nurseblondie44

Thank you for your response! I chose Reston and so far I love it! I love the staff and people! I am very excited to learn and I completely agree about prefering to work in a hospital setting and my goal is to grow and collaborate! I still do not know what free standing ERs do and without support staff doesnt it get a little crazy to handle everything. What was your experience working in a free standing ER.

Thank you for your response. I was wondering the same thing...how the patients or EMS know what level of sickness these free standing Er's can handle. I wonder if nurses are prepared for something more serious. The facility I will be starting at says they can function exactly like an Emergency Room except instead of having Cath lab or bed upstairs they transfer next door. I know this can be confusing for patients and even nurses! Do the staff support each other and are the transfers made in time? I hear that the nurses manage all the respiratory care and even vents. I am still a relatively new ER nurse so I have to learn a lot because in the other hospital we always had ancillary staff. Did you enjoy your experience at all? I am starting in a free standing ER soon...is there anything I should be aware of or be prepared for...any advice would help me greatly. Lastly do you prefer working in a hospital ER? Would you say you got good experience working in a free standing ER? Thank you so much! Love your avatar:)

Any one work in a free standing ER? Is it better to work in a hospital ER? Has anyone ever had trouble transfering from a free standing ER to a hospital ER? what are the cons of working in a free standing ER. Any one work at INOVA healthplex in alexandria?

Hello my fellow ER nurses, I was wondering if someone could please give me their take on INOVA vs Reston Hospital Center. I recently got offered a position in the ED for INOVA Alexandria Healthplex which is a free standing emergency room. I also got an offer for Reston Hospital center Emergency Room. Any advice on which of these places are better to work for? I know Reston will see more sick patients than a free standing ER like INOVA Alexhealthplex. Has anyone worked at either of these places? Is transfering between these institutions easy? What are the pros and cons? Any input on the work environment, managment and patient care would be grealy appreciated. I know INOVA does pay $0.75 cents more but I Do not want to make money my deciding factor. I really want to be in an environment that promotes growth and excellent patient care. I am torn between these two offers. I have never worked in a free standing ER? Is it more like an urgent care? Do the nurse have to manage everything on her own? Do you get to see some sick patients? I know in hospitals you have your techs and anciallry staff. Any input will be appreciated.