Journal of Perioperative & Critical Intensive Care Nursing
Open Access

Emergency Department Nurse

Emergency nursing is a specialty within the field of professional nursing concentrating on the care of patients who require prompt medical attention to avoid long-term disability or death. In inclusion to addressing "true emergencies," emergency nurses increasingly care for people who are unwilling or unable to get primary medical care elsewhere and come to emergency departments for help. In fact, only a small percentage of emergency department (ED) patients have emergency conditions such as a stroke, heart attack or major trauma. Emergency nurses also tend to patients with acute alcohol and drug intoxication, psychiatric and behavioral problems and those who have been raped.