I Have several questions to ask everyone who's been around a lot longer than myself. I just started my nursing career in a level 1 trauma center in a large teaching hospital and as an ER nurse I find a lot of attitiude coming from everyone.
I have taken many classes at this facility and on several instances have had the instructor say things like, "Oh we have an ER nurse in here I'll have to watch what I say." When I took my PALS class it was taught by the PICU nurses and when I went in for my megacode the instructor said, "OK Mrs. ER nurse lets see how you deal with this one." He made me run the megacode for at least 35-40 minutes and tried everything in his power to stump me, and didn't stop until he did.
My boyfriend is a floor nurse at the same hospital and we often get into discussions about how much the floor nurses complain about us. I try my best to give the best report I can with the focus assessment that I do. I rarely send up a naked patient after a trauma, and always put the patient in bed, get their tele pack on them, and if the patient is soiled, I clean them up before I take them upstairs, or I'll stay to help that nurse clean them if it happened in the elevator (yes it does happen in the elevator and we can't clean it then).
I try the best I can to establish a good repor with nurses from other units, because I believe that communication is key to patient care between departments. I find that I am always courteouse to nurses from other units. We have a 15 minute rule for getting a patient upstairs after report is called. I find that to be very unrealistic and in most cases if I don't need that room right this second, for a major trauma/MI etc I always tell the nurse to just call me when you are ready for them and I'll bring them up. There has been a few times where I had to enforce the 15 minute rule when we had patients in the hallway, and even then I explained the situation and apologized that I would have to bring them up ASAP due to the MI that was lying in the hallway.
I guess what I am asking is, has anyone else encounterd this? I just feel as soon as someone finds out that I am an ER nurse I am automatically disliked and treated differently. We are all nurses and I just wish we could all try and understand each other and work well together. Any tips or suggestions from those of you that have been doing this for a long time on how to keep the peace between departments?
I Have several questions to ask everyone who's been around a lot longer than myself. I just started my nursing career in a level 1 trauma center in a large teaching hospital and as an ER nurse I find a lot of attitiude coming from everyone.
I have taken many classes at this facility and on several instances have had the instructor say things like, "Oh we have an ER nurse in here I'll have to watch what I say." When I took my PALS class it was taught by the PICU nurses and when I went in for my megacode the instructor said, "OK Mrs. ER nurse lets see how you deal with this one." He made me run the megacode for at least 35-40 minutes and tried everything in his power to stump me, and didn't stop until he did.
My boyfriend is a floor nurse at the same hospital and we often get into discussions about how much the floor nurses complain about us. I try my best to give the best report I can with the focus assessment that I do. I rarely send up a naked patient after a trauma, and always put the patient in bed, get their tele pack on them, and if the patient is soiled, I clean them up before I take them upstairs, or I'll stay to help that nurse clean them if it happened in the elevator (yes it does happen in the elevator and we can't clean it then).
I try the best I can to establish a good repor with nurses from other units, because I believe that communication is key to patient care between departments. I find that I am always courteouse to nurses from other units. We have a 15 minute rule for getting a patient upstairs after report is called. I find that to be very unrealistic and in most cases if I don't need that room right this second, for a major trauma/MI etc I always tell the nurse to just call me when you are ready for them and I'll bring them up. There has been a few times where I had to enforce the 15 minute rule when we had patients in the hallway, and even then I explained the situation and apologized that I would have to bring them up ASAP due to the MI that was lying in the hallway.
I guess what I am asking is, has anyone else encounterd this? I just feel as soon as someone finds out that I am an ER nurse I am automatically disliked and treated differently. We are all nurses and I just wish we could all try and understand each other and work well together. Any tips or suggestions from those of you that have been doing this for a long time on how to keep the peace between departments?
