MedSurg Trauma RN transition to Emergency Nursing, what do I need to expect and know?

[zhapper2002]

Hey my fellow nurse brothers and sisters!

I am an RN for 2 years now working on a MedSurg Trauma Floor and now I accepted a new position as an ED Nurse. I used to work as a Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse for 2 years in an acute setting as well.

I know Emergency Nursing is fast paced, busy and stressful and you gotta be a detective to know what is wrong and what is happening to your patient. Also to know and differentiate who is sick and who isn't. I know I had a little over 2 years of experience, but seriously, it still gives me the anxiety of knowing that I am leaving out of my comfort zone (as a MedSurg nurse), but I really wanted to pursue Emergency Nursing ever since.

I just want to ask my fellow nurses out there who are experienced in Emergency Nursing, what do I expect once I started my training? What patient conditions do you mostly recommend on reviewing (e.g stroke, sepsis, MI etc)? Dealing with code blues? What do I need to know or what are ER nurses doing everyday differently compared to MedSurg nurses? I am just literally nervous and excited at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can possibly extend!

-zhapper2002

[Dallas_RN, BSN, EMT-P]

Congrats on the transition!

[WinterWolf90]

Just learn the ins and outs of the department and how people do things. I worked a year on med surg and went to the ER and have been there for 8 years.

The most important thing, and I cannot stress this enough, is to learn from the easy stuff and advanced to the hard. DO NOT be one of those people that wants to do trauma trauma trauma in the start. You have to learn the smaller things first. When I was at a level 1 you would get all the new people that just wanted to do trauma and would not stop talking about it but they didn't even know the basics. Learning the simple things first will make life a lot easier.

[HiddencatBSN, BSN]

If you had a paper "brain" or clipboard or notepad for patient and shift details, ditch it. We do any note taking that isn't directly e-charted on paper towels (sometimes gloves but I'm much less likely to accidently throw out my triage note if it's not on my gross gloves). Your assignment will change and the orders will shift too frequently for a paper brain to be helpful anyway.

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

Some people do take notes in the ER like they would on a medsurg floor. I don't get it at all. The important stuff should be able to be memorized and even if that's not the case, just glance at the chart while giving report. Most ER nurses will understand that it can be busy.