What nursing skills do you use the most?

BEDPAN76 · Jul 15, 2008

Interpersonal relationship skills. hehehe. seriously, though......listening to lung sounds, abdominal sounds and what the pt. is saying. :sofahider like the new icon!!!!

penguin2 · Jul 15, 2008

You will need excellent assessment & IV skills. You will pick up these things over time, as well as the innate ability to recognize BS when you hear it!! :-)

Boston-RN, RN · Jul 15, 2008

I agree, assessment skills first and foremost. All day every day

bill4745, RN · Jul 15, 2008

Thinking on your own-ordering labs and xrays, doing ECGs, etc. before the doc sees the pt. The other skill is priority setting, which can change drastically in an instant.

neneRN, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2008

Assessments, IVs, EKGs. Critical thinking; being able to work up a pt before the doc sees them and being able to tell sick from not sick.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 16, 2008

Assessment skills - being able to tell the sick from the "I'm gonna die in five minutes" sick!

annaedRN, RN · Jul 16, 2008

Agree with above - no matter what aspect of nursing. Assessment, critical thinking and therapeutic communication.

Gigglesforall, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2008

Thanks for all the replies so far. I have 3 years ICU experience, so I have a pretty firm grasp on my assessment skills. I wish I was more confident in my IV skills...but most of my patients either have a central line or are grossly edematous and/or a hard stick. I try not to stick more than twice (per policy) and if I know it will be virtually impossible, I defer to our long-time pro who used to be an IV nurse years ago. I'm good with starting/maintaining drips, intubations, assisting w/ art. line/central line insertions, basically all things "critical care".

Are there any things "strictly ER" related, or more-often seen in the ER that I would need to know that I probably wouldn't do regularly in an ICU setting?

Erin 321 · Jul 16, 2008

I know what you're saying. Of course working in ICU, you'd have developed awesome assessment skills. The big difference between ICU and the ER is that ICU is a controlled environment and the ER is not. If you struggle at all, that'll be why. It's juggling the needs of eight to ten constantly changing patients who you sometimes barely know versus knowing one or two very, very well. Time management, prioritization, and flexibility will be the biggest challenge. The concept of triage might be worth a review too, knowing what system your facility uses and what a triage assessment consists of. IV skills will be easy to obtain. Once you're on the floor, that shouldn't be an issue. You also already likely have a great understanding of pathophysiology and ACLS drugs, and are familiar with most procedures - cardioversion, chest tube insertion, arterial line setup, procedural sedations, etc. I think you're going to nail that interview! Best of luck!

Opinions matter · Jul 16, 2008

I believe that your assessment skills should be excellent, ensure that you listen to the patient and to the relatives.Believe them when they say that something is wrong, the relatives know that person better than you.

Listen also to your own intuition and sixth sense.

Learning to multi task and prioritizing your workload is huge and this is just a few suggestions to start.

ER nurses, we are a rare,wonderful and talented breed!We never get enough credit for the great work we do on a daily basis.:nuke:

northshore08 · Jul 16, 2008

Assessment.....What about pediatric patients? If your ICU doesn't take peds, you might consider some training of some sort for peds.

(I guess the same idea for orthopedics, maternity, anything your ICU would not accept.)