Trauma Nurse
A trauma nurse, the informal name for a licensed Registered Nurse with the additional credential of Certification in Emergency Nursing (CEN) or sometimes Critical Care Nursing (CCRN), assists physicians in providing emergency care to patients who are often gravely ill or injured. Their actions often determine whether a patient lives or dies as well as determining the quality of life left to them.
As noted above, a trauma nurse first must be a licensed Registered Nurse. To obtain that title, a student must possess a nursing degree, such as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), which is available through any accredited offline or online college. Most bachelor programs take four years to complete, but the flexibility of most online courses may allow for early completion.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree but not in nursing, many top online universities offer accelerated BSN programs. Instead of the standard four years, this accelerated program may last only 12 to 18 months.
Once you have your nursing degree, you must take and pass your state’s basic Registered Nurse license exam. When you have your nursing license, you can pursue a career as a Registered Nurse or continue your distance education with post-graduate degrees or for your CEN certification.
CEN Certification
The Certification for Emergency Nursing is not an additional license but an additional credential and qualification you can possess.
The certification is required to work in most emergency care facilities as a trauma nurse or a flight nurse, for example.
Emergency care certification is not an easy goal to accomplish. You must be dedicated, highly educated and thrive in a high-stress working environment. Your judgment must be impeccable, and you cannot hesitate in your actions. The trauma physician relies on your professionalism, and the patient depends on both of you in saving their life.
Working Environment
A trauma nurse often works in a hospital emergency department, in a trauma center, for an air ambulance service or in a critical care institution. She must competently provide emergency care for prolonged periods of time and under extremely stressful situations.
While some cases in a typical emergency department may be relatively minor, most of the patients who cross the threshold are at risk of losing their lives. Those intense treatment periods could involve dozens of patients and last for entire shifts and beyond. The emergency staff can also occasionally enjoy relatively quiet shifts, although traditionally, those are rare.
Due to the high stress and high credentialing standards, turn-over in this field is immense. The nursing field in general is perennially one of the best careers to pursue. Those nurses with additional certification are in even higher demand and often garner the top 10 percent of wages for their experience level and location.
For nurses who have a BSN and certification, advancement into supervisory positions still often call for post-graduate degrees, such as Master of Nursing or Master of Nursing Administration. If you are ambitious, obtain as much higher education as you can and strongly consider the additional certifications, such as the CEN that qualifies you as a trauma nurse.
