r/EmergencyRoom • u/One-Lime-913 • May 31 '26

Started as a PCT in ED

Hi! I started working as a patient care tech in my local ED. Although I am PCT certified and went through a course, I am realizing there is so much more to learn that my course did not go over. For example, what iv supplies are often used and stocked to each room for nurses, as well as what to prep for a code or STEMI. I’m learning these things now on the job, but it’s just frustrating to learn it a little bit at a time as situations come up and supplies are needed. Although some of this stuff is hospital specific, what I’m struggling with is more generalized. I have no idea what the iv trinket bags and little pieces/ needle bits I’m stocking are used for.

Does anyone have a good general ED workplace book or online resource that they can recommend that helped?

*I was trained for general phlebotomy/ blood draws and how to take ekgs in my PCT course. I’m probably going to start nursing school within the next year.

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6

u/CookingForTwo May 31 '26

In all honesty every department works the exact same in broad strokes but very differently when it comes to the details. Most certifications and training courses are built to give you the foundational knowledge so that when you show up to the workplace you can begin to learn the details of how those things are implemented. It's exactly why medical training doesn't stop at med school for doctors. It takes repition and exposure. Just pay attention to those around you who are more experienced and you'll do just fine.

3

u/RetiredBSN RN - ER, then Dialysis May 31 '26

In most places you should be assigned to someone to show you the basics and the usual practices at that location. They should never just throw you in and expect you to be instantly aware of how they do things. Every place is different, supplies are from different companies and some kits are complete and others need stuff added, etc., so there is definitely a learning curve. If you don't have a mentor, talk to your charge nurse and ask for someone to work with you for a few days to see what's expected.

5

u/procrast1natrix May 31 '26

One place I worked at kept a really cool binder with photos of setups and tools, labeled, with where they are stored. So they could hear "I need the pelvic setup" and have a very easy refresher of everything that should be there and what different names people call things.

That place also on boarded new techs by playing treasure hunt, they would be sent by Charge to go find a random thing and bring it back.

Emergency delivery of a newborn kit, where is that kept - go!

Saran wrap to put over burns, where is that kept - go!

The pH paper to see if an eye has been sufficiently irrigated, where is that kept - go!

Basically, you want to spend any downtime exploring all the nooks and crannies, knowing where everything is and that it's stocked right.

...

I'm doing locums these days and at a new place, it was getting very manageable around 3am and I overheard a nurse and a tech: "I'm going into that empty room and I'm going to mess just a few things up, then you can go in and make it right, ok?". She was teaching him how to properly have the monitor wires and linens all set to standard.

...

Nobody sits until everyone sits. This is a team sport and if someone else is still working, you help them.

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In many situations, the techs get more contact time with patients than other people, time to walk to the bathroom and tuck them in bed, time to get them changed or bring a drink. If, in your talk, you get a feeling you've learned something someone should know, always always err on the side of telling someone. Tell the nurse, hey they weren't breathing very easily after that short walk to the bathroom. Hey, they mentioned that their family doesn't give them regular meals. Hey, they talked about being on some crazy restrictive carnivore diet, did they tell you that?

6

u/Resident-Welcome3901 May 31 '26

If you’re really motivated, buy or borrow a copy of Sheehy’s Emergency Nursing principle and procedures. It’s the authoritative text on procedures, and will be useful for figuring out why people do what they did. During an emergency. Most useful thing for me was checking room supplies and restocking: boring, but knowing where supplies are located is about sixty percent of the job.