ER right for me? Not an adrenaline junkie

[gypsierose]

I'm a soon to be new grad wanting some advice. I know this forum gets a lot of these so thanks for reading. In trying to decide whether or not to apply to a new grad ER position after school or stick with traditional med/ surg in my small town hospital. Both new grad jobs come with a residency program. I've worked in ERs before as a tech/ CNA and neither loved nor hated the environment, but had always assumed ER nursing wasn't for me because I'm not an "adrenaline junkie". I don't lose my cool in emergencies, but don't love it either. I can work hard and like a busy work environment with lots of random in my day. Also, I used to think I wouldn't like the fact that patients come and go and you don't make a 1:1 connection with them, but lately that seems much more desirable. My question is- am I way off base to consider ER nursing? What kind of personality works well in the ER? Will I learn to love the adrenaline rush? Does it matter? Thanks!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

My own experience was that I was interested in the traumas until I knew I was competent in those situations. I wanted to be OK with all the ICU type monitoring, and the ABCD etc of trauma. So I went into every trauma, and at least recorded. Once I felt confident, there was a new crop of orientees coming along, and they are the ones that run into the traumas. I think I'm the opposite of an adrenaline junkie, a good ER story is fun, but I'm glad it didn't happen to me. You don't need to live for trauma to find ER work satisfying, and make a difference.