Questions about working in the ED

Sniper RN · Aug 16, 2009

I think each ER will be diff.

PAERRN20 · Aug 16, 2009

There is no better shift. Days, evenings, or nights can busy or slow.

Pros of the ER:

The patients don't stay very long (or at least they shouldn't).

Something different each day.

You get to give all sorts of meds and gain tons of skills.

The physician is available immediately to answer any questions you have and won't get mad and yell at you when you ask them a question at 0200.

ER nurses are generally well respected.

Cons:

Patients can range from the sniffles to the critically ill and you never know what the diagnosis is off the bat.

Some patients come in and you have no idea what led to the condition they are in now. They may be unconscious and you don't know their name.

The stress of having a completely full ER and having not having a bed for the gunshot wound and the cardiac arrest coming in at the same time. At least on the floor you can say no when the unit is hopping. In the ER you have to take em as they come. No excuses.

Drug/attention seeking patients. If they make it to a med-surg floor they at least have to be a little sick. Some patients come to the ER just to score some narcotics and a meal.

I find ER stressful, but what nursing job isn't?

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Aug 16, 2009

Hi everyone!
I've been working on a Med/Surg floor for a year and I think that I'm already burn out. It's too much going on at the same time and I feel underpay for all the work that I do. So, I've been thinking about applying for an ER position, which is also stressful, but at least I'll get pay more.
What are some pros and cons about working in the ER?
What shift is better? days or nights?
Are you happy with your salary?
Thank you for your help!

I wanna know where you are going to get paid more as an ER nurse vs a floor nurse cause in my world it aint happening. And don't go including certification pay, as I know MS nurses that get paid that too.

That said the nurses that come to the ED thinking its going to be easy or the MS experience was important soon find out that is not necessarily the case.

I like what I do, I have been in emergency medicine for 20+ years. What is good is that it has and continues to evolve as a specialty. Things I do for a patient today I may not have done a year ago, what I did 5 years ago I didnt do last year but I am doing again today because of evidence based medicine.

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Aug 16, 2009

There is no better shift. Days, evenings, or nights can busy or slow.
Pros of the ER:
The patients don't stay very long (or at least they shouldn't).
Something different each day.
You get to give all sorts of meds and gain tons of skills.
The physician is available immediately to answer any questions you have and won't get mad and yell at you when you ask them a question at 0200.
ER nurses are generally well respected.
Cons:
Patients can range from the sniffles to the critically ill and you never know what the diagnosis is off the bat.
Some patients come in and you have no idea what led to the condition they are in now. They may be unconscious and you don't know their name.
The stress of having a completely full ER and having not having a bed for the gunshot wound and the cardiac arrest coming in at the same time. At least on the floor you can say no when the unit is hopping. In the ER you have to take em as they come. No excuses.
Drug/attention seeking patients. If they make it to a med-surg floor they at least have to be a little sick. Some patients come to the ER just to score some narcotics and a meal.
I find ER stressful, but what nursing job isn't?

Yeah there are days I feel like more like a waiter or a drug dealer.

BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Aug 16, 2009

Our nurses get paid based on experience and for a few certs,....ICU, ER, L&D or med surge all get the same pay if they have the same amount of experience.

Kurious RN · Aug 17, 2009

When I got hired last year, the nurse recruiter told me that Med/Surg was not a specialty. She said that ER, ICU, and L&D nurses receive a better pay because those are considered a specialty.

JustEnuff2BDangerous, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2009

I would never recommend choosing any area of nursing, especially a specialty, solely for the pay difference. If you think Med-Surg has a lot going on at once, have you ever seen the chaos that ensues in a full ER?

I am of the impression that we as nurses will never ever be adequately monetarily compensated for all the work that we do. No matter how high on the ladder you get, no matter what specialty you go into, no matter what city or state you work in, if you ARE burnt out, or if you don't love your job, you will never feel satisfied with your paycheck... "Half of nursing's payroll is for your body to live on, the other half is for your soul to live on." When you find a place/specialty that is your niche, even if the pay is not enough, the payoff is.

I know that doesn't answer your question, just wanted to offer my two cents about switching for pay. :) Especially in this economy, nothing is guaranteed!

Kurious RN · Aug 17, 2009

Thanks for all your replies.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Aug 17, 2009

I would see if you could shadow an ER nurse for a shift, to see if you like it. Where I work we have had some of our floor nurses float down to help, but they dont take pt's they generally work as a task nurse.

What draws you to ER? The ER can be crazy a lot of the times, you have to have thick skin and be able to work in chaos.