PSYCH RN to ER RN advice!!??

[Liz12345]

Hello Fellow nurses! I am a psych RN who has been working for 7 years in inpt behavioral health and I am now fortunate enough to make the move to the Emergency Dept where I have ALWAYS wanted to work. I know I have a steep learning curve ahead of me and of course am nervous about my nursing skills despite working on a medical /psych service ( we hang fluids, G-tubes, foleys ect) Any words of advice in making this transition to the ER? I am really excited about making this transition but nervous too!!

[cherrypie60]

Hi,

You will fit in great! There are so many psych pts in the ER these days and most ER nurses love it when they have a nurse with psych experience. I was an ER nurse for four years now I'm a psych ER nurse for two years. I think I would have done better going your route psych then to ER. Good luck!

[mauilatina]

I am doing the same thing! I need some input, I have been working as a psych nurse for over 12 years and feel like its time for a change.

Thanks in advance!

[Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

How is it going for you that have made the transition to ED from psych?

[Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I interviewed for an ED position a few months ago, and now I see that the job has opened up again and they are actively recruiting.

There was one nurse in my peer interview who was just not okay with me going "straight to psych out of nursing school?" I got the feeling that she was not pleased with some of my responses about "why would you want to come to the ED after working in psych?" I had my heart set on working the psych pod in the ED, where the nurses rotate through -- and from what I hear most do not like working there. I made it clear that in my first year of nursing, I have learned to prioritize, assess, navigate through our EMR, and have built confidence in my ability to talk to doctors and work collaboratively with all members of the treatment team.

I guess I could call the recruiter to see what the issue was, but I'm just letting it go. I love my current home unit and my coworkers. It just wasn't meant to be and I will pursue other interests.

[JKL33]

Heylove,

Is it possible you tried to sell yourself in a way that came off as being too one-note?

Even though it would probably be a win/win for them to hire you and have you work every shift in the psych pod, I can see why they might not select a candidate who presents that as almost their sole aim. Your skills are directly translatable to a lot of what goes on in the ED, but you have to be a jack-of-all-trades, too, and they need to know you're capable of that.

If you choose to apply this time around, you could and should highlight any interpersonal skills you have developed through your psych role. Those are translatable to almost all ED patients.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I work in an urban level 1 trauma center. Our ER is basically a homeless shelter. The same people coming in for vague complaints of chest pain or whatever, they get the usual workups for whatever ailment their feigning, they get a roof over their head and a meal for a few hours, then discharged.