Why working as an ED nurse so competitive?

[ScaredRN]

I have sister in law who used to be a hiring manager in a hospital. I asked some help from her to do some corrections on my resume and she did. But I had some questions because she told me working in the ED as a nurse is so competitive. And it will be difficult for me to be hired as an ED nurse because it has been a year and a half I worked in the department. Moreover, because I am a foreign nurse.

This really hurt my heart. But I understand because it took me so long to apply for a job. So my questions are, why is it so competitive to get a job as a ED nurse? And do I really have a low chance of getting hired in ED because of my aituation?

Thanks!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

On 8/3/2019 at 2:16 AM, bradons said:

Working rural ER is a totally different animal compared to a big city ER. Big city would be a cake walk.

I have done both, and each has its issues. I wouldn't describe either as a cake walk.

[Jasel, BSN, RN]

It really depends on where you plan on working. I live in Chicago and from what I've seen it's not hard to find ER jobs. For new grads or foreign nurses. I've worked with plenty of both at every hospital I've been at. Also not too sure about competitiveness. It certainly doesn't reflect pay when it comes to travel as ER nurses tend to get offered the least compared to most other specialties per assignment.

[bradons]

On 8/3/2019 at 6:29 AM, PeakRN said:

Tell that to the two traumas I had to work in the hall because we had no open rooms and all of the city blew up at once.

Maternity in one room (in active labor), 2 ortho's with open #'s AND a stemi all at once with 2 nurses and 1 doc with new patients coming in every 8-10 minutes. No triage nurse...no maternity department. Ortho 5 hrs away. Mat 2 hrs away. Cardio 5 hrs away.

[PeakRN]

12 hours ago, bradons said:

Maternity in one room (in active labor), 2 ortho's with open #'s AND a stemi all at once with 2 nurses and 1 doc with new patients coming in every 8-10 minutes. No triage nurse...no maternity department. Ortho 5 hrs away. Mat 2 hrs away. Cardio 5 hrs away.

I'd take that over having two traumas in the hall and a full pod.

[Pryan6484]

I do not believe that the ER is competitive ( at least not in the Philadelphia area). I obtained a job in a level one trauma center fresh out of school. I worked as an ER nurse for two years before leaving to go to be a nurse supervisor at an urgent care. I still get calls from recruiters to work at a few ERs in my area. Burnout is real in the ER. You run rampant for 12 hours, families are up your butt for results, psych patients hit you, you are like hotel hospitality on top of making sure all patients are being treated in a safe way. You must always be on your toes. While being an ER nurse is amazing and a great stepping stone for knowledge sometimes I believe you can cut your nursing career short working in that environment for to long.

[Dragonnurse1, ASN, RN]

Apply to all of them if you want to work in the ED. I was a new grad that went straight to the ED. Be willing (if possible) to work nights. You have worked in the ED before so you would not be a total newbie just a novice. Be sure to recap everything you did in the old ED, your skills might be a little rusty but point out that you feel that it will not take you long to get back in the groove.

In your introduction letter express your passion for the ED. That can make you stand out. I was adamant when I applied for my ED that I had no intention of moving to another department and I never did. I do not know how ED nurses are viewed in the North but down here no one wanted to work in the ED much less on nights but that is what I was determined to do. Express your determination it might help.