Emergency Room Manager

Emergency Room Manager

Veroniche

Western Region, US

Female, 54

I’ve been an ER nurse manager since 2009. Previously, I spent 24 yrs as an ER nurse. My hospital, a Level III trauma center, sees 70,000+ ER patients/yr. My responsibilities include billing, federal/state regulation oversight, metrics reporting, software education of e-records, and hiring/termination/disciplinary actions. The ER is one of the key impacted areas of healthcare reform. It’s a scary and exciting time for us, not just in the care of patients, but what the future holds for healthcare.

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Last Answer on May 25, 2014

Best Rated

if I had a house party with people who didn't have a security license could the people still physically kick someone out

Asked by Aimee over 10 years ago

Wow!  I don't have any expertise in that at all!  I think that is a question for a police officer or security company.

what are the duties of manager of ER, I'm new at this and when one of the nurses don't come in the floor nurse supervisor told me I'm to come in and take that nurse place. If it's my day off or not.

Asked by capri almost 11 years ago

That is generally the sad truth about management--you will be called upon to assist in the ED when staffing is short and they can't get an hourly nurse to come in.  Generally managers are exempt from wage and hour laws and are paid a set salary that usually doesn't include overtime.  It shouldn't be a regular, ongoing thing though; if it does, I would be concerned about your staffing.  If there is a problem with the time and attendance of your staff, then that is a different issue that you are going to have to address as a manager.

The plus side about this is that you will get lots of bonus points from your nursing staff; you will be seen as someone that has their back, that understands front line nursing care, and it will keep your skills current.  That will get respect from the nursing staff that will go a long way when you have to implement changes, or institute policies that affect them.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. Who are the top staff members in your ED and what are they called? Who's the "top doctor" and the "top nurse"?

Does ED use physician assistants? if so, how much oversight does an ED physician provide?

Asked by BBD over 10 years ago

The nursing leader is called the director, and then under that are managers, and then under that are the charge nurses for each shift.  These are all RN positions.  So the top nurse is the nursing director.

The physician who is in charge of all of the physicians is called the medical director.

The ED uses both physician assistants and nurse practioners.  They are directly supervised by the physicians who are on duty, and practice under the physician's direction.  Generally, they provide care to the less seriously ill or injured.  Depending on the experience of the PA or NP, the physician may do their own independent examination, or may just "sign off" on the patient without seeing the patient themselves.

Hi! I recently received a position as the Manager of the Emergency Department...but I am not a nurse. Everyone keeps saying I am not qualified for this position, are they right?!

Asked by Tamara C almost 11 years ago

Nearly all of the  clinical managers that I know of in the Emergency Department are nurses.  The majority of the staff are nurses and nurse aides/techs, so in order to manage the staff and understand their scope of practice and job responsibilites, a nursing degree as a basis is a necessity.  There are some large Emergency Departments that may have a business manager or operations manager, along with the clinical manager (nurse) that has some type of business or healthcare administration degree, but I have not seen that many out there.  I understand it is a growing field, have you been hired in that capacity?

What sort of decisions does an ER doctor need patient or family permission for? Like in the marathon bombings where doctors determine that a patient needs an amputation or he'll die, what if the family says no? What's doctor's legal responsibility?

Asked by Tev about 11 years ago

In any health care emergency setting, the patient is the decision maker.  If the patient is unable to make decisions for themselves, the person that can make decisions next is the medical durable power of attorney.  Hopefully people have that established before an emergency presents itself.

If the patient is unable to give any type of consent, the ER physician uses something called implied emergency consent (laws are different in every states) and will do what needs to be done to save the patient's life.  If someone tries to influence the care of the patient when the patient is unable to consent, they have to have legal proof that they have been designated by the patient to make health care decisions on their behalf.

Every adult needs to designate someone as their health care power of attorney for those situations when the patient can't speak for themselves.  The MPOA needs to know clearly what the patient would want in every kind of health care situation, so you need to know and trust the person that you select., because they might be making life or death decisions for you.  Don't be afraid to discuss things like organ donation, blood transfusion, life support issues, etc.

I am not a lawyer, consult an attorney in the state where you live because laws vary.

I have to get my 1st abscess drained at er & wanted to know can the prescribe me medication to detox me without insurance

Asked by bdog about 10 years ago

Hello bdog--I guess I am not exactly sure what you mean by "detox me." Treat you with antibiotics for the abscess?  Detox you from what?

Every designated Emergency Department in the US is required to screen every person for a medical emergency.  They will treat people regardless of their insurance, but that doesn't mean you will not get billed for the treatment, which can be very expensive even for a minor ailment.  If you need a prescription they will prescribe medication, but you will need to get it filled at a pharmacy which you will have to pay for.

Some pharmacies such as Walmart (others also) have a low cost prescription program for commonly used medications, so that is an option.  Good luck to you!

 

I work in the VAMC as an ER psychologist. If a patient comes to the ER and discloses over the course of medical treatment that he was in a hit and run a few days ago, are staff required to report to police?

Asked by dimarco about 11 years ago

The ED staff is considered a mandatory reporter for instances of child abuse, elder abuse, domestic abuse, gunshot wounds so those are no brainers. I am not sure if the staff are required by law to report crimes that someone else tells them about. I would hope ethically that a person would do so, especially crimes against persons. I will check with someone about my pay grade and get back to you. I