Does it feel to everyone else that many newer nurses glamourize the ER and ICU?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm curious. Most of the people I went to school with want to be ICU or ER nurses. They've never worked in the ICU or the ER but that's all they want to do. I told one girl who refused to work anywhere else other than ICU to go into a nursing home if she needs a job. She refused it and it took her a few months to finally go into a nursing home. She quit after a month because of her standards. It's the same thing when it comes to med surg and psych nursing. It feels like many newer nurses look down upon any other nurses other than ER and ICU.

Another girl I know said she's wanted to work as a psych nurse forever, but when she was offered the ER position and psych position she took the ER position. I asked her why she chose ER over psych and she said she knows ER better. Now she complains about the work load from a trauma 2 hospital. I asked her why she didn't just transfer into psych since it's what she wanted and she didn't really give me a concrete answer just basically that she's stuck.

Does it feel that way to anyone else? When it comes to ER/ICU it feels like they only respect those specialties. Thanks!

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
1 hour ago, Davey Do said:

 

Belinda worked med/surg and I worked psych at Wrongway. One night I told Belinda's daughter, "We have to go to work now,  to save lives and fight the demons of mental illness!"

Thanks for reminding me to do my kegels.

4 Votes
20 hours ago, Sour Lemon said:

And every new nurse I meet now wants to be an NP, a CRNA, or the #1 Mega Supreme Ruler of the Universe.

But they cannot be the #1 Mega Supreme Ruler of the Universe.  I am the #1 Mega Supreme Ruler of the Universe!  My wife even told me I am allowed to say that...just not in her presence.

9 Votes
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

those two, plus L&D, have always been the most desired spots, I feel. 

Personally, y'all can have them ?

 

5 Votes
Specializes in ER, Pre-Op, PACU.

I started in the ER not because I thought it was “glamorous” but because it was my comfort level. I was a paramedic prior to becoming a nurse so I think I was actually afraid to do another nursing specialty starting out. I knew emergencies as a paramedic.....I knew it would be an easier transition to the ED than the floors or ICU or OR. 

9 Votes
Specializes in ED, med-surg, peri op.

They seem exciting at first, but most people who go into those specialties never stay. a lot of people get annoyed/bored/burnt out. 

as a current ER nurse, I’m glad for the opportunities that it provides for my future. But no way will I be staying. I’m ready for a Monday-Friday job! Long term I plan on going rural. 

6 Votes
Specializes in Peds ED.

When I was in school a lot of folks wanted ED, ICU or peds. I had many classmates though who wanted to do med surg or psych. I had many classmates who were also not sure where they wanted to work. There’s definitely more cultural exposure to what nurses in the ICU and ED do.

When I graduated, I knew I wanted to work in the ED but the job market was only just rebounding from a really bad few years for new grads so I applied everywhere and had one job offer in a peds ED. I left after just under 2 years to get experience in an adult er because I was worried about getting pigeon-holed in peds and lasted 5 months before going back to peds in med surg. I had had zero interest in peds in school and thought it was kinda soft and fluffy, but it turns out to be what I love. I’ve been back in peds er nursing since and it’s where I plan to stay for the foreseeable future, and I never plan to leave peds. I often wonder if I’d have left ED nursing entirely if I’d started out in an adult er.

 

7 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.

I think it depends on a lot of things. One, you have a bunch of medical shows now and Im sure the ICU and ER are glamorized from that. Secondly, everyone in nursing school sees how MS floors are abused (lack of appropriate staffing), pt's treating RN's like servants and are like "nope". I think it also depends on the person. Some people can handle the stress and business that comes with ER and ICU. ICU looks easy at first because you "only have 1-2 pt's" until you see what happens when stuff starts going downhill. 

I've always been a step-down RN. It's perfect for me because it isn't MS or ICU. You get to do stuff that regular floors don't do and if stuff starts getting hairy it's onto the ICU. Unfortunately I've never worked on a step-down with actual step-down ratios (3:1). 

If I were to ever go to ICU it would be so that I can learn, get experience, and then become eligible for future jobs down the line. If you haven't noticed a lot of procedural areas prefer ICU experience over floor experience. Unfortunately a lot of hospitals now have no problem training physicians but will not train nurses. They expect that you know how to handle drips, etc and only want to train you on the specific area (I.e. Cath lab, EP lab). I found it to be a slap in the face for me and my coworkers at my old hospital. We took their Cath and EP pt's yet the managers wouldn't hire us but would hire ER nurses? We could titrate nitro on that floor. Gimme some training and I could titrate the drips you want me to. 

7 Votes
Specializes in ER, Pre-Op, PACU.
9 hours ago, EDNURSE20 said:

They seem exciting at first, but most people who go into those specialties never stay. a lot of people get annoyed/bored/burnt out. 

as a current ER nurse, I’m glad for the opportunities that it provides for my future. But no way will I be staying. I’m ready for a Monday-Friday job! Long term I plan on going rural. 

Same! I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and the doors it opens to other jobs.....after working in the ER, ANY nursing job is easier than that. If I ever went back though, it would as a PRN....I don’t think I ever want to go back fulltime.

The comments in this thread have taken me out! ?

3 Votes

I can't even count how many people I've interviewed right of school who want to work in ICU because it's always been their dream job and you only have two patients so you have plenty of time to sit and look at charts. And I'm thinking I've got plenty of time too--to look at somebody's resume.

2 Votes

Well that didn't come out right. Meant somebody else's resume.

4 Votes
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

A lot of people are addicted to the adrenaline and they like the feeling of being "up" while working.  I was one of them and it suited me well until I was in my mid-50's and longed for something calmer.  That's the best thing about nursing - so much variety among specialties and their settings.

5 Votes
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