school or transfer? first...

1. Get motivated to get your BSN beyond being told "You have to have this degree to get another job". Look, I totally get what your saying and I agree it's nonsense that hospitals hire BSN nurses over ADN's when the skill set is exactly the same. However, if this is your only motivation for returning to school it's going to be unenjoyable 18months to two years. Get your BSN/MSN not just because you want more job opportunities but because this is the next logical step in your career's progression.

2. Unless your nurse educator is some how involved in the hiring decisions made in the ER, ignore this person. You've been a nurse for four years, clearly you have at least mastered the art of passing oral medications and customer service. Their isn't some magic trick to landing a job in the ER, just apply for ER jobs and hope they reach out to you for an interview. When you do land an interview have a well thought out reason for why you're looking to change specialties. I recommend something about looking for new challenges and a fast past environment. When they ask how you'll do managing more acutely ill patients manage you often take care of 7-8 patients on med/surg and are still able to keep up even when one patient is starting to decompensate and needs to be transferred to a higher level of care.

Good luck!

I say get started on your BSN while applying for ED jobs.

i was going to get my msn... then transfer to the telemetry unit (if i must)... then to the ER. this is my first option.

however, if i could go directly into the ER, i would do that first before school. after i am situated, i would then enroll in my msn program.

i cannot manage too many new things at once.