Offered an ER position and Neuro ,, tough decison need some advice!

[KittyinNj]

Hello all,

I am a nurse with 1.5 yrs experience in a trauma 1 hospital. The floor i worked on was ortho, neuro, trauma, and of course over flow from internal medicine. I have been offered a wonderful opportunity in the ER. it is an evening shift, i know ive heard that the er can be crazy from 3pm-11pm, which im fine because i deal with crazy busy patients now! i was also offered a neuro position 7pm-7am ( which is when the sundowners come out).

The ER person who intereviewed me said the girl who they hired completed orientation and quit, this kinda scared me! the place didnt seem to crazy it is not a trauma 1 hospital. i interviewed at a trauma 1 hospital in nj and wanted to run far far away from that er lol!

My dilemma is this, i feel that i would love the er, but with no experience in the ER it maybe overwhelming and maybe stressful, i must attend vent classes, take another ekg class etc. Although, i belive it would be a great learning opportunity for me. The neuro job makes me feel like i would be fully classified as a neuro nurse now and feel cornered into that field.

Eventually i would like to get certified, so do i work one more year and get neuro certified or put in my 2 years in the er then get certified, i feel like with the ER will open up more doors career wise..

thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated :)

[amarilla, RN]

If you're asking a bunch of ED nurses whether you should take an ED job, I think you know what answer you're probably going to get. Yes, it will be a lot of work, overwhelming, stressful and frustrating sometimes. It's also really awesome if it's the right fit and teaches skills that other areas simply do not. That being said, what do *you* ultimately want to do in your career? Where do you see yourself working? Any area that you're interested in or really hope to get to try?

I do think it's a red flag that someone got through orientation and then quit. I'd be concerned that perhaps there isn't much support for the newer nurse or that the current staff / working environment aren't amiable to newcomers. Either way, if you choose the ED job, I'd ask to shadow and keep an eye on how people interact in addition to patient flow and staffing. Good luck!