Attempting to become an RN

[dracromin]

Hello everybody and thanks for taking the time to read this. I have recently decided to go back to school to get my ASN. Now I should say ahead of time; I want to be an ER RN because I want to help people, I want a challenge and I want to work in a fast-paced hospital environment. As far as I've researched an ER RN would suit me (if I am wrong please let me know). Everybody I've talked to say that RNs are ass-wipers and don't get paid enough and that the job outlook in Florida (Sarasota) is not good, basically that I shouldn't be going for it.

If anyone can shed some light on your experiences of an ER RN. Are there any other necessary steps to take to becoming an ER RN? Is there any experience needed to start working as an RN / ER-RN? Any advice for me?

Thank you all.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

When I worked med-surg, I was one of those "privileged few" (lol at the idea of it being a privilege!!) who could float to ICU and ED.

Ass-wiping? Every unit of every hospital, everywhere. Even ambulatory requires cleanups. ED? I once got the "privilege" of cleaning up an APS patient who was quite literally caked in feces: old, new, you name it.

But anyone who focuses on the "wiping butt" part of the job instead of the "I was a nurse" part of the job is missing the point, I believe.

I found the ED fast paced, manic. And I also found it slow as molasses....Same unit, different day. Never can tell. I've had ICU shifts where I just about ran from patient to patient, standing for hours at a time at the bedside doing various cares, meds, etc. I've also had those shifts where I got enough downtime to check out what was going on on AllNurses

Whether you would like the ER is so SO soSOOOO far out of the real question, it isn't funny: you have to decide if you'd like NURSING, period, as we oftentimes start out or end up nowhere NEAR where we thought we'd be. Some areas in some hospitals require specified lengths of experience before you'd even be considered for the area you'd want. I've seen new grads enter ED and ICU and I've seen it where they were told "come back in a couple of years and we'll see".

You will probably change your mind more than once over the course of your nursing schooling, as you move through the different areas of the hospital, experience/witness different environments.

If you want to be a NURSE, then go for it. If you only want to do one kind of nursing....you might want to reconsider.