We are the beasty girls and boys aren't we? We get talked about, yelled to, nasty talk, complained about,kicked, spit on, peed on, pooped, trash talked all through a course of any given day. Even when you are trying to be professional when a nonER nurse gives ya grief because the ICU patient peed enroute to their empty waiting ICU bd with a 2:1 ratio....nice ratio eh?....we take it...until the dam breaks.
People need to wear the dirty scrubs we wear everyday/night we work and then say what they need to say....but do it with a respect for what we do. We are the front door of the hospital yet deal with the back door philosophy. No-one wants to know exactly what goes on in any given day in the life of an ER nurse.....only a few can handle what we handle everyday 24/7...365....
So yank up our big girl panties and feel proud that WE work in the trenches, because others can't....and be proud of it.:smokin:
Well... I am not quite sure what kind of reaction I should have to this post. I do know and agree that they, ER nurses, have a hard and stressful job but nurses that work in other areas don't work their because they can't work in the 'trenches'. Just like ER nurses don't not work ICU b/c they can't. I work critical care and believe me we get punched, pooped on, cussed by family, talked about, kicked at, etc... also. I also have to say that it is a rare occasion when I get a patient from ER that is "washed and folded"! ER nurses have a specialty just like other nurses have their specailty. I don't feel that one is better than the other, which was kind of feeling I got from the post. It takes all areas of nursing to take care of our population. One is not better , they are all just different and we should repect our differences. We should all be proud of what we do! It sounds like the original poster had a bad day. Just my opinion.
I worked ICU for 17 years and then moved to ER, so we can work both, mostly we [choose] not to.
And speaking of big girl panties, honestly I wear my grannie panties to work ..... but I have a co-worker who wears very thin white pants and fairly vivid thong underwear...but back to the subject at hand!!!
So you're saying I should be wearing my "Pull-ups" to work? Would be much more convenient on my 2 running trips to the bathroom every shift.
Funny how the ICU nurses have to say things like "One is not better , they are all just different and we should repect our differences." Nobody was saying ICU nurses aren't the BEST nurses...just ask them they will tell you they are.
Biggest point misunderstood by nurses not in the ED....
Nurses in any other areas of the hospital have total control of their environment. You say if and when you will take patients, you are able to accept or refuse to take patients, and you also have the ability to make a big stink about the condition those pts are in when they come to you. We in the ED do not EVER have that luxury, yet we carry on. We care for those pts you refuse to take, all the while continuing to accept the more and more patients that line the corridors from EMS and approach the ambulatory entrance.
We are placed at the front door of the hospital (the triage desk) to face ANYTHING and ANYBODY that walks in the door, in any condition it appears. And I don't know about other EDs, but I know that at mine, the crowds come in together, and my manager wants the crowd of 10 that just walked in to be triaged within 5-10 minutes. It can take that long to get one Granny to tell me what is wrong and finally identify all her meds! Thank goodness for my ERT and the other nurses!
I don't see nurses in other areas facing this as a routine shift. And I think that is also the point of the article that trauma nurse posted.
Yes, we can all work together, but it can never be the same.
Sorry if that hurts feelings, but this is the emergency nursing forum, in a specific thread addressing ER Nurses.
You guys rock!! I have the uttmost respect for you guys. I dont know how you have the guts/balls/strength to do this job but wow im glad that you guys do.
Thank you to the a+e nurse who reset my daughters elbow and calmed me, a hysterical new mother down
Thank you for the a+e nurses who helped me when my daughter had an allergic reaction
Thank you to the a+e nurse who patched me up after my accident
Thank you to the a+e nurses for allowing us the time and privacy to be with my dying relative
too bad we couldn't get off page 1 without losing the red x. Silly ED nurses, thinking you're as good as ICU!
Lol! :chuckle Exactly what I was thinking... We can't even give ourselves a pat on the back without it!
I LOVE ALL MY ER NURSES, WE FIGHT SIDE BY SIDE ON THIS BATTLEGROUND KNOWN AS THE ER.
AND YOU GUYS ARE WHAT KEEP ME GOING FROM HAVING MY BACK AT WORK TO KICKING ONE BACK AND HAVING SOME LAUGHS AFTER WORK... COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! :redbeathe
:smokin:
Pepperlady
151 Posts
I worked ICU for 17 years and then moved to ER, so we can work both, mostly we [choose] not to.