Transfer into ED

JKL33 · Feb 22, 2020

One of the bigger adjustments might be the episodic/focused nature of ED work and the nurse's lack of ability to plan the next 12 hours. You've probably heard the interdepartmental complaints about us over the years (we haven't taken off everyone's clothes to examine them head to toe, may or may not know if they "use a walker" or even if they ambulate, period. No idea what their bowel sounds are, etc., etc). We do have a lot of patients with multiple chronic issues and multifactorial problems, but we're there to 1) figure out what is causing the main problem today, 2) temporize/stabilize it and 3) get things done to figure out what needs to be done about it in the very short term, aka where they're going today, ASAP.

The other main thing is just needing to know a little bit about a lot of different things. If you're in a general ED that means patients of all ages. Any problem humanity can come up with. It's a lot, even though other specialties may have a greater depth of knowledge about any of the specific problems we deal with.

Your background is going to give you a great knowledge base to work from as you add on new information. It will mainly be whether or not you enjoy the atmosphere (loosely organized chaos a lot of the time) and can hone in enough to provide episodic care quickly. This isn't (usually) the place for those who carry a brain sheet; their planning and concern for all manner of details is awesome but often better off somewhere else [a generalization not always true but generally true in my observation]. The ED is about just rolling for 12 hours with whatever next thing comes up.

I say try it. Shadow and see what you think.

scifispam · Feb 22, 2020

JKL33,

Thank you for your perspective. There will definitely be a learning curve. I fully accept that I will feel like a fish out of water even with 10 years of nursing experience.

JKL33 · Feb 22, 2020

Good luck!

If people are really curious about it or definitely interested, I always say go for it. ??

Wuzzie · Feb 22, 2020

I went from PICU to a general ED. It was a fun ride! My advice to you is to chuck whatever “process” or ways of doing things you developed while working inpatient and start over. ED nursing just isn’t comparable and you will be miserable if you try to make your old approach fit. It’s a true square peg round hole situation. Good luck with whatever you choose.

scifispam · Feb 22, 2020

20 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:
I went from PICU to a general ED. It was a fun ride! My advice to you is to chuck whatever “process” or ways of doing things you developed while working inpatient and start over. ED nursing just isn’t comparable and you will be miserable if you try to make your old approach fit. It’s a true square peg round hole situation. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Luckily (I think). I’ve been away from bedside for a few years. So I’ve pretty much forgotten my processes. Haha

speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Feb 27, 2020

It sounds like you have plenty of experience so it won’t probably be a big adjustment. I started as a new grad in the ED and still in the ED. The main thing about the ED is it is often chaos, plans are generally nonexistent, and most nurses have to generally go with the flow. It can be high acuity or low acuity and the pace changes rapidly. Brain sheets do not exist in the ED! Charting is often on the back burner. The teamwork is often absolutely fantastic and is often the main reason that I stay in the same environment. Well that and I have a very short attention span which actually works very well in this department.

scifispam · Feb 27, 2020

7 hours ago, speedynurse said:
It sounds like you have plenty of experience so it won’t probably be a big adjustment. I started as a new grad in the ED and still in the ED. The main thing about the ED is it is often chaos, plans are generally nonexistent, and most nurses have to generally go with the flow. It can be high acuity or low acuity and the pace changes rapidly. Brain sheets do not exist in the ED! Charting is often on the back burner. The teamwork is often absolutely fantastic and is often the main reason that I stay in the same environment. Well that and I have a very short attention span which actually works very well in this department.

Thank you so much for your feedback!!