first time in the ER

[wendywellesley]

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i'm going to volunteer in the ER tonight 8-12 for the first time. i'm a little nervous but really excited!! can anyone tell me what to expect and how to make the most of the experience.

Thanks!!

 

[VPDcurt]

first of all...it's nothing like the TV show. it might be pretty exciting however because it is so close to halloween. just ask a lot of questions about procedures, conditions, etc. the more involved you get, the better off you are. how was the halloween party last night?

 

[wendywellesley]

first of all...it's nothing like the TV show. it might be pretty exciting however because it is so close to halloween. just ask a lot of questions about procedures, conditions, etc. the more involved you get, the better off you are. how was the halloween party last night?

thanks for the advice! i'm just afraid of being an annoyance to the staff, but hopefully i'll get over it and they will be receptive.

i pooped out at the last minute. the party was a 40 minute drive away, its the same drive i do during the week... i'm getting lazy in my old age 🙂

 

[VPDcurt]

thanks for the advice! i'm just afraid of being an annoyance to the staff, but hopefully i'll get over it and they will be receptive.

i pooped out at the last minute. the party was a 40 minute drive away, its the same drive i do during the week... i'm getting lazy in my old age 🙂

haha. yeah just try not to get in anyone's way and then the staff shouldn't be annoyed at all.

 

[Reimat]

My time in the ER is usually spent doing small tasks- however, how much you do is somewhat depended upon how pro-active you are

 

[gdk]

what to expect? it really depends on how they use volunteers. you could spend all night sorting papers and not see any doctors at all!

my advice would be to stay active and volunteer to help on anything and everything. transporting pts, samples, etc. they called me "t-t boy" when i volunteered b/c i ran so many samples. try to build some rapport with some of the nurse staff.. in time they will grant you more involvement with pts. eventually i has was doing the job of an er tech - lots of pt contact. also, go late at night if you can... all the good stuff happens after 10pm. and holiday weekends can be insane-busy.

edit: as the previous poster mentioned, it's nothing like tv..... you can't smell anything on tv.... get ready!

😱

 

[stoic]

edit: as the previous poster mentioned, it's nothing like tv..... you can't smell anything on tv.... get ready!

😱

LOL. So true. So true.

Oh yea, and more than likely at some point you'll be watching a procedure and start to get a little light headed. Just back out of the room before you pass out. You don't even really need to excuse yourself. It happens to almost everyone the first time they see a lot of blood/pus/puke/poop. It's played out, but remember that "they'd rather have one patient instead of two" so if you feel like your gonna go down get a breath of fresh air and drink of cold water.

 

[Code Brown]

edit: as the previous poster mentioned, it's nothing like tv..... you can't smell anything on tv.... get ready!

How do you think I came up with my SND name ? 😀 😀

Remember to breath through your mouth and not your nose if it gets too bad 🙂

One piece of advice would to get the tech or a nurse to show you how to take vitals and run the EKG as soon as possible. This way, when the ER gets busy at some point in the future, you can do these things by asking the nurses if they need you to take vitals on someone to help them out. They will love you for this and will end up showing you other cool things when they show up. Even though you are a volunteer, you are part of the team over there. Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[gildas]

Logging time: 8: 20 pm pacific
Date: October 30
I am volunteering in ER and I just got 10 min break. We just had about 7 traumas in less than a hour. That was fun, yeah tell that to the nurses.
But seriously it was bad, I think it's because tomorrow is Halloween

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Logging time: 8: 20 pm pacific
Date: October 30
I am volunteering in ER and I just got 10 min break. We just had about 7 traumas in less than a hour. That was fun, yeah tell that to the nurses.
But seriously it was bad, I think it's because tomorrow is Halloween

because it's Halloween everyone is partying tonight and getting hurt or drunk or something?

And to the OP: as others have said definitely get involved in everything possible. Ask questions from someone who seems willing to teach..some love to, some hate it; try to figure out which is which. It will be to your benefit (and also to those you work with) to learn to do as much as you can, like taking vitals and calming patients. it is exciting, exhilirating, scary, traumatic and tragic all at the same time. Hope it went well.

 

[wendywellesley]

i'm back. i left a little earlier than intended.
it was kind of slow tonight. not nearly as busy as i thought it would be on the night before halloween.
the thing is, i'm shy and i'm deathly afraid of getting in the way of important business. i'm not even a med student and i don't want to waste anyones time while they are busy saving lives! I gave patients tissues, pillows, water and did errans for the front desk.
that is a good idea about vitals and the EKG, i will be sure to ask a nurse next time I go.
thanks for the adivce! its good to hear that you guys as volunteers were able "get your hands dirty" so to speak.
i need to be more asertive.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

i'm back. i left a little earlier than intended.
it was kind of slow tonight. not nearly as busy as i thought it would be on the night before halloween.
the thing is, i'm shy and i'm deathly afraid of getting in the way of important business. i'm not even a med student and i don't want to waste anyones time while they are busy saving lives! I gave patients tissues, pillows, water and did errans for the front desk.
that is a good idea about vitals and the EKG, i will be sure to ask a nurse next time I go.
thanks for the adivce! its good to hear that you guys as volunteers were able "get your hands dirty" so to speak.
i need to be more asertive.

it was your first night; don't be so hard on yourself. It sounds like you did fine. Just don't wait for things to happen; take the initiative within the next few nights and ask for them to show you things on slower nights.

 

[fever5]

I'm pretty sure you already know this but make sure to ask the nurse before giving patients anything like water and food. Dont want to get yelled at in the ER.

Well you don't want to harm patients or mess up CT results either by water:
Exactly, some patients (actually a majority) usually end up going to diagnostic imaging. If they are getting a CT, and contrast is being used, water can muddy up the effect of contrast. Generally the people who want water the most are the ones who can't have it. Sometimes ER's have a patient board with the essientials like NPO, DAT, etc. Don't trust the board either. Always ask the nurse. Also in fall season, if you see a person on an IV they may have a GI infection! Thus water is also a bad thing. Always ask the patient's nurse regardless (although eventually you will see trends). If a patient looks really dry, what I do is get mouth wash, and get them to swirl it and spit it out. This works well with patients who have only been dehydrated for 24-48 hours. Also a wet cloth to moisten their lips can help too.

Also ER is usually cyclical. Some days are super fast, some days are very slow. Eventually nurses will come to know you, the first few months are generally the hardest, as the ER can be an ambigious place.

Lastly, watch out for unions! Health care aids can get edgy if it is a slow time and you are doing their work!