Emergency Room Nurses

Emergency room nurses are the frontline forces of hospital staff deployed to treat emergency room visitors. They are medical professionals that must be prepared to deal with everything from broken bones and high fevers to strokes and critical injuries. They have a variety of special responsibilities. Emergency room nurses are an important part of a hospital's staff and deal with a multitude of different medical situations.

ER nurses often perform triage duties. This involves assessing a wound or illness and categorizing it based on the urgency with which it needs to be treated. This requires extensive medical knowledge and quick-thinking, and can make the difference between life or death.

This type of medical professional must be prepared to deal with a variety of conditions. Emergency room nurses will see everything from traumatic, life-threatening injuries to over-reactive patients. Emergency rooms can also be tense and stressful environments.

On the other end of the emergency room visit, emergency room nurses often handle discharge duties. After a patient receives treatment but does not have to be admitted to the hospital, ER nurses will deal with any paperwork, explain to the patient any instructions for self-care, and confirm that the patient has a way home.