First ER day

Congrats on loving your job and getting your first IV start! The ER will teach you so many skills. Best of luck!

good luck and take it one patient at a time! Each day your brain will be overloaded, but you'll feel invigorated by what you learn. It can be overwhelming, but you know that shift WILL end and you'll be able to go home and digest it. It's a learning process for everyone every single day. I'm going on 7 years in an ER and no day is the same as the one before. So much to learn!

I had my first week in the ER where I just started and I loved it!! Ive been an RN for 2 years but new to the ER so I was rather nervous. The preceptor I was with was awesome, and I started my very first IV ever! Lol, small potatoes i know, but I was so proud of myself. The ER went from 0 to 60 in no time, ambulances back to back to back. The nurses are very autonomous and self driven and have a very good relationship with the docs that are there, the teamwork is amazing on all sides. I can tell that when times are bad or busy, they will be even more so than the floor (does that make sense?) but I have a great feeling overall. Im happy to be here.

Good for you!

Glad it was a positive experience!

Sounds like the preceptor helped make the difference! A good preceptor is worth their weight in gold!

Take advantage while you can; the "honeymoon" eventually ends and when it's just you on your own, it can be a bit overwhelming.

I suggest (as I do for my RN, EMT and NP students) bring a little flip note pad with you. Write down EVERYTHING: who to call for what, phone numbers, doctors preferences, particular meds you have on hand, clinical tips etc etc etc. Your mind will be like a BIG SPONGE for a while and even though all this new stuff will absorb, it is hard on your neurons to file the info in a useful manner until a pattern of consistency evolves. So in the meantime, you don't want to let any valuable information from your preceptor slip you by, WRITE IT DOWN!

Also (uh, oh here comes the homework!)...when ever you care for a patient presentation that you haven't cared for before (IE: your first vag bleed, first SAH etc) write it down; note their symptoms, physical exam, any particular orders the MD/NP requested and any meds. Believe me, it's all about pattern recognition and seeing simliarities and consistencies between patient cases. After a while you can start drawing inferences from prior examples and apply them to future cases and that's where you start to develop that "sixth sense" or "gut hunch".

Anyways, not to take away from your good experience but keep up the good work and the positive attitude!!!!

-MB