You know I am also orienting to the ED. My previous experience is 4 yrs ICU. I have been orienting for about 3 weeks (only 2 shifts a week, though). For me the whole taking care of more patients than I'm used to.. and fast... is my biggest challenge. My preceptor and my ED educator both have stated that learning about the populations I don't know (peds, psych, ortho) is the main goal. My preceptor is an agency nurse and she ROCKS! Whenever I get a little antsy about my performance, she simply tells me in this setting if anyone has an issue with you, they will let you know! Unlike the ICU where RNs are on a mission to tear their newbies apart, I am feeling great love where I am. That said, the critical thinking and assessment skills I learned in critical care are very helpful. But have similar skills from your floor experience. For now, I am just enjoying having a preceptor who actually cares about my learning. When I was an ICU agency nurse at a new hospital, I got at most an hour or two to learn a whole new unit before I started to work. It sucked!
