The experience of an ER nurse?

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Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice and guidance. Ive been an ER nurse for 20months and a Nurse for 2yrs now. Ive always wanted to be a travel Nurse no matter the field. I have now genuine intrest and drive to pursue ER nursing further. However, I have no interest what so ever to stay where I am. The unit I work in is next to a Level 1 trauma ER and a specialized hospital for children part of our same medical organization (DMC) so we dont often, if at all, recieve children or the trauma cases, so I dont have much expereience with that population. Im currently in the process of getting my PALS, TNCC, and maybe ENPC. I know your thinking "Why dont you transfer out to the Level 1 trauma for awhile for experience". BELIEVE ME I would, if I were in a position to but I cant. I know I have the option to just apply to a different hospital that is Level 1 but I don't have any desire to stay where I am at all. Id like to just move and explore. Also, my rationale is, whats the real difference in transferring somewhere else or join an agency to place me; Im still going to be placed in a position to learn something new or faced with a case Im unfamiliar with. The bulk of cases I recieve are MI's, Cancer patients, and all of BS in between. Most of my cases are terminally ILL or OB pts. And so my question for the Travel ER nurses is this: After my certs are up to date is it a good idea for me to just jump in there and gain experience along the way of traveling and taking assignments or do I stay and find another hospital to gain more experience?

please help me.

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Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice and guidance. Ive been an ER nurse for 20months and a Nurse for 2yrs now. Ive always wanted to be a travel Nurse no matter the field. I have now genuine intrest and drive to pursue ER nursing further. However, I have no interest what so ever to stay where I am. The unit I work in is next to a Level 1 trauma ER and a specialized hospital for children part of our same medical organization (DMC) so we dont often, if at all, recieve children or the trauma cases, so I dont have much expereience with that population. Im currently in the process of getting my PALS, TNCC, and maybe ENPC. I know your thinking "Why dont you transfer out to the Level 1 trauma for awhile for experience". BELIEVE ME I would, if I were in a position to but I cant. I know I have the option to just apply to a different hospital that is Level 1 but I don't have any desire to stay where I am at all. Id like to just move and explore. Also, my rationale is, whats the real difference in transferring somewhere else or join an agency to place me; Im still going to be placed in a position to learn something new or faced with a case Im unfamiliar with. The bulk of cases I recieve are MI's, Cancer patients, and all of BS in between. Most of my cases are terminally ILL or OB pts. And so my question for the Travel ER nurses is this: After my certs are up to date is it a good idea for me to just jump in there and gain experience along the way of traveling and taking assignments or do I stay and find another hospital to gain more experience?

please help me.

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There are lots of travel nurses who have never worked in a level 1 trauma center. So you are employable now as a travel nurse, but not as competitive as ER nurses with more experience. If you really want to work at a level 1 hospital, you don't have to do it next door. Pick a city you want to go to and apply for a staff position. The right city and a challenge at work should keep you happy for a year before you get itchy feet again. Then you will be confident and competitive as a traveler with a very good start on your resume.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Travel/agency nurses receive minimal orientation. I can't stress that enough -- minimal. The entire point of utilizing temporary nurses is that the employer is solving a short-term immediate need.

So given your limited amount of ER experience and exposure to high acuity cases ... I'd caution you to think carefully about this. Really - you absolutely cannot attempt to get a job at the Level I trauma center where you are and spend the next 2-ish years gaining further, broader experience and really setting yourself up for travel success?

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Specializes in IMC/ICU.

I was a nurse for 8 yrs & recently returned to the field after being out for 9 yrs. Looking back, as a 2 yr nurse, I was just beginning to become grounded in the profession. I recently took a refresher course & was placed with several different 1-2 year nurses in clinicals. I was quite impressed with their abilities & work ethic. That being said there were some things such as prioritizing & time management that seemed to be a struggle for some of the nurses. Working for an agency/traveling can be an exciting adventure, but keep in mind that those nurses are frequently given the more difficult assignments to give their nurses a break & policies you will be responsible for knowing will vary from one hospital to another. Sometimes you may go places where the staff is helpful & other times not so much. Also, it can take a while to figure out the staff dynamics. It's not that I'm trying to talk you out of traveling, heck you're an ER nurse, so I'm sure you are up for the challenge! But there are those additional stressors to consider. If it were me I would go to a different facility for a couple of years before traveling, but I'm not you. Search your soul & find what speaks to you the loudest :)

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

I hate to say this but just by reading your post I know exactly where you work, as I live/work in the same area. I also have done agency nursing after having 5yrs experience at a large level 1 trauma center near the area you speak of, and I received TWO days of orientation, with a nurse who said "you'll be fine, I'm sure you know what you're doing" and basically left me alone. Trust me when I say gathering experience at any of the level one trauma centers in the area you are referring to will make you SO much more desireable as a travel nurse all over the country.

Either way, good luck with whatever you do!

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We use travelers in my ER, and we really need them to be experienced and knowledgeable. We count on that. We don't have time and resources to devote to orientation. Basically, you need to be ready to hit the ground running. Based on this, I agree with the others that you need to gain more experience before traveling.

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NedRN, Thankyou so much!!!! This really helps me narrow down what I might decide to do. To have a staff position in another city is a wonderful idea!! Id be somewhere new and not necessarily feel the need to be switched to another assignment so fast you're right! Thankyou so much for your advice :woot:

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dallenrn, your advice truly spoke to me as well. I will admit that my prioritizing needs improvement definitely and Im willing to work hard and be open to all that I can to achieve the greatest improvement. Thankyou so much for your encouragement :yes:

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Specializes in ED.

I had a coworker that went into travel nursing after one year as a nurse, all if that year in ER. We are not a trauma ER either. He is loving it but I would not be comfortable with that at ALL. I've been an ER nurse my entire career, which is 1.5 years. I would not feel comfortable traveling, despite the fact that I have TNCC and ENPC under my belt. But that is me.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Threads merged.

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Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice and guidance. Ive been an ER nurse for 20months and a Nurse for 2yrs now. Ive always wanted to be a travel Nurse no matter the field. I have now genuine intrest and drive to pursue ER nursing further. However, I have no interest what so ever to stay where I am. The unit I work in is next to a Level 1 trauma ER and a specialized hospital for children part of our same medical organization (DMC) so we dont often, if at all, recieve children or the trauma cases, so I dont have much expereience with that population. Im currently in the process of getting my PALS, TNCC, and maybe ENPC. I know your thinking "Why dont you transfer out to the Level 1 trauma for awhile for experience". BELIEVE ME I would, if I were in a position to but I cant. I know I have the option to just apply to a different hospital that is Level 1 but I don't have any desire to stay where I am at all. Id like to just move and explore. Also, my rationale is, whats the real difference in transferring somewhere else or join an agency to place me; Im still going to be placed in a position to learn something new or faced with a case Im unfamiliar with. The bulk of cases I recieve are MI's, Cancer patients, and all of BS in between. Most of my cases are terminally ILL or OB pts. And so my question for the Travel ER nurses is this: After my certs are up to date is it a good idea for me to just jump in there and gain experience along the way of traveling and taking assignments or do I stay and find another hospital to gain more experience?

please help me.

~~~ many of you were very helpful and I am grateful that so many of you gave me so much to think about. However, as more of you responded to my post it was taken down because I made the mistake to post the same subject on multiple sites to gain as much feed back as possible. I hope more of you continue to give more things to think about and consider upon the new start of my career in Trauma

: )

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