Emergency nursing

Emergency nursing is a nursing specialty concerned with the care of patients who are experiencing emergencies or who are critically ill or injured.

Emergency nurses frequently contact patients in the emergency department before the patients see physicians. In this situation, the nurse must be skilled at rapid, accurate physical examination, early recognition of life-threatening illness or injury, the use of advanced monitoring and treatment equipment, and in some cases, the ordering of testing and medication according to "advance treatment guidelines" or "standing orders" set out by the hospital's emergency physician staff. Emergency nurses most frequently are employed in hospital emergency departments, though they may also work in free-standing emergency centers or urgent care clinics.