Emergency Room Nurses!!

Emergency Nurses Association ENA certification is often preferred by employers. In my area of the country, they prefer that Nurses have one year of med/surg experience also.

The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) allows student nurses to join at a discounted rate. Try joining the ENA because you'll get their professional journal. You can also state that you belong the ENA on your resume.

As far as certifications go: the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) exam can be taken by a licenced RN at any time (even if they just graduated). It is recommended to wait until you have at least a year of emergency nursing experience. Most ED nurses hold certifications for ACLS (advanced cardiac life support), PALS (pediatric advanced life support), TNCC (trauma nursing core course), and NRP (neonatal resuscitation program). However, I don't know if these courses are open to nursing students. Basically, most of the certifications come AFTER you begin working in an ED.

Again, I'd join the ENA if I were you, and make sure you have a great resume. Study hard, see if you can volunteer in a local ED, and see if you can get a job in an ED that has intern positions available for nursing students.

Hey everyone!

I am in nursing school right now and I am interested in Emergency Room nursing. I was just wondering what certification I would need and how do I go about getting certified for E.R. work? I would really appreciate any info!

Thank You! :nuke:

There are also many places that have techs in the ER, which is good to get some feel for the atmosphere and gets your foot in the door. Several places also hire new grads in the ER. Sometimes it is preferred, but you do not have to have any special certification at most places.

The ENA recommends you have a minimum of 2yrs ER experience before sitting for the CEN,..you don't have to be an ENA member but the testing fee is less if you are. Most of the cert the ENA offer are for experienced ER nurses, many hospitals will require a few of the certs and will pay for you to take the class.

Check out their site for more info.

http://www.ena.org/bcen/

Sorry, while I agree with the posts, I disagree that a new nurse with no experience should be working in an critical care area.

I think a couple of years on med surge is the best thing a new grad can do. After graduation, you need to learn to discern the difference between the ideals taught in class, and the real world. A new nurse needs to learn how to prioritize AND RE-prioritize all throughout her shift. Assessment skills need to be honed, and starting in critical care is NOT the place to do that.

I learned, while working in med surge, that my most favorite patients where the sickest ones. They were the ones who made me think and reason - putting the lab values together with my assessments - sort of like a detective. There I learned how to put my A&P, Pathophysiology, knowledge of meds, assessment skills together to get the whole picture. Then after a couple of years, I knew I wanted to move to critical care.

Good luck with your choices