Medic transition to ER

[MsBruiser]

Hi - I'm a nursing student thinking about working in the ER. Spent several years working as a medic - but a very long time ago. Do you think it will be a tough transition. As medics, we had leeway to start meds, make decisions, etc. How do you feel this is in the ER? Are there protocols in place? As an ER nurse, what do you spend the majority of time doing?

[KatieBell]

Hi - I'm a nursing student thinking about working in the ER. Spent several years working as a medic - but a v\0\0?SK?\0\0\0\0S~?? Do you think it will be a tough transition. As medics, we had leeway to start meds, make decisions, etc. How do you feel this is in the ER? Are there protocols in place? As an ER nurse, what do you spend the majority of time doing?

Hey- We have a few Paramedics that made the transition to RN in the ED. Most say it wasn't too difficult. Thing to remember as a medic, you only had leeway to start certain drugs- and most others you had to call in to a medical director for ability to start and advice on the dose. So, you will be in a similar situation. They tell me they find it difficult that they are having a patient for four or more hours, rather than the 10 minutes they are used to having a patient. So, it is a little different.

As far as protocols, it will depend on the hospital. I used to work one that was highly protocol based. Now I am traveling and I am at a place where the nurses seem to just do an assessment and wait to be told. So, it highly depends on where you are.

[EMTPTORN]

It Is A Breeze Of A Transition:paramedic To Er-rn. You Spend The Majority Of The Time Trying To Keep Up With Your 4-5pts. For Example, The Er I Work In, If You Have Any Empty Room It Is Only For Minutes, Until It Is Cleaned, There Is Usally A Long Wait Time And Several Folks Waiting To Get That Room. There Are Standing Protocols Where I Work For Pain, Kidney Stones, Strokes, Chp, Fx's...labs, Ekg's, Xrays Can All Be Ordered By Standing Order Even From Triage.

Good Luck