What does an emergency department registered nurse do?
An emergency registered nurse is first in line for patients who need a response. These nurses are first to respond to emergency cases such as trauma, allergic reactions, and injuries. They assist doctors and other medical staff in emergency medical care. It is their responsibility to always provide high-quality standards for nursing. The skills they should possess include diligence, attention to detail, levelheadedness, and strong communication. They also need to be knowledgeable about emergency care.
Emergency department registered nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real emergency department registered nurse resumes:
- Monitor and manage chest tubes and various drainage devices along with pacer wires, epidural lines, and PCA pumps.
- Stabilize critical patients through the use of BLS and ACLS protocols.
- Assess patients and prioritize care: stabilize multiple critical patients using ACLS and BLS protocols.
- Provide direct patient care including triage evaluation and treatment of patients presenting for care for medical/trauma/psychiatric care.
- Perform triage, assessments, complete MD orders assist in treatment and admit or discharge patients requiring/receiving emergency care
- Provide comprehensive care to patients that addressed the physical, social, spiritual and mental aspects of care and rehabilitation.
- Care to critical patients on transfers from ICU to ICU in the states of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.
- Monitor and care for ICU patients until bed availability
- Respond appropriately to adult cardiac patients by following ACLS guidelines.
- Educate patients and family members regarding diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
- Determine if patients have any allergies or other relevant medical conditions.
- Perform triage and initial assessments of adult and pediatric patients presenting with trauma/medical/cardiac/neurological/gynecological/obstetric/psychiatric symptoms.
- Perform blood draws, iv insertions, EKGS, and arterial blood gases.
- Assist in several clinical situations involving ACLS protocol, rape crisis, and trauma.
- Experience with code management, cardioversion, pacing, telemetry and interpretation of strips.
Emergency department registered nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Emergency Department Registered Nurses are proficient in Patients, Acls, and Acute Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Critical-thinking skills, Communication skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Emergency Department Registered Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 27%
Performed triage and initial assessments of adult and pediatric patients presenting with trauma/medical/cardiac/neurological/gynecological/obstetric/psychiatric symptoms.
- Acls, 9%
Responded appropriately to adult cardiac patients by following ACLS guidelines.
- Acute Care, 6%
Provide scheduled coverage in emergency departments in many acute care hospitals.
- Life Support, 4%
Trained and mentored new nurses as needed On-Call /Triage/Interdepartmental float responsibilities Certified in Advanced Cardiac/Trauma Life Support.
- Patient Outcomes, 4%
Collaborated with emergency department leadership team to maintain effective patient care delivery and achievement of optimal patient outcomes.
- Advanced Life Support, 3%
Perform therapeutic nursing interventions, such as stabilizing patients, providing advanced life support, administering medications and initiating corrective actions.
"patients," "acls," and "acute care" are among the most common skills that emergency department registered nurses use at work. You can find even more emergency department registered nurse responsibilities below, including:
Critical-thinking skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an emergency department registered nurse to have is critical-thinking skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "registered nurses must assess changes in the health status of patients, such as determining when to take corrective action." Emergency department registered nurses often use critical-thinking skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide safe and effective patient care using critical-thinking skills. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform emergency department registered nurse duties is communication skills. Emergency department registered nurses responsibilities require that "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Emergency department registered nurses also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "value strong interdisciplinary communication in order to provide best patient outcomes. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of emergency department registered nurses is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday emergency department registered nurse duties, as "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide compassion to family members ensuring optimal levels of comfort and privacy. "
Detail oriented. emergency department registered nurse responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This resume example shows what emergency department registered nurses do with detail oriented on a typical day: "demonstrated perseverance, compassion, and attention to detail. "
Emotional stability. Another crucial skill for an emergency department registered nurse to carry out their responsibilities is "emotional stability." A big part of what emergency department registered nurses relies on this skill, since "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." How this skill relates to emergency department registered nurse duties can be seen in an example from an emergency department registered nurse resume snippet: "provide physical, emotional and spiritual support that directly impacts the patient outcomes. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what an emergency department registered nurse does. Emergency department registered nurse responsibilities require this skill because "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." This resume example highlights how emergency department registered nurse duties rely on this skill: "provide professional and organizational skills in order to promote nurse retention and participate in quality improvement activities to ensure patient safety. "
See the full list of emergency department registered nurse skills
The three companies that hire the most emergency department registered nurses are:
- Trusted Health Plans1,839 emergency department registered nurses jobs
- Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.517 emergency department registered nurses jobs
- WakeMed246 emergency department registered nurses jobs
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Compare different emergency department registered nurses
Emergency department registered nurse vs. Staff nurse
Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between emergency department registered nurses and staff nurse. For instance, emergency department registered nurse responsibilities require skills such as "life support," "patient outcomes," "compassion," and "tncc." Whereas a staff nurse is skilled in "bls," "surgery," "telemetry," and "family education." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Staff nurses tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $58,739. In contrast, emergency department registered nurses make the biggest average salary, $77,094, in the health care industry.The education levels that staff nurses earn slightly differ from emergency department registered nurses. In particular, staff nurses are 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an emergency department registered nurse. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Emergency department registered nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, emergency department registered nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "life support," "patient outcomes," "tncc," and "emergency room." Meanwhile, a registered nurse charge nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "bls," "resident care," "infection control," and "medication administration." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Registered nurses charge nurses may earn a lower salary than emergency department registered nurses, but registered nurses charge nurses earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $68,929. On the other hand, emergency department registered nurses receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $77,094.registered nurses charge nurses earn similar levels of education than emergency department registered nurses in general. They're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for emergency department registered nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Emergency department registered nurse vs. Registered professional nurse
A registered nurse in the ICU, or intensive care unit, is responsible for monitoring a patient's progress and performing regular reports to physicians and families. Most ICU patients require extensive attention and assessment, which will require a nurse to be more observant and proactive. A nurse may also have duties producing paperwork, arranging schedules, responding to various inquiries, and crafting a particular care plan. Furthermore, should there be any emergencies, it is crucial to inform the assigned physician right away.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, emergency department registered nurses are more likely to have skills like "life support," "tncc," "emergency room," and "enpc." But a registered professional nurse is more likely to have skills like "bls," "surgery," "oncology," and "telemetry."
Registered professional nurses earn the best pay in the utilities industry, where they command an average salary of $64,620. Emergency department registered nurses earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $77,094.Most registered professional nurses achieve a similar degree level compared to emergency department registered nurses. For example, they're 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Emergency department registered nurse vs. Registered nurse in the icu
Even though a few skill sets overlap between emergency department registered nurses and registered nurse in the icus, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an emergency department registered nurse might have more use for skills like "patient outcomes," "triage," "tncc," and "emergency room." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of registered nurse in the icus require skills like "bls," "quality care," "telemetry," and "medication administration. "
In general, registered nurse in the icus earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $79,394. The highest-paying industry for an emergency department registered nurse is the health care industry.In general, registered nurse in the icus hold similar degree levels compared to emergency department registered nurses. Registered nurse in the icus are 1.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of emergency department registered nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
