You're Not a Trauma or Pediatric Hospital? That’s Exactly Why You Should Be Prepared.
Let’s talk about something that’s been making me absolutely nuts—and if you’re a fellow ED nurse, I know you’ll feel this in your bones.
I’ve had far too many conversations with Emergency Department Directors, Nurse Managers, and even CNOs who push back when I ask why their staff aren’t required to have TNCC or ENPC certification. The answers?
“We’re not a trauma center.”
“We’re not a pediatric hospital.”
“It’s the cost…”
Let me be crystal clear: that is exactly why your staff need this training.
You’re not a trauma center. You’re not a pediatric hospital. So what happens when a multi-system trauma patient rolls into your adult-only ED? Or when a critically ill child is brought to your doors because the parents panicked and went to the nearest hospital—not the “right” one?
Are you really going to tell the parents of a seizing 2-year-old, “Sorry, we don’t usually take care of kids”?
You think the community cares about your trauma designation in that moment? They don’t. They care that you’re the hospital. They expect you to be ready.
Let’s unpack that other excuse: “the cost.”
What is the real cost of not preparing your staff?
- A child dies due to improper airway management.
- A trauma patient is mis-triaged because your nurses don’t recognize the signs of hemorrhagic shock.
- Your hospital makes the evening news—not for saving a life, but for failing to do so.
The cost of unpreparedness is reputation, litigation, and burnout.
Because nothing will make a good nurse walk faster than feeling unsupported and unprepared in the face of a dying child or trauma victim.
If you’re in leadership—ED Director, Nurse Manager, CNO—you hold a license too. And with that license comes accountability.
If you are not willing to invest in the education and competency of your emergency nurses, are you truly vested in patient safety? In your team? In your license?
This isn’t just about checking a box. This is about doing what’s right.
Trauma and pediatric emergencies don’t wait until your team is ready. They come when they come—and when they do, you either rise to the moment or you fail it.
So stop hiding behind your hospital’s designation.
Start preparing your people.
Require the training. Fund the training. Be a leader.
Because when a child codes in your ED, the letters behind your name won’t matter. What will matter is whether your team knew what to do.
