Emergency Room NPs?

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I'm currently weighing my options and want to hear from those that are ERNPs. I work in a level 1 and am contemplating going for my ERNP (that offers the FNP cert along the way). A few questions:

Jobs? Easy to find, expected pay? What about using advanced skill sets? I'm not cut out for clinic work, I like the acute care setting. There's also an ACNP program nearby. Any thoughts regarding one versus the other? Thanks!

Specializes in ER, Informatics, FNP.

I'm an FNP and work in a Level I ER. I like my position because I move from area to area. I start in the ER CHF (overflow) Observation unit, relieve the doc in fast trac until it closes at midnight, round in the mental health obs ward, then work in the ER intermediate area. I also respond to stroke alerts. We have 100 beds. I work night shift but am not making quite as much as the other folks who posted because I'm new. My benefits are very nice and I had a $5000 sign on bonus.

We have PA's, FNP's and one Adult NP.

T

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tracelane,

do you have recommendations on a website or journal that might show state by state their preference for NP cert to work in the ER?

v/r

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

You might want to ask that of the Emergency Nurses Association: http://www.ena.org

I live in IL and our BON doesn't have specifics as to who works where as long as we adhere to our age groups.

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I graduated from UT-Houstone Emergency Nurse Practitioner course. I sat for the FNP exam, the program used to due the ACNP exam, but found that by taking the FNP there is no issue of seeing just adult patients. ENP Practice is state by state, just review the advance practice role on the state nursing website. I work in Indiana, and basicly whatever you are trained to due, you can. I work for a great ED Group, have great autonomy and workplace. ACNP are sometime restricted to adults only so thats why my program made the switch. It's an excellent program you come out ready to work. I see more and more facilities utilizing NPs now, this will continue. I know they are working on an ENP exam for us, Frank Cole PhD, was a great frontier for us but he unfortunately passed away for cancer. let me know if you have anymore questions

good luck

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cdm, thanks for the posting! do you have more information on who is working on the ENP NP exam? I'd be very interested in learning which agency is developing this, in order to try and pass on the knowledge to others to support it.. as well as to understand the target timeline for the test to be public. Thanks!

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last I knew the school was working with the ENA and AACN

to produce the test. they were looking at a 5 year time

frame, which was 6 years ago. haven't heard much since

I moved to Inidana. Good contact would be Elda Ramierez, she

took over the program in Houston. Call the General number

on the University of Texas-Houston website for the school

of nursing, they should get you to Elda who would be an

excellent resource for you.

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According to a poster presented at the 2008 Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) convention, there is no national ENA exam. Only 5 NP programs in the country (of nearly 400 in the US) state that they focus on Emergency Nursing.

http://www.ena.org/conferences/leadership/2008/handouts/431-o.pdf.

According to AANP, less than 2% of the nurse practitioners in the country work in an ER/ED setting. It makes sense that if less than 2% of the programs in the country prepare Emergency NPs (and few NPs nationally work in that setting), that the national APN certification boards (AANC, etc) do not see the need to develop such a licensing exam. There would also need to be outside pressures (Medicare, Joint Commission, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, etc) that the present state is not acceptable.

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I graduated from UT-Houstone Emergency Nurse Practitioner course. I sat for the FNP exam, the program used to due the ACNP exam, but found that by taking the FNP there is no issue of seeing just adult patients. ENP Practice is state by state, just review the advance practice role on the state nursing website. I work in Indiana, and basicly whatever you are trained to due, you can. I work for a great ED Group, have great autonomy and workplace. ACNP are sometime restricted to adults only so thats why my program made the switch. It's an excellent program you come out ready to work. I see more and more facilities utilizing NPs now, this will continue. I know they are working on an ENP exam for us, Frank Cole PhD, was a great frontier for us but he unfortunately passed away for cancer. let me know if you have anymore questions

good luck

I graduated from the FNP program at UT-Houston. They no longer offer the FNP/ERNP dual certification, because the FNP certification wasn't recognized by some states. Two students moved to states that wouldn't accept their FNP certification, since their training was done in conjunction with the ER program. It was a major issue, as you can imagine, so the school discontinued the program. That dual program was the most difficult offered at that school, except for the CRNA program. I really felt bad for those 2 graduates. I can't even imagine going through all of that, then being told that you can't practice as a FNP in certain states.

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... At the same time perhaps a pre-applicant blurb stating that state BONs regulate which specialties are accepted, be advised and check with your own state of interest for details. I do not think it's a big secret that states have differences within their BONs idea of scope and practice.... that being said it would be nice to move towards a national goal on a few key things ;)

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Specializes in Telemetry, ER, Trauma ICU.

The movement is now toward acnps. Arizona was the first to pass regulations about who can work in the hospital-er setting. However acnp can not treat peds so programs like vandys joint acnp-fnp is gaining intrest since you get both certs.

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that's actually what is good about the UT Houston program, It trains you specificaly to work in the ED, when you graduate most grads are able to hit the ground running. Have been out of 8 years now, have had a gread experience working in an autonomous position in level II trauma, seeing all patients from infants to geriatric.

It's a great job!

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as an FNP working in ER, I can see the whole life span of patients

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