I believe that ER Nurses have to be up and about at all times. ER nurse is always ready for a disaster. It comes w/the position. Whoever is giving you the attitude may not be so secure in their own abilities. So, dont feel bad and stop trying to impress others. Just be yourself. As long as you know that what you are doing is right, everything else will fall into place eventually. And the way it looks, you are doing much more than you are required.
i have several questions to ask everyone who's been around a lot longer than myself. i just started my nursing career in a level 1 trauma center in a large teaching hospital and as an er nurse i find a lot of attitiude coming from everyone.
i have taken many classes at this facility and on several instances have had the instructor say things like, "oh we have an er nurse in here i'll have to watch what i say." when i took my pals class it was taught by the picu nurses and when i went in for my megacode the instructor said, "ok mrs. er nurse lets see how you deal with this one." he made me run the megacode for at least 35-40 minutes and tried everything in his power to stump me, and didn't stop until he did.
my boyfriend is a floor nurse at the same hospital and we often get into discussions about how much the floor nurses complain about us. i try my best to give the best report i can with the focus assessment that i do. i rarely send up a naked patient after a trauma, and always put the patient in bed, get their tele pack on them, and if the patient is soiled, i clean them up before i take them upstairs, or i'll stay to help that nurse clean them if it happened in the elevator (yes it does happen in the elevator and we can't clean it then).
i try the best i can to establish a good repor with nurses from other units, because i believe that communication is key to patient care between departments. i find that i am always courteouse to nurses from other units. we have a 15 minute rule for getting a patient upstairs after report is called. i find that to be very unrealistic and in most cases if i don't need that room right this second, for a major trauma/mi etc i always tell the nurse to just call me when you are ready for them and i'll bring them up. there has been a few times where i had to enforce the 15 minute rule when we had patients in the hallway, and even then i explained the situation and apologized that i would have to bring them up asap due to the mi that was lying in the hallway.
i guess what i am asking is, has anyone else encounterd this? i just feel as soon as someone finds out that i am an er nurse i am automatically disliked and treated differently. we are all nurses and i just wish we could all try and understand each other and work well together. any tips or suggestions from those of you that have been doing this for a long time on how to keep the peace between departments?
jen2,
i find this happens to all of the specialty areas.
the or nurses are treated the same way by some of the floor staff.
the icu nurses of all areas are treated poorly by some.
the list is endless.
i think that some of it is the notion that they have a lower nurse patient ratio than the floor staff. therefore, many floor nurses think that you have less work to do. thus, many floor nurses feel that you shouldn't need to bring the patients up so quickly or so many right at shift change or so many one right behind the other.
i try not to get an attitude with the er nurses because via experience, i have learned that they are working hard most of the time just as i am: and, because so many of them have helped me out in a clinch, i feel the least that i can do is assist them to put the patient in the bed and make them comfortable. i even go so far as to get the room ready for the patient by folding back the sheet and spread, putting the admit kit in the room, make sure that the equipment necessary to provide the patient adequate care is in the room, and write the day, date, room number, and telephone number on the white grease boards located in every room along with the goal for the patient to reach according to their plan of care. the average nurse/patient ratio on my medical unit is 7:1 most nights.
don't let the small minded keep you from being pleasant and kind, jen2.
some of us really do appreciate your effort to spread friendship and camaraderie. :icon_hug:
There are indeed good and bad among us...some will act superiror because they work ICU or ER and its a shame. Nursing is so specialized today we should all be proud of our contribution.
I recall taking ACLS I never wanted to admit I was an ICU nurse...and I tried to not even say I was a hospital nurse!! I knew I would get the worst megacode and have the highest expectation. My worst instructors in megacode were paramedics. Seemed they had an axe to grind and sharpen to use on the nurses in ACLS.
Professional jealousy and one upsmanship abound out there in nurses and nonnurses.
Obviously you were missing my point. In case you haven't noticed, I am one of the FEW floor nurses that didn't feel the need to slam you or point fingers at ER nurses, yet you feel that you need to retort with some smart a** remark. That attitude is why there is so much negativity towards ER nurses.
Keep your chins up and keep up the good work EVERYONE!
