Are you interested in Emergency Nursing Careers? Emergency nursing is a specialty branch of nursing in which patients are cared for in the critical or emergency phase of an injury, illness or trauma. An emergency nurse is extremely skilled at helping her patients through a problematic and uncertain time. An emergency nurse is an excellent communicator when it comes to helping patients who have not yet been diagnosed and/or the source of their health condition has not yet become known to themselves or to the medical professionals who are attending to them.
Emergency nurses must be able to recognize problems that are life threatening and then do what is necessary to administer care as quickly as possible. Delay is not an option but quick action is a must. Emergency nurses are most often found working in the emergency rooms of hospitals although there are other medical settings that they can work in as well.
What is Emergency Nursing All About?
Emergency nurses are sometimes also referred to as emergency department/trauma center nurses. These nurses can work with patients of all ages, ranging from the youngest to the oldest. For example, they may have a patient who suffers from an acute critical illness such as a heart attack. On the other hand they may have a patient who has a benign illness. Emergency nursing requires dedicated individuals who exhibit excellent interviewing and physical assessment skills as well as those that can think as fast on their feet as possible. It can be very stressful to work as an emergency nurse as the pace is frantic at times and constantly changing.
Emergency room nurses (ER nurses) attend to their patients upon admittance to a hospital. Many of these patients are suffering from critical and life-threatening conditions and must provide initial assessment and care to these patients. These nurses work in hospitals and urgent care centers. They also find work in poison control centers, hospital transport companies and research institutes. They often work not just days but nights, weekends and are frequently on-call.
A nurse who wishes to work in an emergency room setting must have graduated from an accredited nursing school and must have a current nursing license. In some cases a nurse may be required to complete addition certifications in order to work in an emergency room.
Nurses who find work in emergency rooms must be flexible enough to work all different types of hours. They also must be able to perform at their best under any number of stressful conditions. These nurses often must work with patients who are semi-conscious, confused, depressed, angry or disoriented. They must give medication to patients and check their vital signs. It is also their job to keep the family members of patients informed of their conditions and to assist physicians during medical procedures. Emergency nurses have a tremendous amount of responsibility and therefore must be extremely well trained. They must complete an approved nursing program which includes supervised clinical experience and they must pass an examination to obtain their nurse’s license.
Educational Requirements for an ER Nurse
Those who wish to become emergency nurses first must become registered nurses (RNs). To do this they must complete a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) or complete an associate’s degree or some other type of approved nursing program. If you wish to advance as an ER nurse and/or go onto graduate studies then you will need to first obtain a bachelor’s degree.
Some of the subjects that aspiring emergency nurses study include behavioral sciences, psychology, chemistry, nutrition and physiology. Nursing students also must participate in classroom lectures and supervised clinical experiences. Once a student completes a nursing program she then must take the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Emergency nurses may be expected to obtain current advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), as well as basic life support (BLS). They also require a trauma nursing core course certification (TNCC), PALS certification, center line and IV skills, advanced cardiac monitoring and phlebotomy skills.
The annual salary of an emergency room nurse varies depending on the setting she finds employment in. The average hourly pay of an ER nurse is $18.75. The more education she earns the more this nursing professional has the potential to earn.
