Question!!! (Men in Emergency Nursing)

recoveringcory · Feb 2, 2009

I have almost 3 years ER.

Why?

1. Because there is so much diversity. You see people with a large variety of ailments and have to know about treatment, signs and symptoms, ect. for each one.

2. Excellent foundation for your nursing skills, as you use every nursing skill all the time that your learned in nursing school. You become very well rounded.

3. Love the turn over with patients. I like fixing a patient and shipping them out. It's not that I don't like people, I just don't like having to take care of the same person for days, or even hours on end.

4. Adrenaline. There are nights when you may get a bunch of traumas and a bunch of codes. Nothing like fixing a dead person (trying anyway) or packing a gaping wound, or helping the doctor crack a patient's chest to massage their heart...talk about getting the blood flowing.

5. No schedule. I don't like the concept of having to give certain pills or certain treatments at a given time. Everything you do in ER is stat and prn. You don't typically have a set schedule with the patient, and I like that.

6. Reward. In one week you will have helped LOTS of people. Some will remember you, and some won't. But the fact that you know you helped all those people will make the job all the more rewarding. You make your mark on their lives in one way or another.

7. Takin' em down! There are instances where patients or even your safety or life is in danger. Nothin like having to drop a patient where he stands when he gets out of line. For example, I had this 19-20 year old kid once. He came in because he overdosed on something. Well, I was going through my examination, and asking all the normal questions/health history, and he did fine. I was just about done with my physical assessment, and he said out of no where, "I would stand back if I were you..." I said, 'Listen, I just have to listen to your lungs and abdomen and I'll be done. You aren't going to hit me are you?" He didn't say anything, so I went to pick my stethoscope off the bed, and he straight up and grabbed me by my shirt. Instantly, I choke slammed his a$$ onto the bed, and security was there instantly (as they were standing just outside the door when I was examining him. If that doesn't get your blood going, nothing will. After tying him down in leathers, I calmy said to him, "We are going to leave you in these straps until you can behave calmly and in a manner that is appropriate. You realize that you have just assaulted a healthcare worker, which is a felony, and you will probably go to jail?" His eyes got huge, and he was scared crapless! I told him the doctor will be in shortly, and I'll be back in a bit. hahahaha...of course I didn't press charges, but situations like that really get you goin!

Hope these few reasons help you out!

Cory

ronbrooker · Feb 2, 2009

Many nurses have said it is necessay to get some medsurg experience. Do you agree or disagree?

I personally prefer the ER/ED but don't know if my skills are 'a la par' quite yet.

Thx again.

Ron

recoveringcory · Feb 3, 2009

see below...

recoveringcory · Feb 3, 2009

Disagree. Why? If the hospital you work for is like mine, when deciding to go to ER, you get placed with a preceptor for 2-3 months before being out on your own. During that period, your preceptor will volunteer you for all the nursing skills you can get, and will guide you through the process. You also need to be assertive and tell everyone what nursing skills you need experience in....you WILL get experience. Trust me. I got WAY more experience in basic nursing skills (IVs, foleys, NG tubes, IMs, SQs, gastric lavage, etc.) in the ER than ever in my med surge rotations. Then when you are on your own, there always seems to be at least 1 other person around who has done a certain nursing skill before, and will accompany you in helping you get it done, be it a doctor, nurse, or even a tech!

Cory

Larry77, RN · Feb 3, 2009

I miss part of med/surg...I worked surgical before the ED and you really created a relationship with your patients...nothing like that in the ED. In the ED if you know a patient it is not usually for a good reason. I have people recognize me all the time but I often don't know who they are...we see so many people every day that it's just not possible to remember them all. When I worked Surgical I would see my patients in stores and actually remember their names and what surgery they had. I do think it's a good idea to get some experience before ED but it can be done without as well. Once a year we take on a new grad who gets 6 months training including class time as well as time on the floor...we often take Med/Surg or Tele nurses who get 3 months training...even our new hires with ED experience get at least 8 weeks training. My point is we try to prepare our nurses before they are thrown into the ED because you have to be prepared and knowledgeable when it counts.

I chose ED because I wanted more of a challenge...I did get a little bored with the Surgical floor because the work was a little monotonous. I think men tend to go where the technology is and less of the "pampering" of patients (ie OR, ED, ICU, Dialysis)...plus we are more comfortable where there is other guys.

silentRN · Feb 3, 2009

Med-Surge nursing sucks and can't wait to get out of it.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2009

I'm "wired" internally as a "doer". I can't sit around ... just eats on my nerves. lol

I love the ED and it's "fix it stat" policy. Do something and see instant (pretty much) results. It's high intensity, high acuity.

