ER Nurses please help

[Soon2bnurs]

Dear ER Nurses,:heartbeat

I am currently in college and graduating in December as an RN. I have a paper due next week that requires us to interview RN's in the field we would eventually like to work in (the ER is where I would eventually like to be after I have had the opportunity to gain some experience). Would a few of you please help me out with this and answer the following the questions? I would be forever grateful to you!:)

1. What are the most important personal characteristics for success in this field?

2. Which of the following are required for this kind of work? (Check and offer details for all that apply).

a. Credentials

b. Educational degrees

c. Licenses

d. Certifications

e. Continuing education

3. Which skills and competencies are the most important to acquire? How did you learn these skills?

4. What kind of prior experience (including work or internship experience are absolutely essential?

5. What additional educational preparation would you recommend?

6. What kinds of experiences would you recommend?

7. Is there a local organization for this specialty area? What types of activities does this organization offer?

[NYnurseatheart]

Hi there Soon2b,

I would suggest that you ask people to PM you and answer these questions by email, rather than on the online forum. I am an ER nurse and I am sure you are going to get a lot of different answers.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

1. What are the most important personal characteristics for success in this field?

Sense of humor, ability to think very quickly & re-prioritize on the fly, thick skin, function well under pressure, self-confidence, type a personality helps a lot but not required. And it's ok if you're distracted by bright shiny objects.

2. Which of the following are required for this kind of work? (Check and offer details for all that apply).

a. Credentials - not sure what you mean by credentials

b. Educational degrees - diploma, associates or bachelors

c. Licenses - RN

d. Certifications - BLS, ACLS & PALS, some will want TNCC, CEN is recommended after you gain some experience.

e. Continuing education - hell yeah.

3. Which skills and competencies are the most important to acquire? - assessment, iv access, re-assessment, tubing into various body openings, re-re-assessment, trusting your instincts, re-re-re-assessment, acting upon all of those assessments. How did you learn these skills? - practice, practice, practice. And lots of mistakes.

4. What kind of prior experience (including work or internship experience are absolutely essential? - none are absolutely essential.

5. What additional educational preparation would you recommend? just concentrate on finishing school and passing the nclex.

6. What kinds of experiences would you recommend? - er tech is great. ems is excellent if you are responding to 911 calls (not just transports) and can do it for at least a few years.

7. Is there a local organization for this specialty area? - ENA (Emergency Nurses Association) has local chapter throughout the country. What types of activities does this organization offer? education, certification, networking

Hope this helps.