What Are the Roles & Duties of an Emergency Room Nurse? Common tasks include administering medication, fluid resuscitation, blood transfusions, wound care, device placement, and much more. The theme among these tasks is a through and insightful evaluation to determine the extent of injuries, and the development of an appropriate course of action to achieve stabilization, and balancing other patients' needs. What Does an Emergency Room Nurse Do?Īlongside the interdisciplinary team, the ER nurse performs all types of tasks - from icing a swollen ankle to performing CPR and treating victims of major trauma. While transfers of complicated cases or extensive patient trauma to larger and more elaborate hospitals often occur, very few facilities aren't equipped to receive and admit patients on an emergency basis. Each triage area has to be staffed with appropriately training nursing specialists for maximum safety and efficiency.
Virtually every hospital has an emergency admitting and triage area where injured or ailing patients can enter and be assessed for medical treatment and stabilized, as the situation requires. See our list of post master's emergency nurse practitioner graduate certificates. To take the CEN exam, an ER nurse must have two years of emergency experience as an RN. RNs that have CEN certification have undergone rigorous training to hone their practical and theoretical skill, to say nothing of the ethics of triaging a stream of patients in the most appropriate, ethical and effective manner. Developed by the Emergency Nurses Association, certified nurses are considered to have attained a level of expertise on the standards and practices of emergency patient care. In addition to licensure, the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) credential is a nationally accepted certification for ER nurses. Any Certifications or Credentials Needed? See our list of emergency nurse practitioner programs. Other hospitals require the ADN nurse to complete their BSN degree within a few years of employment. Some teaching hospitals have raised the standard and exclusively hire BSN educated nurses. While most hospitals will gladly hire nurses who have achieved an Associate's Degree in Nursing (ADN), many are shifting to Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) as the competitive qualification. These requirements are the basic requirements for the ER nursing role. With licensure out of the way, nurses can use the title 'Registered Nurse' or RN and can apply to jobs as such.
Nurses with these qualifications are then able to take their state's NCLEX-RN examination. Like other nursing positions, Emergency Room nurses require successful completion of a college or university degree that culminates in either an ADN or BSN. What Are the Education Requirements for an Emergency Room Nurse?
Often nurses from other departments can apply for a posted internal position to change departments. The hospital assumes a role in providing both didactic training and an experienced preceptor to help transition and mentor the new graduate until they successfully complete the intake process.įor nurses with experience in a different specialty, the transition into the ER will be hospital-specific, and is generally much shorter. Many hospitals will hire nurses to the Emergency Room directly after graduation and licensure. The emergency room nurse is responsible for accurately assessing then triaging patients in a thorough yet efficient manner.