Not properly trained for ER?????

pennyaline · Sep 19, 2009

I am in my 3rd week of first level clinicals working toward the 2 year ASN degree. On our first day of class, we were told the ASN degree is mostly Med/Surg oriented & that as new grads we would not be ready for ICU or ER...Does everyone here agree with that for the ER?

I don't know if "everyone here" agrees with that, but I do. There are very few new grads who are anywhere near ready for that level of hurly-burly.

You've had more exposure to ER procedure than (probably) most nursing students, so you're taking the comment as a personal affront. Yes you are. Don't. It's not a critique of you as an individual. It is good advice from someone hoping to keep a new nurse from going down in flames.

When you graduate, go ahead and apply to the ER at the trauma center if you still want to. They will decide if you qualify as an appropriate new NURSING hire (not EMT) for their department or not, and they will counsel you as to your next step if you ask them for advice. Remember, they will be hiring a nurse, and they very well may want sufficient evidence that you can function as a nurse in a less demanding setting before taking a chance on you in the rat race of the ER.

bassadict69 · Sep 19, 2009

Not taking any comments wrong at all...simply trying to get more info on it so I can start deciding where to try to start when I do finally graduate.

I guess one option is to work as an ER Tech or Nurse tech at the Level 1 TC just to see what goes on.

PAERRN20 · Sep 19, 2009

I will pipe up too. I don't think a new grad is ready for an ER/ICU position. I was a new grad in the ER and let me tell you it was ROUGH! It can be done though. I was able to do it with less than 8 weeks of orientation. I've been in for over a year and a half and I can hold my own. If you heart is set on ER do it, but it will be full of bumps. I think going to the ER puts a lot of unnecessary stress on an already over stressed new grad. I've never worked med/surg so I can't speak for that side of things.

GiGiOm · Sep 19, 2009

I did a lot of my student nursing in an ER. I loved it and was totally unprepared for working on the floor because it is so different. It's not a bad idea to get some adult med surg under your belt. That said, you have experience with emergencies that will give you an edge over a new graduate that has no experience whatsoever. Do some time as a tech in that ER. That will get your foot in the door. Then just go ahead and go for that ER job, since you like that kind of work and know you want to do it.

rn5350 · Sep 19, 2009

i must say that i had initially wanted to do just that- er or icu right out. instead, i did medsurg/neuro for about 1 1/2 yrs...then i branched out. i think that gives you a nice broad base, everything you learn in school comes together, you build up confidence in your skills- and that really shows! then .....i joined float pool...through that i got to go to er many many times, picu, and every other floor besides icu. you get to test drive the different units before you commit to one. i finally decided i was ready and have now been in icu for 11 months. i love it! i have met nurses here that have only done icu...no floor experience...and it shows. big time. they personally don't have all the insight you get from roughing it on the med surg units for a while...you do pick up a lot of inside tips and hand me downs for other nurses! i think that a good nurse is someone that is compassionate and understanding, yet firm and strong when they need to be. please never forget that you are there for that patient. not to study them like a new mystery case to see if you can diagnose them, but to provide support and be and advocate to them. i think that if you keep that in mind, no matter where you start you will be all right. i treat them as i would a family member of mine and my patients always ask for me! just remember, as long as you get a good starting base you will grow with limitless possibilities in nursing! :redbeathe

AggieQT · Sep 19, 2009

My opinion... it all depends on the individual and the unit you are applying to... do I think my nursing program prepared me for the ER (even with doing clinicals in 3 ERs and taking an extra elective ER nursing course)? HECK NO... BUT I was blessed to get hired on into a Residency Program that lasts 22 weeks... we get both didactic as well as clinical experience that is unit specific... think of it as 6 months of EXTRA training specific to the ER... I'm a little over halfway through and learning sooo much, but I also have the support from my preceptors as well as the residency program backing me... I take initiative and read up and learn on my own time as well... COuld I handle a level I trauma center? Prob not right now... but I'm doing just fine right now because I have the structured support of the program and unit management. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do... but do realize that they are speaking from experience and do think things through before you make your decision. Good luck!

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Sep 19, 2009

A slow paced ER? Where you can take the time to learn? I think so.

A level 1 trauma center? No. And I doubt the old-timers there will even let you in. Those types of units are based on reps alone and who you know and WHO knows YOU and YOUR experience. Sometimes, it's a very exclusive "club" based on peer recommendations alone. New grads would not fare well in that environment.

foreverLaur · Sep 19, 2009

Med/Surg is by no means easy. I am a tech on a Med/Surg floor and the nurses run their butts off. We hired one new grad who floundered and since, have only hired experienced nurses here. However, due to the broad base of patients we get, I think it would be great experience. I've learned a lot and I'm only a tech.

MissBrittanyRN · Sep 19, 2009

Hey foreverLaur, there's no such thing as "only a tech" ;-)

foreverLaur · Sep 19, 2009

Hey foreverLaur, there's no such thing as "only a tech" ;-)

I'm SO glad I am a tech. When I finish up grad school, I'll have a respect for techs I don't think you can get without being one.

SpaceCoastRN · Sep 19, 2009

I transitioned into an ED setting as an RN back in June. My background is from EMS but as a paramedic working in busy systems since 1992 (2 years before that as an EMT-I). Most EMT's that I have worked with over the years I do not think would make a successful transition from school to ED without a lot of stress on themselves and their patients. From medic to RN was not bad as I had a very strong foundation to build upon and I found the changes pretty easy. Do I think my nursing school provided an education that would prepare someone with less experience for a busy ED spot, no I honestly do not. But your mileage may vary.