Emergency Nurses, what is it about ER that you love?

CritterLover, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

the lack of routine. when i worked in icu, i had a very set routine...come in, get report, quickly check the essentials on my patients, check the charts, assess my patients, give meds, see visitors, bathe my patients, give meds.....i get board easily, and there were nights when i would walk in and think "here i go again."

in the er, i come in, get report, and then figure out what i need to do next. who needs my attention first? is there something pressing?

the pita patients (and their family members) arn't my problem for long (though we do have holdovers on occasion, we usually get beds by the end of the night......and it is practically unheard of for us to come in the next night and find them still there).

not having to scramble to get ahold of a doc when my patient starts crashing....they are closer than a phone call.

carachel2 · Nov 14, 2006

The PITA patients (and their family members) arn't my problem for long (Though we do have holdovers on occasion, we usually get beds by the end of the night......and it is practically unheard of for us to come in the next night and find them still there).
Not having to scramble to get ahold of a doc when my patient starts crashing....they are closer than a phone call.

Those are the top things I love as well. PLUS, we get to do all the fun stuff and let the floor worry about the hard stuff: baths, ambulation, DISCHARGE PLANNING. !

TouchstoneRN · Nov 14, 2006

I love everything the reply above states plus I get to use everyone of my nursing skills from dropping a NGT to administering CC meds during a code. I feel more autonomous in the ER but I am never alone...it is never boring

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

Its a lot of fun, always has been and always will be. The Saves, The Losses, The Tragedies, The Triumphs. Lots of time off to play golf.

UKRNinUSA, RN · Nov 14, 2006

I like the teamwork -the sense that we're all in this together, the autonomy, but number one is that I get to exercise my warped sense of humor every time I work.

carachel2 · Nov 14, 2006

I wanted to also add that one of the things I love is that you aren't expected to "stay and get it done." If you bring a patient back at 6:50 pm, you do what you can get done until 7 pm and shift change...and no one expects you to stay and do it all before you hand the patient off.

I worked CCU for a number of years and if you got a new admit to the unit at 6:45 pm the prevailing attitude was that it was YOUR patient and YOU received them and you had better stay and do all of the initial admit orders and the admit assessment. There was no "hand off" like in a relay race.

Jen2 · Nov 15, 2006

Using every single nursing skill on every single patient age and population most people only read about in nursing books. I learn new things every day. My co-workers are my family. The attendings depend on us to straighten out the residents, and stick up for us 99% of the time. Knowing that my nursing judgement is respected. If I tell a doc that a patient needs a tube. They get a tube. Not having to care for the same patient with the same condition day in and day out. Figuring out what is wrong with my patient before they ever get a MD admitting DX. I like to see if I am right or not. The fact that I can set at the triage window and look at the patient walking from the parking lot and say, "Thats a lady partsl bleed", and be right 90% of the time before the patient even hits the door.

Kidrn911 · Nov 15, 2006

I swear I have AADD, I can't stand having the same patient all night. Treat them and street them.

Actually it is variety,

TennNurse · Nov 15, 2006

Yes! To all of that! This is why we all end up here. TouchstoneRN hit the nail right on the head. We have so much more autonomy than the nurses on the floors (one of the reasons I left the floor) but we are never alone. Our ER always has 2 MDs, one of whom does peds, and from 11-11 there's another one in fast track. Our fellow nurses may be dealing with anything from a PE to the anxious parents of a healthy new baby, so often there's lots of help from there. The ADD tendency to immediately direct your attention somewhere else is a highly prized asset.

When we don't know something, we are immediately drawn in and taught by MDs and nurses who take pleasure in sharing their knowledge. When we know exactly what to do, we are patted on the back. All around us are nurses of every specialty- ICU, L&D, urology, cardiology, peds, and several new NPs who come play with us a couple of times a month. If you don't know something, there is someone in spitting distance who does. And within the week that nurse will come back to you for your opinion based on your unique experience, or your outstanding IV-starting skills. (Expect to be called to the floors to start IVs on difficult patients.)

When EMS calls with a code, everyone who can tidies up their pts and goes to the resus room to help moving out the pt currently in it, locate the MD, get paper for charting, open the crash cart, lay out supplies, calls RT. Losses bring sympathy, saves earn you a pat on the back, including one from the MD.

Maybe when I am old and arthritic and crave calm and order, I'll consider working somewhere else. For now, this is home, my co-workers are family (with the occasional black sheep) and I wouldn't hang my stethoscope anywhere else.

jeb47 · Dec 7, 2006

Yes to all of above, but as to getting old and arthritic a resounding no!!!

I'm close to 60 and still get off on the "adrenaline rush" of never knowing whats next.

Trauma Columnist · Dec 7, 2006

Jeb47 - thanks for this one! I am 48 now, worked 10 years in a level one ER (quit in July) and recently took an advanced practice position (no APN positions in the ER).

At any rate - I loved the ER for the variety - never knowing what was coming through the door.