i wanna be an e.r. nurse,but i've been told by my psychiatrist that i'm not "priority oriented" enough.

Question

he said i'm too much a "first come, first serve" person to work the emergency room(to quote him "you'd take a person w/an ingrown toenail over a person having a heart attack just bc the ingrown toenail got there first"). what,if anything, can i do to remedy that about myself?

Answer 1

This is one of the few occasions where Jill is wrong!

I agree with her that your psychiatrist was inappropriate when he gave career counseling, but there are personality traits that dominate certain areas of nursing. An example is my wife, who as an RN is very intelligent and competent, but she can have a slight obssesive tendency which makes her better at the minutiae of the unit than the rapidly moving issues. She would be overwhelmed in an ER and realizes that, so she has found that she is ideal for QI/QC at a psychiatric facility.

This does not mean, by any means, that you should not pursue your goal, but understand your strengths and weaknesses. You may be able to work in your desired area, but you may find, it is not the correct fit for you.

Nurses prioritize in the ER everyday. Key positions in major ERs are the Triage Nurse, who prioritizes patients by the severity of their condition. This is a cornerstone of ER management. Especially in these days when people have inadequate or no health insurance and use the ER as the outpatient clinic it is important to move non-emergent patients either to a delayed catagory or into the "fast-track" side which bypasses the major components of the ER.

Trauma nurses in the ER are given rapid orders often by more than one provider at a time. They also must prioritize, and do critical tasks first and/or delegate task to others in order to get the patients stabilized.

Prioritization is actually crucial in most areas RNs work at a hospital, but much more crucial in the ER, ICU, CCU, NICU, OR and recovery room.

Good Luck with your goals, and keep working for them!

Also, as a note to many of the previous responders, nurses are educated, dogs and horses are trained.

Answer 2

That was completely inappropriate for your psychiatrist to say that to you.

Just because you have certain personality traits doesn't mean you aren't capable of doing a job that you would be TRAINED to do. It isn't as if an ER nurse has the authority to prioritize an ingrown toenail over a heart attack, give me a break.

Get a new psychiatrist, and if you want to be a nurse, go for it. Don't let other people talk you out of something and not even try.

Answer 3

well he shouldnt have told you what job is good for you. but once you go thru school and training you will realize order of importance when it comes to health care. person with ingrown toe nail wont die if they wait the person with the heartattack might... I feel first come first serve is a good principle also but once your in an emergency situation i bet youll see it in a new light.:)

Answer 4

. If you need a psychiatrist to deal with life, how are you going to deal with the stress of an ER?? I hope you don't work in my hospital.

Answer 5

dont let your shrink confuse you. do whatever job you want.