Orienting to ER... getting ready?

Specialties Emergency

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Specializes in Childbirth Educator, Birth Doula.

Hey all! I'm getting ready to orient in the ER at the critical access facility I've been working as a floor nurse in for the last 18 months (my first job as a new grad...) and my team and I are pretty excited to get started.

Besides studying for and taking ACLS and TNCC, what can I do to prepare myself?

What supplies should I have on my person at all times?

And what do you wish somebody would have told you to pay more attention to when you started?

Thanks for your insight... I appreciate it! :)

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

There have been numerous enlightening threads on this topic! Let me dig up a few .... you're not a new grad, but you're going to feel like one so the "new grad" posts are pretty relevant. :) Good luck!

https://allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/tips-for-a-1043132.html

https://allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/new-ed-nurse-1067490.html

https://allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/recent-transfer-to-1105611.html

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I would think you will need to come up to speed on Peds pretty quickly also - are they having you take ENPC and PALS?

You will probably find it useful to acquire your own copy of a good emergency nursing manual such as Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care, the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum, etc, and maybe Manual of Pediatric Emergency Nursing....available on Amazon. Yes, you can learn on the fly but the manuals will get you the benefit of way more information than just task-oriented nursing and pattern recognition.

Anyway, this is exciting and please come back here to let us know how it's going!

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
Hey all! I'm getting ready to orient in the ER at the critical access facility I've been working as a floor nurse in for the last 18 months (my first job as a new grad...) and my team and I are pretty excited to get started.
Good for you. I started my ED career in 1-doc, 1-nurse critical access facility. It was rough going sometimes but I made it, though it's not the optimal way to launch.

Besides studying for and taking ACLS and TNCC, what can I do to prepare myself?
Don't ignore peds... PALS and NRP.

Also, get copies of Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care (Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care, 7e (Newberry, Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care): 97832378276: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com) and Emergency Nursing Procedures (Emergency Nursing Procedures, 4th Edition: 97814164989: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com). As much as possible, after every shift, read up on the sections appropriate to patients that you've just had. Also study proactively with as much time and energy as you have to invest.

What supplies should I have on my person at all times?

  • Gloves (Sometimes you need them when there aren't any close by)
  • Two ballpoint pends (just in case the first one craps out or gets lost)
  • Colored Sharpie (to make high-contrast marks on med bags, tubing, etc)
  • Stethoscope (Gotta have your ears...)
  • Trauma shears (don't need them that often but when you do, it's usually right now
  • Plastic tape (Again, you often don't need it but sometimes you need it right now
  • A high-intensity tactical flashlight like the Fenix PD35 (This serves two roles: (1) it's super helpful in trauma surveys to help visual scalp injuries, and (2) it's bright enough to disorient an attacker long enough to create some space and permit escape... presuming that you realize that EDs can get very sketchy, especially the little ones where you only have a couple of staff and you're dealing with erratic and volatile tweakers and/or drunks
  • Female Luer lock caps. (It's super poor practice to disconnect infusion lines and loop them back on themselves, and downright malpractice to do it without scrubbing the hub first)
  • Alcohol prep pads (Scrub the hub, scrub the hub, scrub the hub... and they work well for removing tape from fragile, old skin without removing the skin as well
  • Flushes (again, there are times that you need them right now

And what do you wish somebody would have told you to pay more attention to when you started?
Personal safety and recognizing potential threats before they become actual threats.

Thanks for your insight... I appreciate it! :)
I'm leaving the ED but it's been quite a ride and, IMO, is the singular best place to learn nursing.
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Specializes in Childbirth Educator, Birth Doula.

Yes!! Perfect responses. I'm so grateful to be transitioning to a team of people who I know and work well with already, and can't wait to learn, learn, learn. Thank you all so much! ^_^

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