ER vs Trauma Nurse

[al3x117, RN, EMT-B]

What is the difference between an ER Nurse and a Trauma Nurse?

Does an experienced nurse get assigned to be the Triage Nurse to decide who waits and who goes to the ER? Thanks.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Triage generally requires some ED experience (usually about 2 years, unless the hospital is so short staffed that they let just about anyone do triage) as well as some pediatric knowledge (cross training) if the nurse only works in the adult ED. Triage decides who needs to be seen sooner than others and where treatment can take place (fast track vs main ED vs psych). Some hospital's EDs are trauma centers, so once a nurse gets some ED experience they can train to work with the trauma patients.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Many top-tier trauma centers have a completely separate service line & staff for trauma, including a separate pathway through the ED. Nurses who work with ED Trauma are frequently required to have TNCC certification and multiple years of experience, but most begin their careers as general ED staff.

[Eldrad]

All ER Nurses can get trauma patients. The difference is if you work at a trauma center you will see much more of it and usually keep the patient there instead of shipping them out.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

In addition to the above, "trauma" nurses work in the ICUs and floors (depending on the severity.)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the Emergency Nursing forum for more responses.

[FatsWaller, BSN, RN]

My ER is also a trauma 1 hospital, we have a trauma room with 4 bays(stretchers) where our emergent issues roll into. We generally have a "room 9" (trauma room) nurse who is assigned to it at every shift and this nurse runs the trauma from a nursing perspective (gets manual BP, IV access, blood and emergent drugs, tools, etc) and this position just fluctuates and cycles like team assignments. The charge nurse or any available nurse comes in and writes. If more than one trauma/stroke comes in then nurses on the floor just come to the trauma room when the initial buzzer goes off and just fill in where need be. So basically I guess at my ER, we are all trauma nurses. They do provide all the nurses with TNCC within 6 months of hire if they need it, as well has NIHstoke certs, acls, pals and they push CEN.

[AntonellaB]

To do triage in the ED most of the time "the rule" is at least 1 year experience in the ED, ACLS and PALS certification.

ED vs Trauma Nurse. My personal experience is that in smaller ED, rural ED, etc you, as a nurse do a lot more, practice skills during trauma encounter until pts stabilized and transferred to higher level facility. TNCC and ENPC is desirable but not sure if always required right away. Larger, teaching hospitals do have a trauma nurse and trauma teams. As a nurse there you really do not do as much except drawing blood, manual BP, assist CPR if needed, operate rapid blood transfuser, transport pt to CT and giving pain, nausea meds when ordered. Evidence-based practice reading and certification in Trauma nursing is a good thing but some trauma nurses are not even trained in obtaining US guided IV's or inserting EJ lines and they do not have to do the assessment. Trauma team shouts everything and the CN does the charting. Very important part is the charting and the exact time of Trauma team arrival. When stabilized the pts are transported out of the trauma bay: either another part of the ED, OR or admitted to a room.

[CX_EDRN]

I work in a trauma center so we are all trauma certified (TNCC, ENPC). We do have an experienced nurse in triage that guides flow into fast track and the main. We all rotate through the trauma rooms, both as primaries and secondaries.