Education Advice for new ED nurse

[ruralgirl08]

Hi,

I am a novice nurse, I have been nursing for close to a year with full-time expereince in Medicine/Surgery and just recently started with telemetry. I did my final nursing school consolidation in a large hospital ICU.

I currently live out in the country, and just started working at a vey tiny rural hospital. We have under 20 beds, and have an ED. In a few months I will be training in the ED. I really want to increase my knowledge base as we do not have the same supports as in a large centre. I was thinking about persuing an Emergency Nursing certificate, through a community college. Regardless, I will for sure be taking my TNCC, ENPC (I have my ACLS & am taking a Triage course). The certificate basically covers everything in the ENA textbooks, and prepares you to write the certification exam. (I am also from Canada, so I would have to wait a few years before I can even qualify to write the certification test.)

In regards to increasing my knowledge base and preparing for the future, would I be better off continuing with this Emergency Certificate? Or should I be pursuing a Critical Care Nursing Certificate (more geared to an ICU nurses) and still take all my ENA recomended Emergency courses?

I realize not everyone needs to take extra education through a community college, but we are so small we don't get as much inhouse training, as large hospitals.

In our hospital we get alot of the walking wounded, alot of cardiac, and the occasional trauma (MVC).

Any advice?

thanks

[scrubsnhugsRN]

Hi Ruralgirl!

Well I cant tell you how much your story is simular to mine!

I too work in a very rural ER the big difference though is that my little ER serves some of the surrounding villiages so we get alot of medivacs in.

I work in a Med/Surg unit for 7 months (after passing my NCLEX) before transfering to the ED which had been my life long dream.

I was very lucky to have recieved a 6 weeks preceptorship through a larger hospital with an experienced ED nurse of 25 years, she was a fabulous resource to me and taught me alot of the tricks of the trade, how to properly triage based on the 5 level triage system etc.

Rural nursing is a tricky thing and I believe a little underappreciated

I am the one and only nurse in the ED. I havent any CNA or Ward clerk. I draw my own labs and mix my own drugs etc....and my ED is always feast or famine.

My advice is to get your CEN, and definitely take your TNCC. TNCC for me was so awesome! I think you will love it too because it gives you a great foundation of how to top to bottom assess your critical patients.

If your ED has an experienced nurse lean on them!

Critical care is a fabulous place to learn many things especially drugs, critical drips etc, however I have found that a CCU enviroment is very structured (as it should be) while the ER is more flexible.

After you work in your ER you will get better at knowing what you are seeing!

It takes some time for that to happen but it will all fall into place.

Good luck to you and hope you have a fab time in the ED!

[scrubsnhugsRN]

Oh I forgot to mention that if you wish to get your CCRN certificate, I believe that you must have 2 years Critical care experience under your belt before you take it. However if you wish to take your CEN, there arent any requirements for previous experience.

[ruralgirl08]

That a really good orientation idea, I am thinking I should ask to be orientated in the larger sister hospital (even if it's on my own time), just for some more ED experience. As for the ED/Critical care certificates, I think I will just pursue strictly the main ED courses (TNCC, ENPC, ect.,) and take some of the community college continuing education courses, (just to help me prep for eventually writing the certification exam.) Thanks for your advice.