What is a good resource for learning Emergency Nursing?

Published

Specializes in CAPA RN, ED RN.

I am looking at all the available resources for teaching Emergency Nursing. ENA has an online course. What else have you liked?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A good preceptor and a willingness to jump in, learn, and do.

With Emergency nursing, you can only learn so much from books. You really have to be able to see it to believe it and remember it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

The online ENA modules are great -- we had access to those as part of the ER nursing fellowship I completed in 2008. :) We also had lectures from various subject matter experts in subject like peds, trauma, psych, eye trauma (that one really squicks some people out!), stroke, STEMI, etc. Merging the classroom and online learning with a lot of hands-on and great preceptors = a solid ED education. Good luck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, Trauma.

You say both teaching and learning emergency nursing. I'm confused.

I would say at least 1 year of med/surg is essential for a new nurse. It'll give you a solid foundation to build on. Then any of the ENA's materials are excellant. I'm particular to the TNCC course for it's emphasis on assesment.

Keep in mind that ER nursing is backwards. On a floor, the first thing you'll look at on your patients is their diagnosis. In the ER the diagnosis is usually the last thing they get before being discharged or admitted.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, peds.,nursery..

great that you are looking to the Emergency Dept. my best advice would be to make sure you have a solid skills base. It takes time to become a good ER nurse. None of us learned it overnight and neither will you. You have to be willing to learn. to be willing to understand you will make mistakes. no one is perfect. The ER is a great place to be challenged and to grow. but you have to be willing to learn. We work as a tight knit group and we have to because we have to trust the guy next to us is going to be able to do what is needed. it is so hard to work a code with someone that does not ever get in the codes to learn. i got into a situation one night with a baby code and i was almost alone in that room. the doc and I were the only ones "comfortable" enough with the code. I was scared to death since i had a lot of pressure to make sure everything went right. there were two new nurses there and one that was an er nurse but no peds. it was really tough. you need to make sure you are willing to jump into every situation you can to learn. sometimes you have to stand back and watch and you can gain alot of experience with that alone. but sometimes you need to jump in and just ask what you can do to help. Remember to always always be honest with your skill base and to let the others know your weaknesses and strengths. i promise you that you will grow and you will get good if you have this attitude. dont be afraid to ask.

take a good year in Med/Surg to fine tune your basic skills.

in the ED you need to be able to put in IV's really fast and you need to be able to put ng tubes in and foleys. sometimes these seem so darn easy but there are many times that it is not easy. dressings and wound care. and then you have to get comfortable with the drugs. I never leave anything to my memory. i am human. we have awesome props in our ED to help us when time is a serious matter. we have iv drip sheets and protocols in place so that we dont screw up.

Never ever feel like you are weak if you have to ask someone to verify your meds. I do it all the time. i dont want to kill someone because of pride.

decide what kind of ER you want to work in. there are so many.

i wish you the best. i love the ER. i really like the trauma and the peds.

i am currently studying the CEN and the PCEN .

take TNCC, ENPC, ACLS, those are the backbones. yeah most of the er's only require ACLS and PAls but do yourself a favor and get the others too. NRP is also valuable . I have heard so many times. "we dont do babies" ha ha.. you never know what is going to walk into the ER and you have to be ready for anything and that includes delivering a baby or a preterm infant.

good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, SANE.

A really great resource is "The Emergency Nursing Bible" by Pat Bemis. It is a quick look-up type book and easy to read. I used it to study for CEN and as just a quick reference if I needed to know more details about a (personal) case review. Most folks are right that you can't learn everything from a book but I like to be able to study about cases that I have that I don't see much. Good luck.:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

Get what is recommended through the ENA. The CEN course uses Sheehy's Emergency Nursing Principles and Practice (ISBN 0323055850). This is considered by many to be the emergency nurses bible. I am only partly through it, but it has been an invaluable tool thus far, and I have only been in the ER for about 7 months. great reference and good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED.

If you are Aussie and at work and have net access and try emergencyweb.net

Dr and nurses use it, all over Aust and its a free resource.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, PICU, ONC, FLIGHT.

If you can find any of the old Laura Gasparis Von Frolio CEN review VHS tapes, she is awesome. Some of the information may be a little dated, but a lot of the fundamentals and the way she explains things is wonderful!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion