Emergency nursing
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Emergency_nursing".

Emergency Nursing is a nursing specialty in which nurses care for patients in the emergency or critical phase of their illness or injury.

While this is common to many nursing specialties, the key difference is that an emergency nurse is skilled at dealing with people in the phase when a diagnosis has not yet been made and the cause of the problem is not known.

Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN, USA)

A licensed registered nurse (RN) who has demonstrated expertise in emergency nursing by passing a computer-administered examination given by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN). The BCEN is a division of the Emergency Nurses' Association (ENA). The certification is valid for four years, and can be renewed either by passing another examination or by completing 100 continuing education units (CEUs) in the specialty. The BCEN and others publish study materials for preparation, including live or online review courses. The BCEN recommends first-time applicant is encouraged to have at least two years' experience in the practice of emergency nursing.

Currently the CEN exam has 175 questions of which 150 are used for testing purposes (25 are sample questions). The passing score is 75% and the candidate has 3 hours to take the exam.

Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP) (UK)

A specialist nurse who will independently assess, diagnose, investigate, and treat a wide range of common accidents and injuries working autonomously without reference to medical staff. They primarily treat a wide range of musculoskeletal problems, skin problems and minor illness, many are considered experts in wound management. They are trained in advanced nursing skills which though medical in nature - such as taking a full medical history and examination, x-ray interpretation, prescribing, suturing, & plastering, also encompass a holistic assessment of the patients needs, taking into account the need for health teaching and education,continuing care within the family and onging health support in the community.

Emergency Care Practitioner (UK)

A specialist nurse or specialist paramedic who works in the pre-hospital setting dealing with a wide range of medical or emergency problems. Their primary function is to assess, diagnose and treat a patient in the home in an emergency setting.

This is a new profession that has developed as a result of political changes in the United Kingdom which has resulted in doctors (general practitioners) opting out of "out of hours" medical care in many areas. This role is now being fulfilled by ECP's in many areas - and has been shown to reduce emergency admissions to hospital.

Additional Emergency Nursing Training and Qualifications

• ATNC - Advanced Trauma Nursing Course
• ACLS - Advanced Cardiac Life Support
• ATLS - Advanced Trauma Life Support
• ENPC - Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course
• MICN - Mobile Intensive Care Nurse
• PALS - Pediatric Advanced Life Support
• PHEC - Pre-Hospital Emergency Care
• TNCC - Trauma Nursing Core Course

References/Links

• Emergency Nurses Association - Scope of Emergency Nursing Practice
• RCS Edinburgh - Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care
• Emergency Nurse
• impactednurse.com - blog of an emergency nurse
• Emergency Nurses Association