The ed dept told me they'd train me to draw blood, place iv's, read ekgs, etc. med surg dept only told me about adls and rounding on pt every hour.

Looking for some insight. medsurg would hire me as a pca, the ed would hire me as a er tech/unit secretary.

[BabyGirl1979]

ER TECH! (Sorry for the yell, lol) I am currently trying to get a job as a pct in one of the local hospitals and I am concentrating on the ED. What they are offering is a wealth of knowledge. Not to say med surg is anything to sneeze at, but they are kinda apples and oranges.

[hopefulprayers1]

lol thanks! I love the ed for the fast paced environment and different emergencies and dealing with a variety of pts. I'm excited!

[BanannaFish]

Oh wow congrats! :) To be honest, I would personally choose the PCA role first and then see if you could later on transfer to the ED. The ED can be fast paced and overwhelming, and for someone who has never had any medical job experience, it might be a lot. If you truly believe you are a fast learner, you might be able to do just fine! I was a PCA for a disabled girl, then went to a hospital as a float PCA, and now I'm in the ER and I am very happy I have prior experience.

[hopefulprayers1]

Oh wow congrats! :) To be honest, I would personally choose the PCA role first and then see if you could later on transfer to the ED. The ED can be fast paced and overwhelming, and for someone who has never had any medical job experience, it might be a lot. If you truly believe you are a fast learner, you might be able to do just fine! I was a PCA for a disabled girl, then went to a hospital as a float PCA, and now I'm in the ER and I am very happy I have prior experience.

Thank you! That is true. I believe I'll be better prepared to handle the er when I get some exp under my belt. I was offered a job on med surg very close to my home and their ER needs an er tech prn. So I will be floating over to the er and learning as time goes on.