ER or Trauma Nurse

[chicagoboy]

For those who work in the Emergency department, when a trauma level patient arrives, who usually takes care - ER nurse or Trauma nurse?

Just curious here, thanks for any input.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

When I get a trauma patient, I take care of the patient; I have trauma education and have to maintain competency each year.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

In my facility, it's the ER staff who have gone through the trauma course who care for the patient initially. Once stabilized or after surgery, the patient then goes to the appropriate unit and is cared for by the staff on that unit who have completed the trauma course. Only a select few units accept trauma patients, even those not critical care.

[chicagoboy]

Thanks for a quick response. In your facility, is it mandatory for ER nurse to take Trauma classes? Thank You.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

It is mandatory, but not right away. The expectation is that the ER nurses get some ER experience before they are allowed to be in the trauma bay, and then they are not primary trauma nurse for quite some time either. Each trauma patient is assigned 2 nurses: the primary does the documentation (special course for listening to multiple different people calling out data required), the secondary does nursing interventions at the bedside (IVs, assisting trauma doc/ER doc with medical interventions), and then there's everyone else who responds. The primary trauma nurse stays with the patient until they are transferred to wherever; the second nurse is an extra set of hands but once the craziness in the trauma bay dies down returns to his/her ER patients that were covered by other nurses during the trauma response. My facility has a really good setup for who responds to traumas and who covers the patients those nurses were assigned to until they are available again.

[BecomingNursey]

We all take care of trauma patients. You have to have been an ER nurse for a year in my facility before they will allow you to be primary on a Trauma patient. Other than that, it's whoever is floating at the time ( if there's enough staff for a float) gets the patient.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

a trauma nurse IS an ER nurse.

[canche]

In our ED there is only one nurse assigned to trauma and if we have no traumas they just float.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

It is mandatory, but not right away. The expectation is that the ER nurses get some ER experience before they are allowed to be in the trauma bay, and then they are not primary trauma nurse for quite some time either. Each trauma patient is assigned 2 nurses: the primary does the documentation (special course for listening to multiple different people calling out data required), the secondary does nursing interventions at the bedside (IVs, assisting trauma doc/ER doc with medical interventions), and then there's everyone else who responds. The primary trauma nurse stays with the patient until they are transferred to wherever; the second nurse is an extra set of hands but once the craziness in the trauma bay dies down returns to his/her ER patients that were covered by other nurses during the trauma response. My facility has a really good setup for who responds to traumas and who covers the patients those nurses were assigned to until they are available again.

^Same thing in my ED with the exception that we are oriented to the trauma room during orientation and it is expected to complete PALS and the mandated trauma course within two months during or after orientation.

I'm usually in the bay more frequently and have been in the trauma room as the extra set of hands or the documentor. I enjoy being in the trauma room in the documenting role as a way to remember the assessment and guide the process. We also have to check the trauma room to ensure that inventory is in place when a trauma arrives; for me it helps me become more familiar as I learn.

[Trauma_drama14, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

I think that trauma nurses and ER nurses are the same thing. BUT, also, I think you can find trauma nurses on certain floors throughout the hospital but have provide different levels of care. For example, I work at a level one trauma center and I literally just started on the SICU, which is specializes in trauma. So, technically the SICU nurses are considered trauma nurses. Also, we do also have a trauma patient care unit (ICU stepdown), so they are considered trauma nurses too. But all honesty, you can find trauma people throughout. I worked on a surgical patient care floor (some of the nurses called it the 'trauma stepdown') and had a good amount of the trauma group's patients... then again they liked to send us a mix of everything surgical.

[RunnerRN2015, ASN, RN]

I'm at a level 1 trauma center ED. We're all ED RNs. Only those who are TNCC certified as Trauma Nurses can run traumas. Once trauma protocol is dc'ed, then any ED RN can take over care.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

Our SICU required TNCC, so if a level one trauma comes in we are also required to respond with the ED RN assigned to trauma that day or night. If the pt is ok we go back to SI, if not we stay and assist from the trauma bay to CT to OR then we take the pt back to our unit if they require ICU.