What Goes on in the Emergency Room?

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Emergency rooms, often simply called ER, are often time busy and noisy places, especially in large cities. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in the ER, we’ve got the answer for you.

Who Works in Emergency Rooms?

Nurses are probably the most prominent people seen in the ER, along with doctors, and emergency medical technicians, they make up the bulk of the medial staff in any ER. They will work with both doctors and emergency medical technicians to help people who are in pain or may be in a life-threatening situation. ER nurses will do a lot of the routine work, but in the hectic world of ER nurses, they have to be ready to jump into almost any situation.

As good as nurses and emergency medical technicians are, there many are jobs in the ER that require a doctor. Larger ER’s may also have a surgical staff in addition to non-surgical doctors. Depending on the severity or type of problem in the ER specialists may also need to be called in.

The emergency medical technician is often times the first person to see a patient. They are the people in the ambulance who arrive on scene and are responsible for getting the patients to the ER. Emergency medical technicians will also stay with the patient until they are handed over to the ER staff.
What Patients are seen in Emergency Rooms?

Emergency rooms, of course, are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week—including holidays and weekends. This means you are likely to see anything in an ER. The bigger the city and the bigger the ER, the more unusual the cases you may see.

A typical night in a big city ER, you will likely see anything from simple situations such as colds and flus, to minor lacerations, sprains, and broken bones, all the way up to wounds from violent crime, car accidents, almost anything you can imagine—and quite a few things you could never imagine. To be an ER nurse, doctor, or emergency medical technician requires a strong stomach because you are very likely to see a lot of blood and, possibly worse things.

What are the Admitting Procedures?

Like it or not, the admitting process is vital to running an ER. Admitting procedures to the ER will vary depending on why you are there and how you got there. The more life threatening the condition, the less concerned the ER will be about paperwork. If you come in under your own power, the ER will likely want the paperwork taken care of upfront.

Typical procedures will require you to provide proof of insurance and fill out admitting forms. Even if you come in to the hospital unconscious and in an ambulance, these details will need to be taken care of sooner or later. This responsibility usually falls on the ER receptionist.

To work in an ER requires a lot of stamina, a strong work ethic, and a strong stomach. If you like to help people and want to work in a fast paces environment, the ER could be your dream job.