jbug1792

It was a scary transition for me at first. The first six months I wasn't sure I had made the right decision. I was so use to being in control of everything on my old med surge unit. I could manage my days almost seamlessly even with the most difficult patients, and even when we were short staffed I became good at juggling the extra the responsibilities of the floor. In the ED I quickly realized I didn't have control over anything, pt conditions are often brittle and can quickly deteriorate, assignments change with the flick of a pen as pts are moved through as quickly as possible to get them where they need to be in order to provide them the best care. You get good at quickly changing paces and quickly prioritizing the most important tasks. It was a big change to say the least, for a few months I was convinced I had made the wrong decision and my dream of working in trauma was quickly abandoned, however I stuck it out and I can tell you it does get better and it gets easier. I am glad I stuck around because now I can't imagine working anywhere else.

I agree, just go for it. Hopefully you will have great co-workers and plenty of support on your shift. I transferred to a level one trauma center from a med surge unit. It is a scary transition. It is normal to be anxious and doubt yourself. You have what it takes, and it will take time to get comfortable in such an unpredictable environment. The emergency room is an intimidating environment, anyone who says they weren't nervous when they first started there is full of bs. I was and am lucky, I work with amazing co-workers and when the you know what hits the fan I never feel alone. I hope the same becomes true for you.