Rewards of Emergency Nursing

EDRN10 · Feb 21, 2012

ER nursing has many rewards along with many down falls here's a few that I have experinced in my time working in the ER.

The Good:

1. Challenging work environment requiring many different nursing skills from ICU patients to minor complaints, from birth to death we see it all.

2. Instant satisfaction. Example would be someone is in severe pain from a broken bone. We give them pain meds and a splint and they are feeling much better. You may have the same patient for days or weeks in an inpatient setting with no change or improvement. Generally in the ER people are feeling at least somewhat better by the time they leave.

3. Chances to actually save a life. You will help take care of patients that you know had you and your team not intervened in a timely manner that the patient could have died. While this is possible in any area of nursing I would say that it is more likely to occur in an ER or ICU setting.

4. Fast paced work. There is rarely a dull moment and almost always work to be done.

The Bad:

1. Fast pace can become overwhelming at times and is not for people who have trouble prioritizing what needs to be done.

2. Many people abuse the ER and bog down the system for minor complaints that could be handled at a family doctor or urgent care that do not need to be in the ER. This occurs for a variety of reasons from lack of education, lack of insurance, and many more but, my least favorite "I got a medical card so it don't matter where I go because I don't have to pay." This can become very frustrating at times. Many days these are primarily the people you will take care of.

3. High stress more so than anywhere else in nursing I have encountered in my limited experiences. When you have a CVA in one room, a MI in the next and your getting an ambulance in another bed this can become very stressful. Must have good stress management skills or you will have trouble in the ER.

There are many many more aspects to ER nursing but these are a few I can think of off of the top of m head. I'm sure some of the more experienced nurses can chime in with some more good and bad of working in the ER.

mybrowneyedgirl, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2012

EDRN10 said it very well.

brainkandy87 · Feb 22, 2012

Yeah, EDRN10 really said it perfectly. Some stuff I'll add from my ER experiences...

Pro:

You work with great nurses. While this might not be true in every ER, I do think most ER nurses are solid. If you can't hack it in ER, you wash out. When I was a floor nurse, I saw quite a few nurses that I wouldn't let take care of a family member, and a few that shouldn't have a license at all. In the ER, I don't think I've worked with a nurse I wouldn't trust. (I'm sure I'll find a few eventually )

Teamwork. The ER can be a crazy place and any crazy situation can come through that door. The docs know that, the techs know that, and your fellow nurses know that. You'd need 30 hands to do everything yourself with your patients on some days, but your colleagues are always there to lend you a pair of hands.

Con:

Abusive pts. You need to grow thick, thick skin if you are going to work in the ER. You'll take care of people that are normally nasty, abusive people, but you'll also take care of people that become this way simply because they are injured and/or in a stressful situation. So, you'll have things said to you that will definitely press some buttons. Never take it personally and never let it affect your standard of care.

thelema13 · Feb 22, 2012

Pro: helping pts that truly need saving and stabilizing.

Con: Dealing with upset, scared, drunk, high, stupid, obese, regular, psych, etc pts. You see everyone.

rich_rn_xy · Mar 4, 2012

As a new ER nurse (approaching three months) and new nurse to boot, I can say that the pro's and con's mentioned above don't really apply at first. The feeling that predominates is "how the hell am I ever going to be able to learn all this and be good at it."

ER is hard to get into but some hospitals are actually looking for new nurses to staff their ER's. They want to "make" a nurse who is used to the high stress, acuity, varying shifts, frequent OT, and demanding assignments. Many of the seasoned nurses I work with tell me that ER nursing has been changed rapidly at an exponential rate.

If you do go into the ER, it will be hard but not impossible. No amount of testing, classes, or reading will really get you ready for what you will see. Good Luck!

Kuniklo · Mar 10, 2012

One of my instructors said that he liked the ER because no matter what happens, you won't have to deal for long because there are only 3 places where the pt will go: out the door, upstairs to a floor, or down to the morgue.