Like others have mentioned, I too like the 'turn-over' of the ED. Actually, one thing that I DO miss from med-surg nursing is 'follow up'. I miss getting the full picture - a lot of ED nurses will know what I'm talking about when I say (for example) "Hey, did you remember that 45 year old chest pain lady with the weird troponins? Whatever happened to her?" On med-surg you usually get a fuller picture.

I LOVE the closer relationships we share with the ED docs and residents. 90% of 'em are very approachable and professional. They depend on us and we depend on them - it's a great way to work.

I love the "autonomy" and the degree of independence. My department (especially the night shift supervisors) expects you to get stuff done. Period. You're expected to meet problems and "deal with them". I like that sense of 'challenge'.

Diversity - we practically see anything and everything under the sun. Sometimes it can be a little daunting (like say a fish-hook through an eyeball or something). But it guarantees you 'interesting' days. No day is ever predictable. No shift ever dull.

We're considered 'the be all and end all'. The first line and last line. I like that.

cheers,

WinterWolf90 · Feb 6, 2009

I picked the ER as my final rotation for Nursing school this semester. the reason why I picked it is because I didn't want to go straight into psych and I wanted to learn my basic hands on skills. The ER lets me learn my hands on and I get psych patients in there as well. The rush you get sometimes is also a plus.

diane227, LPN, RN · Feb 6, 2009

Get one or two years med surg and them go to the ED. Get into the largest, busiest ED that you can find. Work 3-11 or nights where the action is. YOU WILL LOVE IT.

zaggar · Mar 4, 2009

Others will tell you how great the ER is. They are right, since it's a personal opinion kind of thing. So I'll give you the opposite view as a person who has worked both.

ER nursing can't compare to med/surg.

1. Patients are angry in the ER. That's not how they thought they would be spending the day, the stretchers are uncomfortable, and they are constantly waiting.

2. Patients don't often say thank you. They're angry, tired, and just waiting to get their meds or get admitted. Also, every single thing you did to them was either painful or uncomfortable.

3. It's natural that your focus in the ER will be to save lives in emergent situations, as opposed to patting hands and massaging shoulders. That natural focus will make more patients think that you are uncaring, and therefore a bad nurse.

4. Most of the "exciting" things in the ER I actually have different words for. Disgusting, tragic, and perverse come immediately to mind. How many Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases, Schizophrenics off their meds, and old drunks needing to sober up enough to go to jail/rehab do you need to see in life anyway?

5. ER nursing is often slower than med/surg. That's right, I said it. They can't really have any idea what their acuity will be, so there are often times where there are a bunch of nurses and no patients. After two hours of this, the ER will be overflowing and people will be stacked up in the halls. In med/surg, it's busy from 7 to 7, guaranteed.

6. The change of pace is murder, because not all patients are moving at the same speed. You'll be talking to a doctor on a cell phone trying to get one patient admitted, while two other patients are emergent. Then you'll have one patient who is stable and just waiting for a room upstairs. That's 4 different paces you are trying to maintain all at once. Inevitably, none of them are going to get everything they need. There's only so much you can do/remember/accomplish.

7. You don't really get the opportunity to learn disease processes in depth. You learn rapid responses to emergent situations, and after they are stabilized they are gone.

8. ER's lose money. They are perpetually the first to face layoffs. Forever and ever, amen.

9. Med/Surg gets to work hard, fix someone up, and see them improve. The patients go home surrounded by family and friends. It's very positive and rewarding.

10. Pancakes are better than waffles. Tan lines are awesome. People in Washington, D.C. can't drive.

shodobe · Mar 4, 2009

Most ERs are just overglorified clinics. Only true level 1 trauma centers really rate as ERs. I worked as a Paramedic, so many years ago, and felt the ER was the place for me. After 3 months I dumped the ER and worked for 6 months on a M/S floor then on to the OR for the past 30 years. I guess it is OK if you like screaming, runny nose kids or " I ran out of meds and need a scrip filled"! I go to the ER to pick up patients for surgery and I would last about 10 minutes with all of the pathetic patients who use the ER as a Drs office. This is such a waste of taxpayers money. But on the other hand, everyone needs their place in the nursing world and thank goodness there are those who absolutely "love" the ER.