Emergency Department Nursing
Autumn Olson is an RN in the emergency department at Washington Regional Medical Center. She says she first learned about the hospital while researching places to move to.
“This was actually the only place that I applied to. I was looking at reviews on different hospitals, and I came across this one that I've never heard about in my life. I saw all these positive reviews from patients and staff saying how much they enjoyed working here.”
Autumn says she enjoys the fast-paced nature of her job and the culture of the ED. “Everyone works as a team. If you're having trouble, people are always coming to help you. And I feel like that's especially unique to the ER where we are all on the same team.”
She also loves the variety of cases she sees come through the emergency room. “I love that it's unexpected. There’s always something new and different with each patient,” she explains. Washington Regional’s emergency department provides the area’s highest level of trauma care. “We are a level two trauma facility. We get a lot of transfers from Oklahoma, or from the VA or just smaller facilities around Arkansas,” she adds. “We are also the only comprehensive stroke center in Northwest Arkansas. So, when a patient comes in by EMS and they are a stroke alert, we get them straight to CT. We have about a 15-minute window for the physician to come and assess the patient. We also have a comprehensive stroke team ready and in facility to assess the patient and see what further treatments we may need to do for them.”
Autumn says she also chose Washington Regional because of its RN Residency program. “The ER nurse residency program is exactly what I was looking for,” she says. “It provides one year of additional teaching with also having experience in the ER.”
Autumn says she would recommend working in the emergency department to any new grad or other nurse who hasn’t had critical care experience. “It is invaluable to work in an ER. It is exciting, stressful, adrenaline, all the emotions that you could even think of. But in the end, it really pays off. I love my job very much.”