I’ve always said - cross training for MS and ICU nurses to the ER should be mandatory - at least 1 solid week. ICU nurses tend to see the ER as “ICU lite” and not an entirely different specialty. And MS nurses seem to view ER as full of lazy med-surg nurses who didn’t take the time to assess the skin of a headache patient or ask when the last BM was…
Requiring a week in a busy ER would put a TON of people on the same page.
The flip side - ER nurses should 100% be required to spend the same amount of time in ICU or MS, because there’s a TON of annoying things we tend to do as ER nursesgy that could save a lot of headaches on the inpatient side if we changed just a little.
(I’m an 8 year ER nurse who’s also done ICU and 14 months of med-surg)
I work in ICCU and though they decided to stop cross training by contract; ICU staff now have the opportunity to cross train into ER, GI, PACU, Pre-op, and Urgent Care. I’d rather cross train to ER since it’s 12hrs then be canceled and use all my vacation! Ask your manager/director & educator. It’s a great way to learn new things and skills! I was in ED last week & say tons of babies & kids with RSV, Influenza A, & Covid! So ER is going to need help this season!
