Floor to ED transition

[guest901464]

I've read in numerous threads about how it can be difficult, in some ways, for a floor nurse to transition to the ED...can someone expand on that? I understand the ED is a totally different environment than floor nursing but what are some more specific things that can cause an issue with this transition? Or some bad habits?

Thank you!

[rearviewmirror, BSN, RN]

hello, was obs and tele nurse prior to ER. ER is the best kind a nurse could be in. to answer your question, biggest thing was "not caring". I know that sounds weird, but on the floor, you have everything pretty much on the clock and paced, scheduled. ER is not like that at all. You could have 1 cp work up (ekg, blood work, meds) and 2 abd pain work ups (sometimes ekg, blood work, meds) and other crap you have to deal with at the same time (pt needing ac iv for cta, family wanting blankets, sandwich, updating pt, cleaning pt, comm with docs, etc etc) and you get an ambulance. like others said, prioritize. You could have 15 tasks lined up, but you're only one person, so those that are going to wait have to wait. it was the hardest concept to overcome because as floor nurses, you are used to steady, set pace, and you have outline of what's to happen in order, and the ER is chaos. Everything, anything goes, so if you have this mindset and be willing to learn, it will be all good.