Free standing ER good or bad?

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Feb 11, 2013

I have experience with free standing and they are the worst idea ever. Do our patients know that a free standing can't handle anything serious? Would they drive a little further to a full service hospital if they understood the difference? You bet. I believe they are born out of corporate greed. Otherwise, you should call it a clinic.

nurseblondie44 · Feb 12, 2013

Thank you for your response. I was wondering the same thing...how the patients or EMS know what level of sickness these free standing Er's can handle. I wonder if nurses are prepared for something more serious. The facility I will be starting at says they can function exactly like an Emergency Room except instead of having Cath lab or bed upstairs they transfer next door. I know this can be confusing for patients and even nurses! Do the staff support each other and are the transfers made in time? I hear that the nurses manage all the respiratory care and even vents. I am still a relatively new ER nurse so I have to learn a lot because in the other hospital we always had ancillary staff. Did you enjoy your experience at all? I am starting in a free standing ER soon...is there anything I should be aware of or be prepared for...any advice would help me greatly. Lastly do you prefer working in a hospital ER? Would you say you got good experience working in a free standing ER? Thank you so much! Love your avatar:)

FaithGurl93 · Feb 12, 2013

I'm a student but my aspiration is to be an ER Nurse. What is the difference between the free standing and hopital ER?

mommynurse25 · Jul 10, 2013

I have an offer for a free standing er. I was wondering the difference between a hospital er and free standing??

OBigdog26, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 10, 2013

I work at a freestanding ER. It has its challenges. Many of the pt's go to these freestanding er's out of convenience. You definitely get a lot of drug seekers coming in which is absolutely frustrating. As far as transfers, it is owned by the same hospitals. The bad thing about these freestanding er's is that it is just you, your fellow rn's, MD, and sometimes midlevels. When a true emergency does occur, you better be ready to stabilize that pt and get them transferred out immediately. With that said, it's safe to say that you better be competent and confident in your skills to work at this type of setting as resources are very limited.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 18, 2013

I worked in a freestanding ED for 6 years before I joined the Army. It was a great experience because it fostered teamwork -- my coworkers were fabulous. There were days when we were up to our ears in sick patients, but we supported each other and did what we could to never let each other drown. We were fully capable of handling anything that would come to a regular ED, though we weren't a trauma center; then again, our main hospital where we admitted ICU/Tele/Med-Surg patients wasn't a trauma center, either. We developed very close bonds with our EMS and transport team personnel, and they always had our backs as well when it came to juggling multiple codes or getting our sickest out and off to the ICU or cath lab in a timely manner. I enjoyed working in a freestanding ED, and I hope the OP will as well.

RoyalNurse · Jul 19, 2013

I work at a free-standing, the nurses all have a ton of experience and are really smart. It's actually a little harder to work in a free-standing because you don't have the back-up like the hospital. Patients will go to the main hospital if they "think" it's something serious, but that's just it: they're not doctors, and they often don't know what's going on. I absolutely love the free-standing, I think it's helpful to patients, we're just 7 minutes from the hospital. It's got nothing to do with corporate greed, we take a big load off the hospital ER. It's definitely not a clinic, we help intubate, give TPA, the whole nine yards.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 19, 2013

It's definitely not a clinic we help intubate, give TPA, the whole nine yards.[/quote']
Your post reminded me - at the time I worked in my freestanding ER, we were the only stroke-certified freestanding ER in Virginia. Kinda cool. :-)

Higgins911 · Jul 29, 2014

I strongly suggest that nurses first find out who owns and operates the free-standing er. Large corporations and hospitals tend to run Free-Standing Ers like hospitals with profit and production dictating everything and quality may suffer. In Free-Standings that are privately owned you will find the absolute best Emergency Medicine practiced with Quality and Teamwork as the primary goal of operation. Free-Standing ERs are the future.

Higgins911 · Jul 29, 2014

For more information regarding Free-Standing ERs check out the new Journal of Free-Standing Emergency Medicine website:

http://www.JFSEM.org