New to ED

[Hawaiigirlnomore]

HI:

I just recently transferred from a Tele unit to a Level 1 Trauma Center ED at a well-known university; Wow what a change! I am 5 weeks into my orientation with a preceptor- Some days I am on top of the world; other days just suck and I feel like I can't keep up with the assignment. I am told this will get better with time, unfortunately I am not very patient (with me) so I would like to do some reading/browsing etc to expand my knowledge on ED nursing. Anyways, I am looking for resources regarding ED nursing; books, websites etc. Thanks in advance for your help!

[IrishErin]

Congrats on the job! I know there have been several threads strayed on the forum quite similar to this that have yielded lots of great answers, you could try searching for them.

[zmansc, ASN, RN]

I think the subject of "ED nursing" is a bit broad, it can be broken down into different components. There is no real text on how to handle the workflow in the ED, it is unique to each department but generalized enough for everyone to be able to catch on in most situations. There is alot of juggling of priorities and having to adjust on the fly.

As for general text about the various issues you will be dealing with, I would suggest a study guide for the CEN as the most complete broad coverage text. For example, Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care is considered a good text that covers most of the systems we deal with in the ED. Since you are moving from a tele floor, I would assume you know rhythms and most things cardiac fairly well. The difference is that in the ED you will be seeing more patients that are unstable and going south and need tx, where (hopefully if your ED is doing it's job), by the time the pt gets to the tele floor they should be stabilized and improving for the most part.

If your question is more oriented towards trauma care, then you might want to consider the TNCC course and the book that goes with it.