Essay 2: Final Draft

Michelle DeShazor
Professor Kerr
English 101-12
5, March 2013
                                           ER Nurse vs. Medical Surgical Nurse
 Nursing is a career that is depicted worldwide through movies and television shows of all genres. For instance, consider the movie Pearl Harbor; it illustrates the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the lives it affected, and the importance of nurses during the attack. Another popular show on television is Scrubs, where nurses are depicted in a more comical manner, but the responsibilities of the nursing staff is still adequately shown. Both of these television programs illustrate the duties and tasks of a nurse, whether it is an emergency/trauma (ER) nurse in Pearl Harbor, or a medical surgical nurse in Scrubs. When deciding if the position of an ER nurse or a medical surgical nurse is best, a person has to take into consideration the job description, pay, and qualifications needed. 

    The job descriptions of an ER nurse and a medical surgical nurse vary greatly; they are two completely different jobs when it comes to the assignments that have to be performed. An ER nurse treats patients who have sustained serious and even life-threatening injuries. Most patients consist of car accident victims, suicide attempts, and work related injuries (learn4good.com). An ER nurse needs to be able to handle urgent, demanding situations quickly and in a calm manner. This nurse’s main duties consist of providing adequate care to patients in emergency situations, administering emergency procedures (CPR), operating health care machines, and acting fast and thinking on his/her feet. There are many different places that an ER nurse can work including hospitals, emergency departments, helicopters, ambulances, and even airplanes. Overall an ER nurse’s job description includes emergency situations and caring for patients with serious injuries. On the other hand, a medical surgical nurse provides care to patients undergoing any surgical procedures. The main duties of a medical surgical nurse include providing preoperative, inter-operative, and post operative care, educating patients on surgical procedures, managing pain, discharge planning, and maintaining the patient’s physical and psychological health (learn4good.com). A medical surgical nurse can work in acute care units, hospitals, long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics and home care settings. The chief job description of a medical surgical nurse involves patient care before, during and after the surgical procedure.  Medical surgical nursing is the largest group of professionals in the field of nursing (wikipedia.org). Based on the job descriptions of these two nursing careers, they are very different in respect of the duties that must be carried out.
    With any job a person decides to enter, there are qualifications that he/she has to complete and requirements that must be met; nursing is no exception to this norm. In order to become an ER nurse, the required qualifications must be completed. Completion of Diploma courses in Emergency/Trauma Nursing, which can take up to one year to complete, are necessary. This diploma consists of modules in health care management, pharmacology, trauma nursing practice, HIV/AIDS care, and health care and the law (learn4good.com). In order to become a medical surgical nurse proper certification is needed; this certification is granted by The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board. Some qualifications that must be achieved are having a current registered nurse license, a minimum of two years experience as a registered nurse, one year full-time experience in Medical Surgical Nursing within the last three years, and completion of 30 hours of Medical Surgical Continuing Education within the last three years (learn4good.com). There are different requirements that need to be met for these nursing positions, but they share the need for education and qualification.
    Salary is a huge deciding factor when it comes to employment; nursing is a profession that has good pay in just about every field of work that is offered.  An ER nurse’s salary is about $66,000 a year depending on experience, benefits and location (salary.com). Hours can include days, nights, weekends and holidays; patients need 24-hour care. The average salary for a medical surgical nurse is about $50,000 a year (simplyhired.com). But depending on the company one works for, the area he/she is in, and the experience one has, the salary is going to vary. Salary usually is not a huge issue in the career of nursing; nurses are very well paid for their work regardless of the field they work in.
    Nursing is a career where positions vary, job options are vast and career advancement is welcomed. Whether one is an ER nurse frantically trying to save the life of a car accident victim, or a medical surgical nurse preparing an organ transplant patient for surgery, the job description, pay and qualifications are looked at regardless of the field. One cannot simply say that an ER nurse or a medical surgical nurse is better than the other, each job has its pros and cons and it is largely dependent on the person entering the field of work and their preferences. Medical Surgical nursing and ER nursing are two very different fields of nursing, and yet they have the same intention, helping those who are in need.







Works Cited
“Nursing Career Choices/Education.” learn4good.com.
http://www.learn4good.com/nursing/careers_choices_nurse_education.htm. © 2013 Learn4Good Ltd.
Web. 5 March 2013. 
“Medical Surgical Nursing.” Wikipedia.org.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical-surgical_nursing.  4 March 2012.
Web. 6 March 2013.
Simplyhired.com.
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-medical+surgical+nurse.  © 2013 Simply Hired, Inc.
Web. 6 March 2013.
Salary.com.
http://www1.salary.com/Staff-Nurse-RN-Emergency-Room-Salary.html.  ©2013 Salary.com
Web. 6 March 2013.