Emergency Nurses Week

Nursing is a demanding occupation no matter what specialty you pursue, and emergency nurses have uniquely challenging demands rarely seen in any field. Emergency Nurses Week is an annual celebration of the emergency room nurses whose knowledge, skill, and compassion ensure the best front-line care even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Do Emergency Nurses Do?

ER nurses treat patients who require urgent treatment, such as those suffering from trauma, injury, or other severe medical conditions. They're trained to recognize life-threatening situations and to quickly determine the best way to stabilize patients and minimize pain.

So what kind of conditions can an emergency nurse expect to see? The top five reasons for ER visits are the following:

• Abdominal pain.
• Chest pain.
• Strains or sprains.
• Superficial injury: injury that doesn't affect muscles or organs.
• Upper-respiratory infection.

You probably noticed that the last condition means that emergency nurses have had an extremely busy time this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. This list also shows the wide variety of conditions that an ER nurse can expect to identify and treat.

That variety also changes based on location. Nurses in rural areas can expect to treat more people involved in vehicle crashes or accidents with work equipment, while those in Southern states may treat more conditions affecting older adults, particularly during the winter as elderly people head south for the warmer climate. Meanwhile, nurses in large urban areas may deal with more instances of injuries from violence, but also may see more patients who visit the ER for accessible primary care.

The emergency department has a vital need for focused care and patient flow, which is why ER nurses are trained to recognize life-threatening situations, how to stabilize them, then get that patient to the proper place where they will be cared for long term. Everything in the ER is short term, and fast moving.

What qualities make for a good emergency nurse?

The unique responsibilities and broad experiences an emergency nurse takes on mean that a number of characteristics might make you more suited for the job:

• Calmness in high-pressure situations.
• Adaptability: an ability to pivot between many different challenges and to readjust to new situations quickly.
• Wide knowledge base: your adaptability increases the more you know about the many different situations and conditions that you'll see each day.
• Speed: many ER situations require fast response, particularly when a patient needs quick stabilization of life-threatening injuries.
• Focus: the ability to analyze and attend to a situation quickly and accurately.
• Empathy: the most important quality shared by all nurses, the ability to be compassionate towards patients even during difficult situations.

How can I become an Emergency Nurse?

There are a number of steps on the way to becoming an emergency nurse:

1. Obtain either an Associate's Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
2. Pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to be able to work as a registered nurse (RN).
3. Gain experience: work as a floating nurse in your hospital's emergency room or assist paramedic teams.
4. Apply for certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) after two years of relevant experiences. While not mandatory, this can help you gain the edge in job applications.

How can I celebrate Emergency Nurses week?

How can you participate in honoring the ER nurses, or celebrate if you are a ER nurse?

• Say thank you! Write a note or send a card to the ER nurses that you know, have in your life, or have attended to you in the past.
• Change your profile picture on social media.
• Share your stories about experiences with helpful nurses on social media. Use the hashtags #ENWeek and #ERnursesweek, and tag the Emergency Nurses Association by using @ENAorg.
• Donate to a health organization or charity: options include Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, or the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Response Fund.
• Follow COVID-19 recommendations! This will make the jobs of nurses in high-volume medical settings easier.

Here at Mountainside Medical Equipment, we salute our nurses for their bravery, dedication, and compassion. If you are a nurse and you're looking for medical supplies, click HERE to see some of high quality products that we carry, or call us at 1-888-637-4334 to speak with one of our friendly staff members.