ED after ICU?

FNKA · Apr 26, 2018

Hey,

thanks for your long reply. I really appreciate your input. The reason why I had so many preceptors and the reason I thought it was unsafe was because the unit lost ~10 experienced nurses in 6 months and hired 40 new grads. I don't think I was ready to be a new nurse surrounded by nearly just as many inexperienced people like me.

Although my orientation period was long, I didnt get the advantage of building up my skills seeing as each time I had a new preceptor, I would have to restart with the trust building and skill proofing. By the time we developed a common ground, I would have a new preceptor again.

I would say I'm a big self motivator; however, I'll acknowledge that I have my faults too. I dont stand up for myself when I should and tend to get walked over at times. I think those attributes are some that kind of scare me away from ED.

Thank you again for your help, input, and advice :)

NuGuyNurse2b · Apr 27, 2018

It sounds like you were in a poorly ran unit or even entire hospital. I worked on a unit where within the first 6 months I saw 8 nurses resign. So it could be that it's not you.

With that said, i transitioned to the ER after about a year and a half of med surg and I'm currently surviving. I wouldn't say i'm flourishing but i'm not running away yet. some of my classmates from my orientation class have already left. so why did they leave? the acuity can be very high and the management can often be lacking. I've had days where i have had more patients than I should; our techs are hiding; I have no supplies and the drs are yelling at me. So what I had to do was work on prioritizing - it's literally NCLEX in real life - you can't bend the laws of space and physics - you're only in one place at one time seeing one patient. The ABC's, critical thinking and being fast on your feet are what will get you through the day. There are more days than I want where I'm missing lunch and barely used the bathroom.

Medic_Murse, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 27, 2018

As someone that has worked/lived (it feels like at some points) in an ER for 6 years, I'll say this....If that's where you are wanting to transition to, you better bring your A game. ER nurses have no problem training newbies, but they don't want to hand hold them because at the drop of a hat, the entire unit can turn to sh*t. It's fast paced, chaotic, and nothing ever makes sense. You could be that nurse that continuously gets screwed with two septic patients, a MI, and a jackass father that is continuously coming up to the nursing station demanding to see a Dr. because they've been waiting there FOREVER (by forever, I mean all of 15 mins). On really bad days, you'll have all four of those patients plus a hall patient that is probably drug seeking, thrashing about on the cot screaming in pain because their pain is 100/10, even though they were at [insert name] Medical center an hour ago for the same reason and already given 2 of morphine and 1 of dilaudid over there.

Not trying to scare you, just trying to give you a realization of what you're signing up for if you go into an ED. It take a certain amount of crazy to put up with the amount of crazy you'll be dealing with.

chulada77, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN · Apr 28, 2018

The ED is known for overworked, understaffed and few resources so if chaos and lack of support was an issue before then the ED might be a struggle. I don't have ICU experience so can only speak on ED. In both places you gotta be comfortable in your skin and be confident.