The Work of an Emergency Nurse
“Emergency room” nurse is actually an erroneous term – emergency nurses are expected to treat patients suffering from trauma, injury, or severe medical conditions that require urgent treatment – and this treatment can occur beyond the emergency room (ER). It goes without saying that emergency care is a delicate specialty.
Another way to look at emergency care nursing is that it is in most ways identical to the general practice of nursing, except under a crisis – that means with extra amounts of stress and pressure.
We examine the particulars that surround emergency care nursing in this Committed Health specialty guide.
Conditions treated at the emergency room
Medical emergencies vary in severity. The nature of an ER visit can vary, sometimes depending on where the hospital is located. For instance, one can expect a metropolitan hospital to see more extreme cases like gunshot or stab wounds. Alternatively, rural hospitals see plenty of trauma cases.
Non-life threatening illnesses that necessitate urgent care are also addressed at the ER – sore throat, diarrhea, muscle pain, abdominal pain, and a variety of infections, too.
Domains of an emergency nurse
As mentioned, emergency nurses are not confined to the ER. Urgent care extends to many places including airplanes, for instance – in-flight nurses are trained in emergency care nursing. Search and rescue teams naturally have nurses who are specialized in emergency care, too. They can even be on movie sets as medics, or in more low profile environments like school clinics. There is virtually no limit for where emergency nurses can exercise their prowess in care.
Skill set of success for an emergency nurse
Because emergency care is a specialty, interested nurses must develop a unique skill set to perform successfully in the field. (Of course, these characteristics are not required and there is no test to measure if a nurse has them or not. And thankfully, these traits can be learned, so don’t be discouraged.)
Calm under pressure
With the immense tension that comes with any emergency, nurses in this specialty must be able to keep a composed demeanor. As an emergency nurse, your patients will look to you for cues, so act with lots of intention, care, and confidence to avoid escalating the atmosphere, which might even lead to a medical complication.
Flexibility & speed
No two emergencies are the same! You should be able to adapt to any situation, and quickly. Be open and stay open to learning all throughout your career, because this specialization will expose you to all kinds of crises.
Bouncing back
Resilience and empathy are critical for an emergency nurse’s ability to stick to their career path for many years to come. A fact of this specialty is that there will be many patients suffering from delicate illnesses. Maintaining a positive attitude throughout all cases you encounter will help you succeed.
Emergency nursing is both high demand in hiring and high demand in terms of what a nurse is expected to give and put into in order to succeed and be an effective medical professional. Nevertheless, the fulfillment that you will get out of emergency care nursing is immeasurable.
Find open nursing jobs here on Committed Health.