What goes on in an ED?

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 5, 2017

The better question is "What dont ER nurses do?"

Chronic Care Coordinator · May 7, 2017

"Where do I begin-------where do I start?"

ER is it's own animal.Triage on a five tier system.Give you examples.

1-Dead pt. Needs CPR

2-Dying pt or critically ill-strokes, MI, Bleeders, septic pts, abruptio placenta,surgical abdomen, status asthmaticus, status epilepticus, PE

3-Bread and butter-abdomen pain,GI issues, pneumonia,Dialysis pts

4-otitis media, fractures, URI, Simple UTI

5-Conjunctivitis.

The ED RN manages her pts, helps her coworkers and is mostly very busy as situations change on a dime. Stable can become unstable and your critical thinking cap is on always.

They do line,lab and lock(heplock)pts and assist from CPR to conscious sedation.

You can't beat the experiences and always have stories to tell!

BlueBoxSearcher · May 8, 2017

All of these stories are so interesting,I feel as though I shall fit in very well.I hope to achieve this specialty.It is so fascinating to work with so many different people with so many different illnesses.I realize it will be hard work,but I am willing.Thank you.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 10, 2017

I gave a medication once. That was pretty cool.

Basically take what every floor in the hospital does, yeah we do that.

Bxc9999 · May 14, 2017

In our ED, when we give an enema - the patient usually doesn't go the floor until they have had a bowel movement (unless they have a bowel obstruction and they are being admitted for surgery).

Bxc9999 · May 14, 2017

"Where do I begin-------where do I start?"
ER is it's own animal.Triage on a five tier system.Give you examples.
1-Dead pt. Needs CPR
2-Dying pt or critically ill-strokes, MI, Bleeders, septic pts, abruptio placenta,surgical abdomen, status asthmaticus, status epilepticus, PE
3-Bread and butter-abdomen pain,GI issues, pneumonia,Dialysis pts
4-otitis media, fractures, URI, Simple UTI
5-Conjunctivitis.

We only have a 4-tier triage system:

Tier 1: Knocking on death's door...may actually have crossed the threshold without anyone actually noticing (Critical unstable)

Tier 2: Red flags (Critical stable...but could turn at any second)

Tier 3: Legitimate concerns (but will usually spend 4-8 hours just in the waiting room)

Tier 4: The "Why are you here?" Crowd - usually involves evaluation of bed bugs and simple hang nails. Going away gifts often include turkey sandwiches and/or cab vouchers.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · May 14, 2017

The better question is "What dont ER nurses do?"

That list is much shorter...

I gave a medication once. That was pretty cool.
Basically take what every floor in the hospital does, yeah we do that.

I would say that a bit differently: "Take what every floor does in the hospital, yeah, we do some of that. If we did all of that, we wouldn't be the ED!"

What goes on in the ED? Quite a bit, though we do our best to keep many things behind the scenes. Mostly what we do is assess the patient, figure out what the patient needs or where they need to go. In a way, we're kind of like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter. We gather labs, imaging, vital signs, assessment data and then we basically are the triage for the hospital and we basically work really hard to determine a patient's disposition from the ED: Back "Home" (wherever that is), Admit, or Transfer. The ED basically has to know how to provide high-quality initial care from the moment you're a twinkle in someone's eye until you begin your Celestial Voyage. We may not be able to definitively fix you but we know who can and we'll try to arrange the meeting.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 15, 2017

In our ED, when we give an enema - the patient usually doesn't go the floor until they have had a bowel movement (unless they have a bowel obstruction and they are being admitted for surgery).

You give enemas?? I thought we were just supposed to just give lactulose when the patient is assigned a room upstairs. :|

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · May 15, 2017

You give enemas?? I thought we were just supposed to just give lactulose when the patient is assigned a room upstairs. :|

I just had a hyperK patient. It was a race to see which was going to come first, the bed assignment or the results of the KX. As it turned out, the gods smiled upon me.

pockunit, ADN, RN · Jun 2, 2017

WELL. The other day I cardioverted someone, got someone prepped for Ortho surgery after a nasty fracture, treated a pt for presumptive STDs, prepped for an eye exam for someone with a probable corneal abrasion (confirmed), Sent IDK how many people home after rule-out MI, and yeah, sent people to the floor.

ER sees it all. Some stay, some go home, some die. It's not just starting IVs and turfing to the floor.

pockunit, ADN, RN · Jun 2, 2017

Thank you for giving an example of what ER nurses really do.Even though I am not an ER nurse,I was quite angry with the friend who said ER nurses dont do much except IVs.I will be able to show them the hard work that is put in the job.Thank you.

I assume your friend has never been a patient in the ER or they probably wouldn't have this crappy attitude. If they have, they might have rolled up with one of our bread and butter complaints, like "flu sx X 3 days" and gotten minimal interventions because really, you honestly probably just need to suck it up and feel sick for a few days until you get better.

People who have NEEDED our services know that we do so, so much more than IVs.

pockunit, ADN, RN · Jun 2, 2017

The better question is "What dont ER nurses do?"

Windows.