new grad, just hired in ER, question.

tridil2000, MSN, RN · Mar 4, 2006

I don't graduate until May, but I have already been given a job in the ER. I have been a EMT since 97 but I know that is a whole different world from nursing. My question is, Will I be missing out on important nursing knowledge by not working on a med-surg floor first?
They are going to start me out as a nurse extern until I graduate so I can ease into it a little first.

i started out as a gn in the er in 1987 and have done er and other areas of critical care since.

you'll put more ng tubes and foleys in in a week than ms nurses put in in a month. your cardiac and respiratory skills will get sharp quickly and you'll learn to prioritze on day 1.

as long as you're committed to learn at a fast pace, you'll do well.

inodou · Mar 4, 2006

Thank you for replying. I am a quick learner, and a master of multi tasking, so I think that I will be able to pick up on stuff fast.

It is just that one of my instructors at school said that I would miss out on nursing skills by not doing med surg first.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Mar 4, 2006

We just got a new grad a year ago who was a paramedic and she is doing very well. You'll do fine.

neneRN, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2006

I started out in ER right out of school and I'm still there. ER nursing is a different world; if you want to be an ER nurse, start there.

sunflowergirl · Mar 4, 2006

If you think you will like ER, give it a try. You will learn a lot about everything in the ER. Do ask your manager to send you to a trauma course for emergency room nurses. Although you may have knowledge and experience in this area because you are an EMT. It will give you confidence to know that you will know what steps to take in a trauma situation. That was my biggest fear when working in the ER.

student4ever · Mar 4, 2006

If you think you will like ER, give it a try. You will learn a lot about everything in the ER. Do ask your manager to send you to a trauma course for emergency room nurses. Although you may have knowledge and experience in this area because you are an EMT. It will give you confidence to know that you will know what steps to take in a trauma situation. That was my biggest fear when working in the ER.

There are lots of nurses who think that you should not "specialize" without some med/surg experience first. However, I, and a lot of the nurses I work with in the ER figure, if you know for sure what you want to do, why not start there and just jump right in. I know several people who took the advice to start in med/surg and had a horrible first year that they hated, because it just wasn't what they wanted to be doing, and then had a hard time transferring to the ER because a lot of ERs kind of want to train you from the get go. I think more so than any other "specialty" of nursing, ER is VERY specific in the kinds of skills you need - and you usually need to know the skills perfectly and be able to do them very quickly. The kinds of things you will be doing in the ER, you will have TONS of practice, because you do them on a daily basis, whereas on med/surg, you may get the chance to do it once a month like another poster said. Catheters, IV starts, NG tubes, cardiac/respiratory assesments... every day occurrences in the ER. Yet on med/surg, most of the patients arrive with catheters in and IVs started, and in our hospital, the nurses on the floor rarely start their own IVs... they just call IV therapy. In the ER, you get lots of experience doing these things. Like someone else said, ER is a whole different world, and these days a lot of ERs are very receptive to starting new grads off there if they really want to work ER, and seem to have what it takes to make a great ER nurse. Why waste time with something you don't want?

inodou · Mar 4, 2006

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am sure I will be back here as I get started in the ER. :)

paphgrl · Mar 4, 2006

I am a new grad working in the ER. I love it! I wouldn't want to work anywhere else. That said, I find it very challenging. I want so badly to be good at my job, but that comes with time and experience. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't able to work at the level of your experienced coworkers. Accept that you are a novice and will be a novice for several years. Don't take on more than you can accomplish safely.

Good luck

mocaj · Mar 4, 2006

I don't graduate until May, but I have already been given a job in the ER. I have been a EMT since 97 but I know that is a whole different world from nursing. My question is, Will I be missing out on important nursing knowledge by not working on a med-surg floor first?
They are going to start me out as a nurse extern until I graduate so I can ease into it a little first.

What sites did you look under to find a job that quickly. I would like to have a job lined up when I graduate in April also but I am not sure on how to do it. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Danita

inodou · Mar 4, 2006

I was approched by a local hospital, I didn't use a website.

Atlanta Kellie · Mar 14, 2006

What sites did you look under to find a job that quickly. I would like to have a job lined up when I graduate in April also but I am not sure on how to do it. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Danita

You can check with the hosptials your interested in to see if they have nurse extern positions. I will start at Grady Hospital in Atlanta this summer as a nurse extern. I can continue there until I graduate and then take a position there as a RN in the ER. The nurse recruiter told me they love getting nursing students because they like to "grow their own" in the ER. I guess the new ones are easier to mold. :)