Did you always know that you wanted to do ED or did you stumble into it and find that you liked it.
#2
Where did you start out, ED or other (state where)?
I keep thinking in my head "I wanna go to ED", but then I think of flu season. I've heard in ED sometimes the nurse has ICU holds on top of the other pt's-that scares me. If I have ICU pt I only want 2 not ICU plus 2-3 other pt. What are your experiences during certain times and the year and how do you handle it?
I ALWAYS knew ED is where I was meant to be. Even when I was a little girl - WAY before I knew what it was really about. I just always had this "sixth sense" type of thing that drew me to the ER...no way to explain it other than it's really, truly my calling.
Started in ED.
I'm one of those people that is very calm under pressure, though. To me, it kind of sounds like maybe you're not suited for ER at the moment, but that's hard to really assess through a medium such as this. Who knows, maybe after some non-ER experience you'll be totally perfect for the ED.
We're often very full with obs pts. So we have 8-12 obs beds for holds from ICU/med. We also have several "hall" beds/chairs for obs/trauma overflow. It gets pretty chaotic when you have upwards of 40 pts with as little as 3-4 nurses.
Did I always know? Yes. I always was most intrigued by ER nursing. I loved the broad range of knowledge it required. I loved the idea of being able to handle emergencies ranging in acuity from minor to major. I even knew the exact hospital I wanted to work at. I think a lot of times its just in your blood, you just know, and it fits.
Where did I start? M/S Telemetry x 2 years before moving into the ED. New grad ER positions weren't available after graduation so I took some advice from a couple nurses and got a couple years under my belt and got a good foundation built...granted the wait about killed me. I couldn't wait to get off the floors! So not for me! By the time I transitioned into the ER it was smooth sailing. I think it would've been a much more jolting experience to go straight into the ED from the get-go since I didn't have the background of working as a tech or anything beforehand. Having the years of floor experience behind me, I pretty much just had to learn the critical care side of the ED, the rest I already knew.
I love the ER. Absolutely love it. I love learning, pushing myself, challenging myself. Theres something alluring and exciting to me about being packed to the rafters with patients, total divert, traumas rolling in, complete controlled chaos! Realizing how much you really can handle. Its a rush, exillerating, and absolutely exhausting... love it.
I am sort of an oddball in the pack. Never had any interest whatsoever in ER. Got shuffled into it as a new grad. I remember taking one look at the trauma room on my first day and thinking "ohhhhhh shhhheeeeit". I felt COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone. Couldn't stop thinking "What have I gotten myself into?"
However, that's what I think made it great. Talk about a confidence builder! You go from feeling like you can handle nothing to feeling like you can handle ANYTHING. Three years later I can't really picture myself doing any other type of nursing. Its addictive.
If you are interested in doing ER, I would not shy away from it just because, being new to it, you are intimidated by ICU patients in the ER. You will soon find that the ER is about prioritizing and teamwork...and it all works itself out somehow.
P.S. For me the most annoying time of year is during stretches of winter when all the GI bugs hit. Sometimes I don't think I can take one more puking pooping person.
Did you always know that you wanted to do ED or did you stumble into it and find that you liked it.
#2
Where did you start out, ED or other (state where)?
I keep thinking in my head "I wanna go to ED", but then I think of flu season. I've heard in ED sometimes the nurse has ICU holds on top of the other pt's-that scares me. If I have ICU pt I only want 2 not ICU plus 2-3 other pt. What are your experiences during certain times and the year and how do you handle it?
are you a nurse now? I knew I wanted to be a nurse since I was on the playground as a Kindergartner and a boy got a bloody nose. I pinched it for him and made sure the teacher got there. I started out in a rural ER in NC, now in a huge one in Massachusetts. There are many things that scare me, flu is just added to the list. I can think of worse things, though. You handle it the best you can on a daily basis. Some days are good, some... not so much. You have to be flexible, able to prioritize, be compassionate, polite (should be, I should say!), efficient and quick. You either love the work, overall, or you don't. Just my thoughts.
Just to clarify-I get the whole "critical pt" thing there are citical pt in the ED. Take it fr. my standpoint as a floor RN; critical pt. comes in-ED stabilizes enough to go to ICU [i']at some point. [/i]Critical pt. needs various drips, needing various Q2hr monitoring and so forth-meaning 2 pt RN care MAX. I guess what I want to know is at what point is that ICU bound pt getting ICU type care (frequent monitoring, frequent interventions)-is it in the ED w/ the RN having 2-3 other critical pt. If so how do you do that. If ICU RN only have 2 pt. and ED does not-help fill in the blanks here.
as for the 2 patient MAX thing with critical patients. Haaaaaaa!!! You have to roll with it and suck it up when you are amidst the worst. You WILL get more than one critical patient with a chronic back pain patient screaming for pain meds. Again, prioritizing is key - having the charge RN field the crap for you helps too. =)
MobileNurseSara
46 Posts
I ALWAYS knew ED is where I was meant to be. Even when I was a little girl - WAY before I knew what it was really about. I just always had this "sixth sense" type of thing that drew me to the ER...no way to explain it other than it's really, truly my calling.
Started in ED.
I'm one of those people that is very calm under pressure, though. To me, it kind of sounds like maybe you're not suited for ER at the moment, but that's hard to really assess through a medium such as this. Who knows, maybe after some non-ER experience you'll be totally perfect for the ED.
We're often very full with obs pts. So we have 8-12 obs beds for holds from ICU/med. We also have several "hall" beds/chairs for obs/trauma overflow. It gets pretty chaotic when you have upwards of 40 pts with as little as 3-4 nurses.