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.
Wow! I don't have any expertise in that at all! I think that is a question for a police officer or security company.
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.
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.
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?
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Is it tough to have a job that consists exclusively of ruining peoples' days?
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.
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!
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
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