As Winston Churchill said...."America and England....two great nations separated by a common language":chuckle
BTW
To everyboby involved in the hurricane aftermath...good luck,God bless
See folks......THIS is the real difference.....ER nurses have a sense of humour,and a taste for irony :rotfl:
Tim
Those traits, most unfortunately, are nowhere in evidence in your posting....to demonstrate humour, one would actually have to post something that is remotely funny.
I believe that ER Nurses have to be up and about at all times. ER nurse is always ready for a disaster. It comes w/the position. Whoever is giving you the attitude may not be so secure in their own abilities. So, dont feel bad and stop trying to impress others. Just be yourself. As long as you know that what you are doing is right, everything else will fall into place eventually. And the way it looks, you are doing much more than you are required.
Keep your head up and don't be blue !!!
Sorry this just rubs me the wrong way. I'm a floor nurse, and trust me, the emergent situations are not planned and 99% happen at the worst possible times.I'm remembering the night I had a patient have an MI while I was in the middle of a 1 hour chemo push on a different patient, I was charge nurse and the only chemo certified nurse on the floor, and the other RN was a brand new grad. Disaster strikes everywhere.
I was going to tell you not to take it personal but I can't.
I sincerely can see how you could be mistreated and abuseD.
GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU , OH! ER NURSES! :thankya:
Nobody can even imagine the cahos, the complaints, the eyes in the hall outside the rooms looking at you saying: how much longer for that test to come back I have been here 8 hrs, you are all sitting at the nurse's station doing nothing, playing on the computer anyways! :imbar (sarcastic)
The smell of the active GI bleed that you are praying for those units of PRBC's to be ready yesterday, because the pt if 50, obese, diabetic, in a panic attack on the non-rebreader mask and already got 10 of morphine because he is having chest pain with EKG change and with this HB of 6!
And how about the families, the VIP's and the MD's that are not calling back!
" How long does it take to have a private room in here?" Often that's like 5 pts to 1 nurse!
{Don't you feel like saying : well at the Ritz it would take you 5 mins!. I am sure that you heard this before: What kind of hotel is this?}
You seem like a very considerate person. Yes, the pt will code, piuke, poop, burp, laugh, cry, bite spit, pull out the IV anesthesia had to put in, get back to RSR in the elevator! Why not! (not sarcastic)
All nurses can tell when it's been sitting there for hours (the yellow ring and the cake). But when the 3 last codes have been your pt's, your short nurses and no PCA, everyone has priorities. It happens!
I would rather have you do CPR on my mom than have you say: "Sorry, I have to clean up the code brown before caring for the code blue!!!!"
The morale is people will always criticise but won't look at themself and try to help finding solutions. But, learn not to let people abuse your goodness, be firm if you have to, this can be done delicately too. Don't let people walk all over you, they have no idea what you do in a day. (No use trying to explain to them, but it would be nice if they had to float in your dept! ).
And remember the "Pyramid of Maslow"!
You only can judge yourself and I think that...you are GREATTTT!
its already been said but nurses will always complain about each other.
Whether it be ED (or ER) vs ICU or the wards; day shift vs night shift.... it goes on and on. I am an ED nurse. I am currently working outside my comfort zone as a Clinical Nurse Specialist on the Surgical Wards.
I now have more insight about the workload on the wards, and their thoughts about ED wanting to move patients out. We do our best to send patients to the wards at appropriate times and intervals. Many patients wait ifor beds in our ED for upto 36 hours.
ED has limited space, is very noisey and an uncomfortable environment especially at night.
Once a patient is seen and sorted, has a bed allocated it is in their best interest to go to a ward.
What suggestions do you all have to smooth the flow between ED and the ward or unit ??
). 
vlajna
2 Posts
I believe that ER Nurses have to be up and about at all times. ER nurse is always ready for a disaster. It comes w/the position. Whoever is giving you the attitude may not be so secure in their own abilities. So, dont feel bad and stop trying to impress others. Just be yourself. As long as you know that what you are doing is right, everything else will fall into place eventually. And the way it looks, you are doing much more than you are required.
Keep your head up and don't be blue !!!