In emergency & trauma nursing, the focus is on providing direct care to patients who have incurred serious or life-threatening injuries and/or illnesses.
What do emergency and trauma nurses do?
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Emergency and trauma nurses must:
- be able to think quickly.
- conduct swift assessments.
- make rapid decisions to prioritize patients.
- handle complex, difficult and highly stressful situations.
Duties and responsibilities include:
- assessing and triaging patients.
- stabilizing patients and preventing complications such as respiratory distress, bleeding, shock or death
- managing pain.
- changing wound dressings.
- administering medications, and providing other urgent medical treatments as needed.
Emergency and trauma nurses should obtain and maintain current the following certifications: cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and pediatric advanced life support (PALS). Additional certifications are available such as certified emergency nurse (CEN), certified pediatric emergency nurse (CPEN), certified flight registered nurse (CFRN), trauma certified registered nurse (TCRN) and critical care ground transport (CTRN) nursing.
Where do emergency and trauma nurses work?
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Emergency and trauma nurses may work in hospital emergency departments, critical care units, or as transport nurses who travel by ambulance, helicopter or airplane.
What do emergency and trauma nurses need to know?
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A profession in emergency and trauma nursing requires:
- an understanding of normal anatomy and physiology.
- keen assessment and monitoring skills.
- vast knowledge of a wide variety of general medical conditions, emergency procedures and medications.
- ongoing education related to the management of acutely ill and injured patients.
More emergency and trauma nursing resources
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- Nursing Pocket Cards, including assessment and management of stroke
- Guideline Summaries, including suicide risk assessment
- Blog posts, with infographics, mnemonics, tips, and more
- Journals
- Articles and nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) activities
- Headlines and news stories
- Society partners
Use this Emergency Nursing Certification Review Course to study for the emergency nursing specialty certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN
®), which grants the credential Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN
®).