muesli

My grandmother just retired and she is 83. My husband's grandmother works and is 88! I anticipate working a while although probably not in something so physically demanding. That's part of why I want to expand my skills now. I want to have more opportunities available to me in the future.

Retired by 53? My goodness I hope you have a great retirement plan or a rich spouse! I will be working until I'm 80. *sigh*

By that time, assuming you are a nurse now, you will be in a much better spot than many young nurses. You will have years of experience, and in nursing that is what matters. I am trying to tailor my career to get good experience when I am still relatively young (I am about your age I think). I am being more aggressive about my job experience and education and certification now so that I can have more options in the future. Also, I get bored easily :). Remember they were saying there was going to be a mass shortage of nurses this past decade, and it hasn't been as drastic as they predicted.

Thank you. :)

It's that time again to update my resume, fluff my little feathers, and put in as many uppercase letters after my name as possible to get someone to notice me lol. Which credentials do you include? It can really get out of control. I was going to put RN, BSN; but since I was thinking of applying to another level 1 trauma center I was thinking about including TNCC. But is this considered a credential to put in your title? I wouldn't, for example, include ACLS or BLS after my name.

Now that it is in the US... we all have a responsibility to get answers to this question!

Thanks! This was very helpful.

I'm not saying people hired into a job shouldn't do their job, but it seems to me that paramedics are a little over qualified to be hired to stock rooms and simply take vitals, similar to a nurse's aid with no formal training. Why don't they hire nurses aids instead who have a tradition of working well alongside nurses and have a passion for bedside care? Most paramedics I know are skill oriented and like to work independently. Nurses aids make awesome team players.

No, except for students. I don't know why they would want to, although I'm not a paramedic so I can't speak to that. Paramedics are very qualified and can intubate, give meds according to protocol and assess. Why would they want to share duties with a nurse and let the residents handle the intubations? Seems to me that takes away all the fun. In our facility BTW, paramedic students intubate during their rotation in the OR.

I am looking to build my credentials and education, and am wondering which of these to do first? I don't work with pediatrics very often in my ED which has pedi specific nurses. That is one reason the ENPC appeals to me though, so I can be stronger in pedi. Both credentials seem to be an application requirement in many ED job postings I've seen as I consider relocating, so I will likely have to get both eventually. Anybody done both? Which is harder? I've been told the CEN is more challenging than the NCLEX. How long did you study for? Thanks

With your experience in ICU honing your assessment skills with critical patients you would probably do very well if you felt drawn to the fast pace of a level one. The only credential you should consider is TNCC. Other emergency-specific credentials like CEN are recommended to be taken later after a few years of ED, but the place I'm at won't even put you in the trauma room until you have TNCC.

Weatherck, get your TNCC as soon as you can. I found it very informative and helpful.

Things that end up being treated in the trauma room must meet certain criteria, but they typically include car wrecks, gunshots, stabbings, or falls or other accidents with suspicion for serious and emergent internal injury. Depending on the injury, these patients may go directly to the OR or they may be assessed, stabilized and sent to the main ED for continued monitoring. Pregnant patients who are imminently delivering who don't have time to be sent over to labor and delivery may also end up in the trauma room. That doesn't mean that the main ED never sees sick patients. Patients with open fractures without massive hemorrhage, heart attacks including STEMIs, strokes, patients in septic shock, heart dysrhthmias, cardiac arrest and patients in respiratory distress needing intubation are all examples of sick patients that would come to the main ED, but not the trauma room. I work at a Level 1 trauma center; other facilities may vary in what ends up in their trauma room.

Is staffing and acuity different in your new job? Perhaps it's unreasonable to assume people are going to help you with routine tasks, but hopefully when the poop hits the fan in your assignment and someone else is less slammed with acuity, they will step in. The ED where I work has a layout which is not conducive to team nursing, but somewhat isolates nurses with their assignments. You really rely on your ancillary staff. With an average patient assignment of 6 in a busy level one trauma center people don't always have time to help on a routine level, but they are great at stepping in when acuity strikes, i.e. intubation, STEMI, code, etc. I've always believed you have to promote a culture of teamwork. I try to offer people help whenever I can in hopes that what goes around comes around.

Anyone get into CRNA school with ED, not ICU, experience?