Experienced opinions please: ER during rookie year?

[emtbubba]

Hi folks! I know online forums are not always be the best way to get advice, but it's not the only way I'm going about getting input from other nurses. I've been asking this question for quite some time to all sorts of nurses. The question at hand is intended for nurses who have experience in ER, flight nursing, and/or ICU, and that is: Would you recommend taking a job in the Emergency Department straight out of college.

Before you jump to a hasty answer, consider some background info. If all goes as planned, I will be graduating from a BSN program this coming spring, and by that time I will have also been an EMT-B for 6 years. I have experience in PHTLS, firefighting, I'm Vehicle Rescue Tech, and I have long list of other EMS con-ed. I took an additional nursing class in collge on emergency preparedness (coincidentally, along with the guy who is now my unit manager in the ED; he took the class for con-ed, I took it for one college credit, and he recruited me then & there, but that's a different story), and I minored in Biology. My goal is to become a PHRN (Pre-Hospital RN - an ALS provider title recognized EMS system here in PA), possibly a CEN, and hopefully/eventually a flight nurse. Right now I work as an assistant in the ER of a very large Level I trauma center, and it is a really great work environment. I have a history of being critical of some of my previous jobs, so for me to say that this is a great work environment is no understatement. Presently, my role as an assistant in the ER allows me to do basically anything in the ER that an EMT, CNA, & phlebotomist would do, plus a few things, so I have been learning quite a bit on the job. This hospital offers a Critical Care Internship for new graduate nurses that lasts about 6 months, and all those nurses going to the ER or any of the ICU's takes this internship as part of their orientation. From what I've heard, the Internship is a really good program. I'm definitely planning on going through the Critical Care Internship, no doubt about it, but then I was thinking about going to one of the ICU's first (like maybe SICU, Trauma-Neuro ICU, or Acute Coronary Unit) for at least 2 or 3 years, and then going back to the ER.

Here's the catch, I applied for the Critical Care Internship (CCI), but didn't specify yet which unit I want to go to, because I haven't even made up my own mind yet. Meanwhile, the management in the ER wants me to come work there right out of college, and do the CCI through that department. I know there are some folks who would reccomend getting a year or two of Med-Surg first, but I'm not even going to consider that, given the opportunity I have to go through the CCI as a new grad.

So basically, to sum it up in a nutshell, if you have experience in Flight Nursing, ER, ICU, or any combination of those, then tell me, would you recommend going to the ER during my rookie year, or going to one of the ICU's first? Even if I do go to the ER right away, I still plan to work in one of the ICU's at some point, maybe part time on the side or something, because I'm sure it would be good experience to have for flight nursing.