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Trauma Nurse

Emergency
RN Diploma, ASN or BSN

Trauma Nurses treat patients in a state of emergency, and handle urgent situations where the cause of injury or disease isn’t yet known. They can work in hospital emergency rooms and other chaotic environments, and often need to coordinate with doctors, family members and other nurses. As a Trauma Nurse, you’ll be saving people’s lives every day.

Things You'll Do:

  • Admitting patients into the ER
  • Help maintain vital signs and prevent complications

Your job characteristics:

  • Fast-paced
  • Multifaceted
  • Structured
  • Patient-facing
How You'll Get There
  • Get Your
    Nursing Diploma, Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
  • Pass Your
    National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN)
  • You can start working as a Registered Nurse.
    More about becoming an RN ›
  • You’ll need a minimum of two years of emergency nursing experience before you apply to take your certification exam.
  • Get Your
    Emergency nursing certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), then take your Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA).
  • You can get certified in emergency (CEN), flight (CFRN), pediatric emergency (CPEN), and critical care ground transport (CTRN) nursing.
  • Become a
    Certified Trauma Nurse
  • You’ll need to get re-certified every few years, depending on where you work, by either retaking the exam, or logging continuing education hours.
More About this Specialty

  • Meet
    Laurie

    A new ER nurse
    at the age
    of 45

    See her story

  • Meet
    Aiko

    Clinical Nurse Specialist, RN

    After graduating from nursing school in Japan, I worked for two years in a large Tokyo hospital.

    read her story

  • Meet
    Tim

    Trauma Nurse, Associate

    It's hard for me to believe that I have been a nurse for almost 24 years. After being laid off from PanAm...

    read his story

  • Where You
    Can Work

    • Emergency rooms in hospitals
    • Ambulances
    • Urgent care centers

    find jobs

  • What Else You
    Can Expect

    • You’ll work long, and sometimes odd hours, and will become quickly accustomed to situations where patients are severely and horrifically injured.
    • If you’re looking for a fast-paced career where saving lives is a daily occurrence, then becoming a trauma nurse may be for you.

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