Internship in the ER

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YEAH!!!! I have been accepted as an intern in our emergency department. I am so excited but of course nervous. I will be interning as a LPN under that license since I am still in school for my RN. My question is to all of you expierenced ER nurses. What one piece of advice would you give A new nurse starting out in the ER?

Any advice is great, Thank You.

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.
YEAH!!!! I have been accepted as an intern in our emergency department. I am so excited but of course nervous. I will be interning as a LPN under that license since I am still in school for my RN. My question is to all of you expierenced ER nurses. What one piece of advice would you give A new nurse starting out in the ER?

Any advice is great, Thank You.

Are you working as an LPN, or are you doing an intern as a nursing student (I see those as two totally different things). Just make sure you're not crossing boundaries within your scope of practice between the two!

Make sure you ask questions. Make sure they know you're there, charge RN, team leader, etc. If I know there is a student there, and I know there is something interesting/educational for them, I search them down and bring them in. Jump in on cases. Make sure to ask everyone questions, not just the nurses. RT's, CNA's, child life, residents- residents love to teach (they think they know something :p )

Talk to your unit educator. Try and make a list of your goals during the internship. What skills do you want to do/get really good at (def assessments and IV's). What sort of cases do you want to see?

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Be aggressive in seeking out learning opportunities! If you do not know something, do not hesitate to make it clear. The key is to focus on what you will learn, not what you do not know! I have always appreciated students that were confident and assertive as these tend to be more reliable. Even if they don't know all the answers I can trust they will find the needed information. Finally, have a "whatever it takes" attitude. Do not focus on what is wrong or out of the typical routine, focus on solutions to any situation you come upon.

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Not the original poster, but one who is considering ER work. Thanks for the input.

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I will be working under my LPN license. I realize that the scopes are different and I will be very careful not to practice out of my licensed scope. Thank you so very much for the feedback!!!

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My one piece of advice.... Have a sense of humor

YEAH!!!! I have been accepted as an intern in our emergency department. I am so excited but of course nervous. I will be interning as a LPN under that license since I am still in school for my RN. My question is to all of you expierenced ER nurses. What one piece of advice would you give A new nurse starting out in the ER?

Any advice is great, Thank You.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
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