Is Emergency Nursing Right for You?

If you like action, the unexpected, and making a positive impact in the lives of your patients and community, then a career in emergency department might be for you. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of emergency medicine departments and roles you could encounter in your emergency nursing career journey.

Types of Emergency Medicine and Departments

Like many things in health care, emergency medicine has many sub-specialties that cater to very specific patient populations and health conditions. Emergency departments can vary significantly depending on the location of your facility and the resources available to support emergency care.

Sub-Specialties

  • Trauma
  • Stroke
  • Cardiology
  • Burn
  • Neurology
  • Disaster Response
  • Military
  • Pediatric
  • Adult
  • Geriatric

ED Settings

  • Critical Access: Remote settings with very few resources
  • Rural Areas: Moderately remote areas with more resources within a few hours by road or air
  • Community Settings: Mid-size cities with a moderate amount of resources
  • Urban Areas: Major metropolitan areas, usually have a lot of resources
  • Teaching Hospital: Large facilities associated with a university or two and many resources
  • Stand-Alone: Only available in certain states, not physically connected to a hospital
  • Disaster: Extreme environments after a disaster, few resources, often associated with federal or military response programs

Emergency Nurse Roles

Just like the wide variation that exists in emergency medicine and emergency departments, there are many different types of emergency nurses. As an emergency nurse, you’ll often embrace various roles throughout your career, so it’s common to do more than one.

While not all roles may be for you, it’s valuable to explore the many roles that do exist within emergency nursing.