How Do We Celebrate Emergency Nurses Week 2019?

This week is the time to thank and celebrate our emergency department (ED) nursing staff. These nurses face an often chaotic environment where you never know what type of patient or patients will be coming through the door next. ED nurses tend to have some commonalities:

• Ability to tell "sick" from "not sick"
• Strain out the extraneous noise/chaos
• Love of chaos
• Strong work ethic
• Diplomacy in dealing with patients and families
• Fast learner
• Strong critical thinking skills

In some areas of the country there is a lot of competition for ED jobs. Sometimes adding certifications related to trauma or pediatric care can put you ahead of the game if your goal is to land and ED RN position. Enthusiasm and genuine interest goes far too.

So...you have landed your coveted ED position, now what? Orientation varies tremendously - you may get 12-16 weeks with both didactic and clinical time or you may have a preceptor for a few weeks. Much depends on your overall nursing experience. Your nursing degree is just the beginning of your ED education. Certifications show you have basic knowledge of expected actions in specific circumstances. It is the basis for much of the care in emergent situations. And the policy and procedures can also be daunting to learn. Most EDs have protocols for specific complaints such as starting a line, drawing routine labs, EKG, CXR and perhaps others.

This is the week we celebrate YOU the ED nurse, the nurse who makes sense out of chaos, who's there at the start of life sometimes and many times at the end of life. You comfort all your patients with care and compassion. You juggle patients and families who wait and wait and wait and who can be cranky and unrealistic.

ED nursing is easily one of the most stressful jobs in nursing. Teamwork is never more important than in a busy ED. Your colleagues can make or break you. A difficult shift can be made more bearable knowing someone has your back.

There are multiple levels of EDs ranging from urban level one tertiary care facilities that see >100k visits per year to small critical access hospitals (CACH) that might not staff their ED 24/7. So, its important to know your audience - in the more rural areas you might take care of relatives, friends and neighbors. In larger urban cities, perhaps you won't ever see a familiar face. Then there are different roles you can fill in the ED:

• Triage - you are the entry point for most EDs
• Trauma nurse - you might have this assignment or you might come to the trauma baby only if you are needed
• Pediatric ED - many of the larger hospitals have adult and pediatric care separate so as to focus on their specific needs
• Urgent care or Fast Track - care for some of the less complex patients
• charge RN - you direct the flow

So for all you harried, worried, hard-working, wonderful, compassionate ED nurses - THANK YOU for all you do!

How are you celebrating Emergency Nurses Week 2019?