Emergency Department RN
Bismarck, North Dakota
CHI Saint Alexius Health

ER RN

Contract Length: 13 weeks Shift: Nights, 12-hour shifts (36 hours per week) Interview Process: Profile review and manager interview

Schedule

• Varied start times: 7a-7p, 9a-9p, 11a-11p, 2p-2a, 7p-7a
• Manager schedules based on needs and staff availability, and will try to accommodate block scheduling
• Weekend requirement: every other weekend
• Holiday requirement: every other holiday
• Floating: rare, due to census and staffing; may float to tasks or as helping hands
• Orientation: 1-2 shifts in the ER
• Scrubs: any color

Required Qualifications

• Certifications: BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC
• Restriction: Candidates may not hold full-time, part-time, or PRN positions with any facility in the same health system
• Return-to-office (RTO): Up to 7 days per 13-week contract, requested upfront; additional RTO will not be approved, including after submission

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous travel experience preferred, but first-time travelers are open to apply

Unit Details

• Department: Emergency Room
• Trauma Level II
• 21 beds/trauma bays, including fast track
• Fast track: vertical flow with chairs; stable patients return to the waiting room, and orders are in from the MD. Travelers are used in the vertical flow area.
• Separate triage area: core staff usually triage. Travelers may take triage competencies after time in the department, if they have previous experience.
• Holding: ER RN takes boarding patients. Stable patients go to vertical flow; unstable patients stay close to the nurses' station.
• Psych/seclusion: 1 psych room with cameras
• Security: office in the ER, in house 24/7

Patient Population and Acuity

• 50-60 patients per day, mostly ESI Level 3, some Level 4, and rarely Level 1
• Ratio: 1:3-4 based on acuity, maybe 1:5 if boarding and grouped together
• Common patients: peds to geriatrics, trauma (travelers may take), CAH transfers, stroke, STEMI, SOB, abdominal pain
• Common drips: vasopressors, heparin, antiarrhythmics; critical care drips for ICU holds are 1:1

Staffing and Support

• Physicians: all MDs, no mid-levels, on site 24/7; 1 MD overnight until 6 AM and 3 MDs during busiest times
• Charge nurse: manages department throughput and acts as a helping hand; does not take an assignment
• ED techs: 1 usually, up to 2 depending on volume; duties include EKGs, patient care, vitals, and blood glucose
• Respiratory therapy: available as needed, in house but not physically in the department 24/7; RT handles equipment and breathing treatments
• Telemetry: monitored from the main nurses' station with no telemetry techs; RN reads and interprets strips, and MD verifies
• Imaging: X-ray and CT are next to the ER; stable patients go to CT, while unstable patients go with the RN
• Phlebotomy: RN draws from IV starts; phlebotomy is available as a resource