trauma vs er nurse---difference???

[akerdonn]

is there a difference between an ER nurse and a Trauma Nurse or is it the same thing.

[NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN]

In my hospital (not a big one), we have 2 RNs from the ER assist the Trauma team which consists of doctors, pharmacists, lab and respiratory. And every shift they put a new trauma team together, so they know who will respond.

[TinyNurse, RN]

Alot of hospitals work trauma in the ER and the nurses rotate through the trauma rooms.

Now, this hospital that I'm at in San Diego sends all of their trauma recuscitations directly to the SICU for recuscitation.

I have never heard of this before and have been told it's just a different school of thought.

There are trauma courses out there geared toward Emergency nurses. Try TNCC.

[rn/writer, RN]

In general, EDs treat both trauma/injury patients and medical patients. Car wreck, heart attack, amputated fingers, CVA, the ED gets them all initially. So you'll see plenty of trauma in the emergency department, but you'll also see hot bellies, asthma, and CHF.

The ED may have a special trauma team. It may also have a cardiac or stroke team. Usually depends on the size of the hospital and the level of care it offers.

[KatieBell]

Well, nurses that work in Neurotrauma/surgical trauma Intensive care will tell you that they are also Trauma nurses, and I'd tend to agree.

And there are some ED's that rarely see trauma.

TinyNurse: How do you think the resus in the ICU is working? We considered that once, and I'm not totally against it, but I guess I'm not really for it either.

[mistoff]

For those of us working in small rural hospitals, we are ER nurses and the Trauma team as well!! Ours is a 7 bed ED on the mexican border, off the 1-10 highway in the middle of nowhere. While we are still working on our level 3 trauma designation, the level one center in El Paso calls us Little Sariavo!! A few bus accidents on the highway and shoot outs at the border make you have to be a trauma nurse.

[city girl]

is there a difference between an ER nurse and a Trauma Nurse or is it the same thing.

I work in a level ll trauma center. All of the nurses that work in the ER are to take the TNCC class (Trauma nurse core curriculem) in order to do traumas. So the only difference is like a nurse having ACLS or not.

[CEN35]

depends on the hospital.............

some none,

some completely different

[nursing 101]

I asked the same question in another post. I just started to work on a surgical trauma unit in a level I trauma hospital and I can't figure out if I am a trauma or med-surge nurse...lol! The hospital considers our floor to be a step-down trauma unit. I asked the nurse mgr she said both but mostly trauma. What do you guys think?

So far what I've seen on the floor is alot emergency post-op patients from young adults to older adults.