ED? or Med-Surg Experience?

[TLJax]

I'm a second year med-surg-tele nurse (RN) considering a transfer to the ED. Should I continue to get some more confidence and experience in med-surg nursing before I transfer, or just jump in? My hospital has what I am told is a fairly extensive reorientation (several weeks), but I'm getting mixed signals. Our ED serves a major southern urban population. I'm looking for advice either way and descriptive explanations for your opinions. Thanks in advance!

[JKL33]

Either thing could be okay/good. Self-assessment (along with considering others' past and present feedback) is in order: Have things come together for you well on med-surg or are you still spending time struggling? How about organization? Multi-tasking? Assessments? Hard skills? Interpersonal stuff? Take honest stock of your situation in order to make the best decision for yourself.

One of the other things worth major consideration is the ED orientation. I'm sorry to tell you, 4 weeks is no where near extensive. There are people here and there (self included) who could tell you about the "few shifts" they/we were oriented in the ED after significant other experience. Believe me when I say that is not commonly successful, especially as a newer RN. At the end of 4 weeks a lot of people are starting to just get comfortable with low- (and some medium-risk ED patients). However with regard to all of that, no two people are the same, and these are my observations only - I share them because I hate to hear of people failing before they even had a chance; they were set up for failure by not being allowed proper orientation. The ED is no joke. :) I don't know if there's any kind of consensus here about what a proper orientation length is, but I would estimate that 8+ weeks is a lot closer to what you should advocate for yourself.

Best wishes ~

[NuGuyNurse2b]

Some people are made for the ED and some aren't, if you feel you're up to the challenge, I say go for it. I was in your shoes, I never wanted to be MS but as a new grad I wasn't getting any open doors to the ED so I stayed for 1 year and then made the move, never looked back.

[amzyRN]

4 weeks is not enough orientation. I had years of experience as a floor nurse and got up to 12 weeks. I took 10 weeks. Do what you enjoy most. Life is too short to do otherwise. If you like variety, chaos, and uncertainty the ED is likely for you. No two shifts will be the same. I would never go back to the floor. I like being able to touch as many lives as possible and occasionally I get to assist in saving a life that I will remember forever.

[TLJax]

Thanks for the feedback. I submitted my application, was chosen for the position, and have been in the E.D. for three weeks. It's scary. It's fast. But it feels like I could be at home here. I'm glad I went for it.

[JKL33]

That's wonderful! Glad it is feeling like a good choice so far.

Continue to advocate for the best orientation you can get out of the deal. Early on, some of the large variety of tasks and the running around can be all-consuming, so make sure you are allowed time to get a grasp on the overall flow and process of evaluating patients. Try not to evaluate your progress based on an ability to be a tasker. I always hope that people are given the opportunity to really understand patients' overall pictures (in addition to being able to do the things that move patients through...).

Best of luck - give us another update when you can ~

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

On 3/13/2019 at 7:09 PM, TLJax said:

Thanks for the feedback. I submitted my application, was chosen for the position, and have been in the E.D. for three weeks. It's scary. It's fast. But it feels like I could be at home here. I'm glad I went for it.

Congrats!!! ?