Before you go further, why do you want to work in the ED? This is the question they are going to ask you and you need a good answer.
Right now getting a job in a hospital is hard enough, as a new grad... Saying I want a ED, ICU or L&D position on top of that, even harder. As a new grad you need at least 4 weeks to orientate to Med/Surg (a good chunk of money for the hospital to spend on you) As a new grad in the ED or ICU you are looking at 4-5 months in orientation (almost $30,000 just in your salary and benefits). That is a lot of money for a hospital to invest in you. A manager is putting their neck out for you, if they hire a new grad. I personally do not know how the job market is in Atlanta but here in California my fellow new grads averaged 7 months to over a year to land A job, some are still looking. 10% moved to Texas to be hired. The people I know who were hired into the ED as new grads, knew someone or worked in the ED (EMT in the ED or Unit Sec in the ED). I would spend your time volunteering in an ED and get to know the staff (if you can get some of the staff nurses to pull for you with management it can help).
As for certs: I say go ahead and get ACLS and PALS, they are not that expensive,if you have the money go ahead. My job wanted me to have them before I was hired, save the hosp a couple of bucks. But before I would take a good EKG class, 12 lead class (something they don't teach you in school) and maybe an EMT course (there are a lot of skill in the ED that they don't teach you in school ie splints, how to place a C-collar, etc)There are some other certs: TNCC and EDPC but they are really expensive (in the $500 range each) and you are not going to get a lot out of them without experience in the ED. NONE of these are the Golden Ticket into the ED and may just be dumping your money down the toilet. When I was hired as a new grad in the ED, I treated it as I won the lottery (your chances may be better with the lotto). That is how hard it is to get in as a new grad to the ED.
Most of the people posting here are trying to give you a real world picture of the job market out there. Many BSN new grads think that it will be easy to get hired, "I have a leg above the ADNs". That may or may not be true. At my hospital they don't care if you have a BSN or ADN. What they do care about is real world nursing exp. If you get a med/surg position, take it and be thankful, these forums are filled with new grads trying to get a job.
