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Emergency Room Nurse - Career Profile |
Career OverviewNursing constitutes the caring for and treating of patients with definite or possible health problems, whether they are injuries or diseases. In one way or another, nurses are responsible for the general well-being of patients, whether they are involved directly in patient care or whether they work indirectly, in administrative positions, for example, to improve the quality of patient care.
An emergency room nurse works exclusively in the emergency department or trauma center of a hospital. They specialize in emergency medicine, which is sometimes referred to as primary care.
Often on a daily basis, emergency room nurses are presented with patients of all age ranges with a variety of illnesses and injuries of various critical degrees. They are presented with cases of benign injuries, such as basic fractures, or acutely critical illnesses, such as heart attacks, on a daily basis and must demonstrate an unwavering ability to think, analyze, and act quickly.
Emergency room nurses are often responsible for interviewing patients, their family, and friends, to determine the patient history and to thus facilitate a diagnosis when one is not immediately forthcoming. Likewise, physicians often rely upon emergency room nurses to perform the physical and psychological evaluation of patients who are brought to the emergency room, to determine the seriousness of their condition.
To reduce the pressure and constrains upon physicians, whose skills are typically better employed in the diagnostic procedures and complex treatment of patients, emergency room nurses are increasingly relied upon to take on administrative responsibilities in the hospital setting, including in the collective evaluation of patients to determine an order for treatment administration.
Emergency room nurses typically use a triage process to establish priority for patients to be seen by medical specialists, whether they are specialist nurses, physicians, or other professionals.
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Career RequirementsTo function in the high-pressure, fast-paced environment of the emergency room, emergency room nurses typically have extensive experience as nursing practitioners.
Emergency room nurses are trained to diagnose and treat patients with acute and chronic illnesses and injuries. They have general training as nurses to begin with, but may compliment their experience with additional certification in emergency room nursing and rotations in emergency room and trauma departments of hospitals.
Most emergency room nurses have a four-year Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and substantial clinical experience. Others may have only a two-year Associates Degree in Nursing, but they are typically required to have additional certification and extensive experience before they can take on senior positions in the emergency room.
To practice, emergency room nurses must pass the nationwide exam to obtain their license as a Registered Nurse. Their license must be current for them to practice legally as nurses and additional state requirements, if any, must also be met.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center awards licenses to qualified emergency room nurses and is the official source for more information about finding an accredited training course. Contact information features below.
Emergency Nurses Association
915 Lee St.,
Des Plaines, IL 60016
www.ena.org
American Nurses Credentialing Center
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 100 West
Washington, D.C. 20024-2571
(800) 284-2378
American Nurses' Association
8518 Georgia Ave.,
Ste. 400,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.nursingworld.org
National League for Nursing
61 Broadway
New York, NY 10006
www.nln.org
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Job OutlookTo function in the high-pressure, fast-paced environment of the emergency room, emergency room nurses typically have extensive experience as nursing practitioners. This guarantees their value to the health care profession.
In the next decade, nursing will be one of the top 10 fastest growing professions in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The future looks bright in the nursing field, with the number of jobs for registered nurses expected to increase at a rate far greater than that of most other jobs in the next couple of years.
Over the next decade or so, the nursing profession is expected to change as well. Nearly one out of every eight Americans is over 65 years of age and the size of the elderly population looks set to double by 2050, according to the US Census Bureau.
Hospitals are constantly downsizing, cutting back on the number of general staff, and reducing the time of patients' stay as well, so at home patient care is likely to be the standard practice for nurses in the not too distant future. However, there will always be the need for trained nurses to work in emergency rooms. In addition to this, there may be more emphasis upon developing strategies to facilitate the transition of patients from the emergency rooms to non-critical or specialist departments, or to back into their own homes.
There has also been some discussion about dividing the field of nursing into professional nurses and technical nurses. This will distinguish between those who have four-year degrees and those who have associate degrees. Emergency room nurses who have specialist training and four-year degrees will be more secure in the job market if such a distinction occurs, and will have a better chance of transferring their experience and skills to a different area of nursing, should they choose to do so.
As the field develops, there will certainly be increased opportunity for emergency room nurses to demonstrate leadership and to influence the direction of nursing and patient care in the emergency department of hospitals.
Trends suggest that the education role of emergency room nurses will become increasingly important, too. As patients spend less time in hospital, patient education will become an increasingly crucial part of the overall patient experience, particularly as they make the transition out of the emergency department.
The role of emergency room nurses is and will remain a vital ingredient to ensure a positive experience for patients and staff.
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Career TrackEmergency room nurses have credentials that allow them to take on a number of specialist roles in the field of medicine. They can choose to work day-to-day on a general hospital ward, practicing general medicine, or they can choose to specialize in a particular area of medicine.
The education and training of an emergency room nurse prepares them well for a career track in a variety of areas and in a variety of capacities, from patient care to hospital administration. Emergency room nurses demonstrate the ability to think on their feet, to work long hours, and to be flexible with their working schedule. They also demonstrate the capacity to manage and organize in high-pressure situations.
Emergency room nurses are desirable candidates to work as hospital administrators, as nurse managers, as consultants, and as policy-makers in emergency departments.
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CompensationAlthough compensation for emergency room nurses varies considerably according to their position of seniority, the annual pay is generally above that of a registered nurse working in the same type of situation.
- Emergency room nurse: $45,000 to $70,000
- Gerontology nurse: $40,000 to $95,000
- Licensed practical nurse: $35,000 to $45,000
- Nurse practitioner: $60,000 to $125,000
- Nurse supervisor: $55,000 to $85,000
- Registered nurse: $40,000 to $65,000
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