Nurse educator. A visitor's guide to the streets

Emergency nurses are encouraged to spend time with field personnel in their environment, observing their roles and responsibilities. Part of the ride-a-long includes sharing in life at the station--enjoying meals, trying to figure out how to get out of doing the dishes--and acquiring an appreciation for having one's meal interrupted multiple times, responding to calls that seem needless on arrival at the scene, getting back to bed at 3 AM, preplanning for fires, testing equipment, and attending continuing education conferences. But most important, it is learning the uniqueness of assessing a patient and delivering care in the field--maybe in the middle of a busy highway or in someone's one-room, 9 x 9 ft apartment, or in a jail cell or alley at all hours of the day and night, without the aid of other staff members emergency nurses usually have access to. And, by appreciating these conditions, a better understanding of the team concept and an improvement in the overall delivery of patient care will result.