ED RN travel placements-mostly low acuity assignments?

[cmcinty8136]

I am a certified ED nurse with 2.5 yrs experience in this area. I am interested in ED travel nursing, however, I am starting to get the impression that many hospitals utilize their travelers in ED obs units or low acuity areas. I really enjoy working with the more acute, unstable patient population and don't know that I am ready to give that up simply to satisfy my wanderlust.

Does anyone have any feedback regarding their own experiences (or friends/family) in ED travel assignments or working in an ED that uses travelers? Thanks in advance.

[DidiRN]

Moved to our Travel Nurse forum for best response :)

For the most part, our travelers get stuck with the lower acuity patients and the psych holds. This is partly because the rest of us also want the good stuff and partly because we're known commodities.

Some of the travelers who've been around awhile do get put into the higher acuity spots and treated more like the career staff.

[BARNgirl]

As an active ER traveler, I have learned that each facility's approach to utilizing us is different. One thing is for sure: in the end, it is up to the charge nurse to arbitrarily assign your rooms for the shift. Whatever your ideal ER patient population/skill is: trauma? triage?newborn IVs? geriatrics? pediatrics? psych? let the charge nurse and coworkers know that that is YOUR ZONE by MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE AS A TEAM MEMBER. Humbly prove yourself to be the resource person for this or that, and next thing you know, you will earn your coworkers trust and respect and find yourself caring for those you care best! For example, as a former Pedi ER staff nurse, I realize that most ER nurses are not comfortable starting IVs on newborns, so I keep my eyes open for opportunities to help whoever gets that challenge. Before the end of the shift, you are already identified as valuable in that arena, and the assignments magically follow. Even at a trauma hospital, sometimes they will let you be part of the trauma team when no other RN is suitable among their newest batch of new grads, but that circle is still the hardest to penetrate.

ER travel nursing and taking are of critical patients are not mutually exclusive concepts at all, as long as you prove yourself to the team before you are trusted with the sickest patients. Happy travels!

[Gabby-RN]

I work at a level 1 trauma center, the travelers at my hospital get a 4 room/patient assignment just like any other nurse. They are not assigned to triage or trauma. With that said, that does not mean they wont see a trauma - if there are more traumas than we have trauma rooms then the trauma goes wherever there is another empty room. Same goes for any level 1, If the traveler has 2 empty rooms or stable patients they would get the patient. I am not sure if the hospital I work at does this different or the same as other places but we definitely treat the travelers like regular staff aside from not assigning them to a trauma bay or triage.

[aamy]

I am on my 2nd travel assignment. I work ER also. My 1st assignment I worked mostly in fast-track, but floated to triage and the main ER as well. I didn't mind fast-track because I am well into my career and honestly have no desire for trauma or high acuity patients anymore. On my current assignment however, I, for the most part, get treated like regular staff. Occasionally I feel that I get dumped on, but not to the extent that I feel I need to complain. I think it just really depends on the facility.