Posted By Travel Nurse Source on Oct 10, 2017 | 1 comment

Patients come into the emergency department with all kinds of injuries and illnesses, from gunshot wounds to heart attacks to mental health issues. Emergency nurses have to know how to do it all, making ER nursing one of the more challenging nursing specialties. October 8-17 is Emergency Nurses Appreciation Week 2017, so let’s take a moment to appreciate the hard work that goes into emergency nursing! Emergency nurses face many challenges, but their job is also very rewarding. If you are wondering, why become an emergency room nurse, check out the pros and cons of emergency room nursing. If you already are an ER nurse and are considering a travel career, read below to learn the benefits to travel ER/trauma nursing.

Why Become an Emergency Room Nurse? The Pros and Cons

If you are wondering, why become an emergency room nurse, here are some pros and cons to consider!

Pros of Becoming an Emergency Room Nurse

Pro: Be on the front line

Emergency nurses get to be on the front line at hospitals. Patients who are transported to the hospital will see an emergency nurse first. The nurse first evaluates the patient and decides what physicians or specialists the patient needs to see. The nurse is typically the person who calms the patient down, comforts their family members, and keeps order in what can sometimes be a chaotic experience.

Pro: Learn a little bit of everything

Since emergency room nurses see it all, from broken bones to diabetic shock and everything in between, they learn a lot! Unlike working in a specific specialty, emergency room nurses never know what type of patient they may have to care for during their shift. For nursing looking to take their career to the next level, emergency room nursing is a great way to expand on your medical skills.

Pro: Directly impact patient lives

It was already mentioned above, but emergency room nurses get to directly impact the lives of their patients. Patients who come into the emergency department are typically frantic, stressed out, and in a hurry. When the emergency situation is over, patients will often look back and remember that first friendly face that got them through it. Most of the time that friendly face is a helpful and caring emergency nurse.

Cons of Becoming an Emergency Room Nurse

Con: Coping with death

The downside to working as an emergency room nurse is that, unfortunately, not everyone can be saved. Emergency room nurses work with a team of providers to do everything in their power to save lives. However, sometimes patients don’t make it. This can be a very difficult thing to deal with, so emergency room nurses have to learn to be emotionally strong in these situations.

Con: High rates of burnout

The emergency department is a fast-paced environment with lots of chaos. Emergency room nurses typically work long shifts, and the emergency department never closes. This means you could be working at all hours of the day and night. On top of that, some patients make it and some patients don’t. Plus, sometimes coworkers can add stress to the situation. Healthcare workers, in general, face high rates of burnout, but this is especially true with emergency room nurses. Although this is a downside to nursing, there are ways to prevent nursing burnout.

Con: Dealing with difficult patients

The emergency department can be stressful, as we’ve already mentioned. Some patients react to this environment by lashing out on the healthcare workers who are trying to help them. Dealing with difficult patients is another con to working in the emergency department. However, there are plenty of healthy and professional ways to deal with difficult patients.

Become an Emergency Room Travel Nurse

Are you tired of living and working in the same town and dealing with the politics of one hospital? If so, you may be wondering, why become an emergency room nurse who travels? Here are some benefits of travel ER/trauma nursing jobs!

You’ll Learn so Much More

If you choose a career in travel nursing, you will learn so much more than a typical nurse that doesn’t travel. If you think you get a wide variety of patients in your current hospital, imagine how many unique situations you might encounter in other places around the country! For example, in a small, rural hospital in Alaska, your role will include a lot more than what it might in an emergency department in New York City. Not only will patient injuries and illnesses vary, but hospital protocol and culture will be different as well. Traveling is a great way to broaden your experience as an emergency nurse.

Become a Tourist After Work

When you’re not at work, you don’t have to go home and sit around in the same boring town. Instead, as a travel emergency room nurse, each travel nurse assignment will take you somewhere new! After long days saving lives in the hospital, you get to reward yourself with a true tourist experience in whatever destination you choose! Not sure where to travel first? Here are the best states for nurses in 2017.

Travel Nurses Have Better Pay

Since travel nurses fill temporary positions that are in high demand, they are often paid higher pay rates than they would be in a permanent position. So, not only do you get to build on your skillset and see new places, but you also get paid a little bit more to do it!