New ER nurse.. Any tips?

Bobjohnny · May 19, 2016

Study for boards. Passing them is not a given. Passing, or not, is not a reflection of competence of the individual who takes the test though.

Badically, worry about passing boards first.

MassED, BSN, RN · May 19, 2016

Good luck, hope you have a good long orientation. I don't work in an ER that has new grads. Look for every opportunity to learn, with other nurses, techs, docs. Just listen and learn, keep opinions to a minimum.

RUmedic · May 19, 2016

Although I don't work at ED, I would however recommend to start reading up on emergency medicine books such as "Tintinalli's emergency medicine guide".

I own 6th edition and it is a heavy volume of about 1,000 pages. I think it is in its 7th edition now. This will be your "go-to" reference manual. It is very much a standard for ED physicians and nurses. Then, you might also benefit from numerous blogs and podcasts out there. There's one that readily comes to mind and is my favorite: EMCrit Blog - Emergency Department Critical Care & Resuscitation

It is very rare that new graduate be allowed into ED internship without prior floor experience.

Good luck with NCLEX and ED position!

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 19, 2016

Study for boards. Passing them is not a given. Passing, or not, is not a reflection of competence of the individual who takes the test though.
Badically, worry about passing boards first.

Exactly.

Knowing the concepts of NCLEX, which is important:

1. Safe, effective care

2. Health Promotion

3. Physiological Integrity

4. Psychological Integrity

And understanding what is the priority will allow you to succeed in passing the NCLEX, and then when you start the ED.

I'll give you tips as soon as you pass the NCLEX.

Best wishes.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 19, 2016

It is very rare that new graduate be allowed into ED internship without prior floor experience.

Maybe that's the case in your facility. There are a lot of eds that hire new grads.

MomAndSonInMD · May 20, 2016

Maybe that's the case in your facility. There are a lot of eds that hire new grads.

Yes, I was thinking the same. I know a few off the top of my head that do. In fact, one said it was one of the easiest areas to get into as a new grad.

LessValuableNinja · May 20, 2016

Ditto for Texas. All the major hospital systems here have ER internships or residencies for new grads.

Bobjohnny · May 20, 2016

Our facility will hire new grads. Typically we only hire new grads that have either done a preceptorship in our department or already work there in some capacity (EDT or US). I've seen us hire a couple of other new grad RNs that don't fit that model, two had been LPNs since the beginning of time. The third was a direct result of nepotism. Fortunately she has actually worked out pretty well.