trauma_lama

Hey friends, quick brain-pick. I finished my BSN and I'm looking to the next phase, not sure yet if I want to pursue acute care NP or CRNA. Either way I know I will need ICU experience to achieve my future goals so I'm looking in that direction now. I have a few years under my belt in a large level I trauma center ED so I'm familiar with high acuity, and I tend to like the sicker of the sick. I've got interviews set up with MICU for a no-weekends, days-only position (SWEET!) and CSICU with rotating shifts (yuck) but they do ECMO there (on my list of professional learning goals). Do y'all have any insight into either of these types of units? I'm stuck on quality of life issues (days only and no weekends sounds super good as I have small kids, while rotating shifts will probably beat my ***) and learning environment (any unit which has ECMO patients is probably going to be an amazing learning opportunity, amiright??). If you have any thoughts, please drop them below. Especially would love to hear any experiences you have with ECMO! Thanks y'all!

Hey all, A trauma coordinator position just opened up at my level III facility and I applied as trauma is my passion and advancing in it is my career goal. They've called me to schedule an interview. I wanted to see if anyone could give me feedback about their experience with the role. I'm aware that it is immensely stressful but I've also been told very rewarding by the trauma nerds I know. Anyone? Thx!

This is the case in my department. It can be very disheartening to not be in the "in clique," and I'm 2+ years into the place. with over 5 years nsg exp.

Hi friends, I'm just beginning in a level one trauma ED. I transferred to it from a tele unit in my hospital system. It seems like the classes and certs I'm required to get surpass any of the requirements of heard of nurses in other departments needing to fulfill. Luckily, I got a few of the classses out of the way when I oriented for my old unit, like IV infusion, 12-lead, and EKG interpretation. But now I'm also having to do TNCC, PALS, ACLS (which I already had from when I worked in the OR but let it lapse bc it's not required for floor nurses other than ICU at my hospital), mass casualty class, nonviolent conflict resolution, lethality (domestic abuse class), decontamination (we aren't too far from a nuclear power plant)... I think there was one called ENSI too, but I can't remember if that for sure is it. There's another ped very we have to get as well but I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, based on my experiences, this is a lot more information than most of our floor nurses are required to take in. Don't get me wrong- I'm not complaining- I love learning, and I want to be hella prepared for any possible contingency. I just get the impression that ED peeps are more formally clinically educated than most other types of floor nurses, am I totally off the mark? I mean they were "strongly encouraging" nurses to pursue stroke certification and cardiac certification on my last floor, but it wasn't mandatory so a lot of people took it as a "meh." I was working part time so I wasn't eligible to take the classes and exams under hospital pay, so I couldn't afford it but I generally approach things with an all or nothing attitude and would have if they'd offered to pay for the exam. Anyway, just wanted to know yalls thoughts on this? I was at a community hospital with 380 beds, and now at the main one within my same hospital system with 890 beds, if that is at all necessary to inform your opinion.

I've been told by a few it's because of burnout? As of right now, I can see myself making a career in the ED... fingers crossed.

This, x a million.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! I have another question I just thought of- how do you do shift change report? Is it expected that you try to DC/admit to inpatient all the pts you can before leaving? Or just report off and hit the road when it's time? Also, I feel so silly saying this having been a nurse for 4.5 yrs now but I've only ever called a few rapid responses and a couple code strokes... never had to call a code. So anxious about that, even thought I *know* what to do and how everything should work, I'm anxious I'll go blank in the moment! God I feel like a new grad again...

Hey y'all, apologies if if this has been posted, I looked and nothing popped right up. So I have 2 yr OR exp ambulatory surgery, and 1.5 yr telemetry/intermediate. I just got hired on in the adult ED in my hospital system, level 1 trauma center. I have many reasons for wanting to make the change. I don't expect to be good at it right away, but I want to have as much knowledge going in as I can. I saw in another thread some folks recommended Sheehy's Emergency Nursing Manual and the Emergency Nursing Bible. I know that I won't be able to control the adrenaline and unfamiliarity at first, but I can control how prepared I am mentally to some degree. I bought the ENB, but have to wait til til next paycheck for Sheehy . Are there other books, materials, websites, shows, etc that yall feel like give an accurate portrayal of ED life or pertinent information? Any tips to prepare myself emotionally? I'm not the toughest bird out there but I'm no wuss, either. I still have 3 weeks before the transfer happens, so I want to read up as much as I can. Also, I streamlined the heck out of my brain sheet for floor nursing, but it occurs to me that I won't be needing it anymore in the new position... do y'all carry an ED equivalent of a brain sheet? If so, would you mind sharing it with me? I'm so thankful for any insight you can share. Oh, I read on a thread here the importance of real time charting in ED... any tips you have on time management are welcome, too? I left a message with my new sup asking her these same things, but I figured nobody ever died from having too many perspectives on a topic, right? Thanks y'all!

WHEW! thanks for your response! Holy cow, I better do some ncclex practice questions to review for this interview!

hey all, Hope you're well and surviving the onslaught of insane natural disasters plaguing us right now... I wanted to ask about a potential interview with an ED mgr. I'm currently on an intermediate CV care unit. I love the people, but it just doesn't feel like home to me. I've been applying to some area EDs- smaller ones, because the bigger ones are way out of my league with only medsurg/tele and OR experience under my belt, obviously. Anyway, I wanted to ask if any of you ED hiring nurses or recent hires can tell me what you remember about the interview process... are there any special ED-related questions that get asked? Or just standard hospital RN questions? What are the biggest things they might be looking for? if it helps, its a small ED healthplex that's part of my current hospital system. Its in a smaller town outside of the big city where our level 1 trauma center is, so I doubt we'd get any really crazy critical patients. Thanks for any insight you can offer!

Yeah, what are they doing to make you feel bullied? I myself started on a CV intermediate floor this spring, coming from the OR (so not a new nurse, but new to floor nursing).

OH MAH GAH please do not interrupt me to read out loud something from EGD results from 3 weeks ago when it's 0710 and our patient is only on our cardiac floor because their most recent general anesthesia threw them into afib. AGGHHHHHHHHHH Seriously though, report is not for detailed H&P. I have to report off on 5 pts- I can't spend 20 minutes on each one.

This is so great! Thank you so much for sharing! Man, I hope floor nursing comes back to me quickly í ½í¸³í ½í¸‰

Hey y'all! Happy weekend! Long story short, I thought the OR would be my forever home when I started working there after I graduated. But here I am, 3 years later, starting on a cardiac intermediate floor- because while I loved OR, I missed the patient care, connection, and education. But here is my problem: because I thought OR would be my forever home, I threw away all the flow sheets I'd created for myself while I was in school when I graduated. Would anyone mind sharing their flow sheet or their favorite resource for creating flow sheets with me? While I'm not a new grad, I feel like I might as well be since I haven't done floor nursing in nearly 4 years, so I'm going to need all the help and advice I can get as far as staying organized. Just finished orientation this week. Charting class on Monday, and then my first day on the floor w/ preceptor is next Thurs! I'm nervous, but very excited. Thanks in advance for any bones you can throw me. ❤️

Thanks!