How to get an ED job after school?

[Schneid1]

0I am a new nursing student, age 38 so I have given this career change a lot of thought. I am fairly certain I want to work in an Emergency Department and while I know that might change I would also like advice for things I can do during my time as a student to make me a desireable candidate to hospitals after I graduate.

any advice on how to best prepare to be a great candidate or what worked for other readers is much appreciated! I know there are lots of ED positions in my area but I do not know how competitive that field is.

[Boxer Mama]

HCA has an ER residency program you could apply to (since I saw in previous post you are in Denver). It is a highly competitive program, but it opens up the door for a nurse without experience.

[/username, BSN, RN]

It completely depends on the part of the country you are in. Some places will take anyone with a pulse who is standing, and have a nursing license. In some ERs, you need experience to even get a phone interview.

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

It's hard to say. My ER hires new grads regularly, so long as you interview well. it's fairly competitive, but turnover is high because new grads also get tossed to the wolves once they are off orientation.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

Some places hire new grads, others require them to be experienced either on a MedSurg floor or telemetry floor. If that's where you want to be, try to find out which places hire new grads, and keep applying.

Then you have to work on the interview. The ER and ICU are competitive spots - almost everyone goes for them, whether new grad or people with 1-2 yrs experience. Don't expect to walk in there saying you're motivated, you've done x,y,z volunteering, etc, and expect to be called. You have to really have a story and show your commitment to wanting to work in the ER. Don't be surprised if they whip out an EKG, ask you what the rhythm is, what the pathological disease process is, and what to do for it.