Transitioning to the Emergency Department

[pinetreenursing]

Hey all,

Working in the ED has always been a goal of mine, and I'd thought I would come to you wise souls to help me figure out the best way achieve it and to be prepared for it. I'll be coming up on my year mark on a Neuro/Surg floor at a 450 hospital and will be training into Progressive Care soon on that same floor.

So now that you know my background, i'm wondering; would it be more beneficial to get some ICU experience before I apply for the ED, or can I start there and learn the ropes though the orientation they provide? My ED is Level 1 Trauma. I'd rather just head straight to the ED, but I've been reading that getting that ICU experience is invaluable. I can handle the crazies that come into the ED, but I am inexperienced with critical care situations beside the occasional code blue we get on the floor.

I've also head that the ED can be a nurse eat nurse world, but this is just what others have told me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on the topic.

Thanks!

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm a tele nurse with 3+ years experience on med/surg and stepdown units, currently a traveler and hoping to transition to ED once I'm done with travel. From what I've seen, there's no need to have ICU experience first before going to ED. There are some EDs that are even hiring new grads, so I don't see why experienced nurses from any unit can't transition similarly. An ED orientation should ideally be comprehensive enough to allow you to enter the specialty seamlessly and do your job well there. I have personally seen many nurses go from med/surg and stepdown to the ED and succeed (these have been in-hospital transfers), although personally I have never seen any leave the ICU for ED.

My issue with getting hired in the ED with my background is finding an ED that will hire me without prior ED experience. Most all of the job announcements I've seen require at least a year.

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