Emergency Room Nursing 101 – What Is An Emergency Room Nurse?


Emergency room nurses can also be known as critical care nurses or trauma nurses. These nurses provide medical support in emergency situations. They specialize in treating severely ill or injured patients that are in need of immediate care and treatment. Some of these patients could also be in life threatening situations.

The emergency room is a rapidly changing environment. A patient could just need some stitches for a cut. Someone could walk in with a stomach pain and the medical staff will have to figure out what is wrong with that person. Or paramedics could blaze through the victim of a car crash that is in critical condition and needs to  be treated immediately.



ER nurses need to be ready for anything. They need to be ready to work and execute on many different circumstances. Every patient’s case is unique and requires strong analysis. Some other medical emergencies a ER nurse might be faced with are as follows:

– Car accidents
– Bodily Pains
– Poisonings
– Heart Attacks
– Stab or Gunshot Wounds
– A Bad Fall
– Sprained or Broken Bones
– Strained or torn ligaments and tendons
– High Fevers And Sicknesses
– Sports Related Injury
– Appendix Explosion
– Sore Part Of The Body
– And Many More situations

These nurses also treat patients of all ages. They could be treating a middle aged woman one day. Then be treating an little kid the next day. ER nurses treat whoever comes through their doors regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, or monetary value.

ER nurses understand the nursing process and are experts at implementing it for all patients. They prioritize their tasks based on the condition of their patients. If you are looking for a fast paced career in the nursing field then ER nursing might be up alley. However, there are some other important factors you must consider.


What Does A Typical Day Look Like?

An ER nurse’s day starts by assessing the patients he or she as been assigned too. They must do a good job of this so they know which patients to prioritize over others. In other words, they need to determine which patients will need medical attention quicker than others. This is very important to providing proper care to patients in the ER.

If a patient is in critical condition, then the goal is to stabilize the patient as quickly and carefully as possible. This means make sure their condition does not worsen. ER nurses want a patient’s fractures to be immobilized, cuts to be bandaged up, bleeding to be stopped, airways to be clear, heart rate to be a steady flow, etc.

ER nurses can perform many tasks, execute some medical procedures, and they are certified in different types of advanced life support.



Here is a list some of the medical procedures ER nurses possess in their toolkit.

Basic Life Support
Neonatal Resuscitation
Pediatric Advanced Life Support
Advanced Cardiac Life Support
– Starting IV Lines
– Rescue Breathing
– CPR
– Blood Transfusion
– Administering Medication
– Intubation
– Immobilizing Fractures And Broken Bones
– Suturing
– Delivering Babies
– First Aid
– Tracheotomies
– Bag valve mask ventilation
– Knowledgeable Of x-rays and diagnostic exams

An ER nurse’s day is full of stress and long hours. However, they stand of the  front lines of the hospital and help some patients carry on with their lives.


Important Roles An ER Nurse Should Be Ready To Take On

1). Proper Patient Care ER nurses care for patients of all demographics and all walks of life. If the patient walks through the emergency room, it is the nurse’s job to take of him or her. These nurses also care for patients in many different settings such sport events and facilities, urgent care centers, and government.

2). Being Good Leaders These nurses have to manage the treatment process of patients. That calls for managing medical staff at times. They can also be nurse managers and administrators. Those to work to improve the procedures in emergency medical care.

3). Educating Other Around You These nurses provide information to the public. They educate the patient and their families on the injuries and sicknesses that he or she is currently suffering through. They also teach people how to prevent injury and disease through awareness and information.

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