ER NEwbie!!!!

Specialties Emergency

Published

Hello from the Hills!

I have just accepted my first position as an ER nurse and am excited and terrified at the same time. I have minimal ER experience...I precepted 60 hours in the busiest ER in the state and loved it.

Anyone have any good advice to give a soon to be graduate nurse (May 10, 2003) that will help me transition from the student thinking to the emergency nurse thinking.

I have a minimum 16 week orientation in a smaller rural hospital than I precepted in but am terrified that I will be swallowed whole by the expereinced nurses.

Any advice you can give me will be of great help.

Thanks and wish me luck as I venture into the jungle of the truly sick, whacked out and those just seeking attention.:eek:

That's a great idea....!!! Let's get a forum started for ER Newbies.... like us. I start on June 21st with orientation then enter the grueling training program. I'll email the webmaster....

I am a newbie also, I start in 3 weeks. Maybe we can start a new ER nurse support group. :chuckle I am almost as scared of the staff as I am of the learning curve ahead of me. I am going to try to just learn what I can and dodge the punches, surely they can't all be mean. I LOVE the ED so I know I will survive.

Good Luck to you guys!

Specializes in E.D and Tele.
That's a great idea....!!! Let's get a forum started for ER Newbies.... like us. I start on June 21st with orientation then enter the grueling training program. I'll email the webmaster....

Hi, I will be a new ER nurse starting the 6th of June. I will be working in THE busiest ER in Philadelphia, PA. I am sooooooooooooo scared! But I am excited too and determined to learn all I can. This very attitude is what got me hired. I was a med-surg nurse for about 8 months and got eaten alive. Every time I asked a question to a nurse working on my unit....I got the " Are you retarded look?" That got old and team work wasn't there. So I find myself ready to embark on the same adventure as all of you. I would love to join your group, it would be a tremendous asset if we all stuck together and helped one another. Strength in numbers! Let me know what I have to do. Thanks and Best of Luck to you! If your heart is in it, you WILL be sucessful! :) Bindy

that's awesome... I start my training on July 7th. I'm at a level II trauma ER in Colorado. I'm also quite overwhelmed, but the crew there is awesome and I feel like they basically drafted me. I was recruited. I emailed allnurses.com but haven't rec'd a reply about having a new post. So I guess we'll be using this one..... It sounds like your about 8 months ahead of me w/ med-surg experience. I've got a lot of psych and detox experience though. So how's philly?

Hi, I will be a new ER nurse starting the 6th of June. I will be working in THE busiest ER in Philadelphia, PA. I am sooooooooooooo scared! But I am excited too and determined to learn all I can. This very attitude is what got me hired. I was a med-surg nurse for about 8 months and got eaten alive. Every time I asked a question to a nurse working on my unit....I got the " Are you retarded look?" That got old and team work wasn't there. So I find myself ready to embark on the same adventure as all of you. I would love to join your group, it would be a tremendous asset if we all stuck together and helped one another. Strength in numbers! Let me know what I have to do. Thanks and Best of Luck to you! If your heart is in it, you WILL be sucessful! :) Bindy
Specializes in Pediatrics.

if you can, get a pocket pc or palm, load a drug guide on there and that is where i put all my notes, and download an RN notes or ER/critical care software for quick references. Its so much easier to have this all in your pocket if you need it...

Good luck!!

K~

AMEN TO THAT! :rotfl:

Me too! I start June 6th in a level 1 trauma center. I externed there last summer and when I went for my formal interview during my last semester of nurisng school the staff said, "All right, were getting ya just in time for diving season." Gotta love ER nurses, and I can't wait to be one.

I have a question for all of you that have palms. I really need to make that investment. What type of palm is best? What programs are good for EKG's, meds, etc? Is it hard to load things on them? I am completely computer iliterate, but I think this would be a great asset for me and really need to make the purchase. I just don't know where to start.

I have a question for all of you that have palms. I really need to make that investment. What type of palm is best? What programs are good for EKG's, meds, etc? Is it hard to load things on them? I am completely computer iliterate, but I think this would be a great asset for me and really need to make the purchase. I just don't know where to start.

Start with trying out the Palm based or Pocket PC based-you can play with them in Circuit City or Best Buy. I like Pocket PC because it should look very familiar to someone using Microsoft/windows platform. I have an iPaq. All the software is either Plam or Pocket PC and you can order it or download it from a website like Skyscape. It comes with some basic programs already like Calendar, calculator...then you can add what you want. Having the drug guide on there is a life saver and so fast. post back if you have any questions. :coollook:

Start with trying out the Palm based or Pocket PC based-you can play with them in Circuit City or Best Buy. I like Pocket PC because it should look very familiar to someone using Microsoft/windows platform. I have an iPaq. All the software is either Plam or Pocket PC and you can order it or download it from a website like Skyscape. It comes with some basic programs already like Calendar, calculator...then you can add what you want. Having the drug guide on there is a life saver and so fast. post back if you have any questions.

Thanks for the info!

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Hello all ... sign me up for the ER newbie group! I start in July! :balloons:

Just wanted to say good luck to each and every one of you. Sounds like you are all committed to doing the best job you can do and being a good nurse. In the end, that is what we all want, to be a skilled, caring, qualified nurse in our chosen area. Have a great day.

Specializes in ER.

Still in nursing school, so I'm wayyyy behind all of you all, but just wanted to give some advice anyway, since I already work in the ER as a Clinical Assistant (basically a CNA w/out the certification). Get to know as many of the nurses, techs, clerks, etc. as you can, and ask TONS of questions. Of course, don't be asking lots of questions in the middle of a trauma (you WILL get your head bitten off then) unless they clarify what you're supposed to be doing for the patient. Find the nurses who have experience, and when things aren't as busy, use them as a resource to figure out the things you're having trouble with. Also, I second whoever said to get to know the town docs. A lot of our town docs actually prefer to see their own patients - we have one group who bites heads off if they're not called for their patients and don't have their complete hospital records in their hands when they get there. The reason for this is that a lot of their patients never come into their offices for followups etc, and they need to know what's going on in the ER because that's where the patients always go.

Also, get to know and be nice to the admitting/registration staff. If you chew them out for not getting a chart done quick enough on a non-critical patient, they will most likely be slower next time just out of spite, and when you need a chart stat on a code/trauma so you can get orders in the computer, you want them on your side! Trust me, two years in registration, I'll tell you, the nurses who respected me for the job I did and acknowledged that my job wasn't a piece of cake and that I had an important part in the ER team, I ended up respecting and would have done anything for them.

Also, if you're in an ED in an area where you didn't grow up or haven't lived for long, get to know the local vernacular - it will save you tons of time and lots of embarrassment trying to figure out the patient's complaint/med list, etc. In my area, "I fell out in church today" does not mean I fell out of the car/church pew, etc. It means syncopal episode - and "peanutbutterballs" means phenobarbital (sp?)

Above all, enjoy your learning experience. The time will come soon enough that you will be answering questions for newbies yourself - just remember when you are, just how much you appreciated the staff who answered your questions when you were new! Welcome to the club of lunatics - and YES, full moons and new moons do bring out the laboring mammas, the psych patients, and "that one guy" who seems to love to beat people up for "just standing on the corner minding my own business."

The ER is tough and will constantly challenge you, but that's why most of us love it! There's always something new going on - you will never be bored! And think of all the fun stories you'll have! Good luck all!

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