Emergency Room Nurse

Emergency Room Nursing
While a nursing career can be both a challenging and rewarding one, the Emergency Room (ER) nurse has a very special role. It requires a special set of skills including an outgoing personality, physical fitness and stamina as well as a high degree of medical expertise. The ER nurse must be quick to identify and respond to a wide array of situations while still having a great bedside manner. ER nurses will start more IV’s, perform more CPR and deal with violent situations more than all other types of nurses.

Recommended Certifications
It should be noted that very few LVN’s are used in emergency rooms so besides having your RN in nursing, there are some other certifications that would be useful. The ER nurse must be ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certified. Additional certifications that would be helpful (or in some locations required) include BTLS (Basic Trauma Life Support), CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse) and ATCN (Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses). If the ER you want to work within is a trauma center, you may also want to include CTRN (Certified Transport Registered Nurse) or
CFRN (Certified Flight Registered Nurse).

ER Nurse Job Options
Although there are a plethora of emergency rooms throughout the world, each with their own uniqueness, an ER nurse does have some other job choices. They could work directly for a helicopter flight service or other emergency transportation company. There are also expanding markets in the area of occupational nurses; working for a company that has employees in high risk environments. IF you like to travel, there is also a very high demand for traveling nurses with excellent ER skills, as well as the US Military.

Average Salary for ER Nurses
As with many other positions, several other factors come to bear on the salary an ER nurse can make. In a smaller community, a new nurse graduate who wants to work in an ER could expect a pay rate of under $50,000 per year. An experienced ER nurse with several certifications could demand over $75,000 a year. Other considerations include location, years of experience and any additional degrees such as a Masters.

The future Of ER Nursing
The future for nurses, especially ER nurses is bright. As biotechnology increases, people tend to live longer, and thus require additional care. Also, an ever increasing popularity of extreme sports has unfortunately added to the demand for nurses. Finally, with the overabundance of career options for women today, there is more of a demand for nurses, which will drive up the salary range in the future, as well as the benefits.

Similar Roles
Being an ER nurse is fairly unique. While their training could easily allow them to fit into almost any other nursing role, many report becoming board as floor nurses. The closes position for an ER nurse might just be working as an operating room (OR) nurse or within the anesthesiology department. At a very busy, larger hospital, an ER nurse could also consider being an IV nurse if they wanted a break from the ER. With the right skills and training, the opportunities abound.