Pros
Great experience if you want to get into the medical field. You get to learn a lot and you work alongside medical providers. Prior to getting the position, I didn't have any experience or education when it came to medicine, so my vocabulary was very limited. However, many of the providers understood this and did a lot to help me along the way. You also learn to type pretty fast. Prior to starting, I was typing 50 wpm at best. Now this is my average speed. You also learn to multitask, especially when you have to document the progress of treatment in the ER.
Cons
The pay isn't all that great considering what you get exposed to. Some people won't be able to handle seeing people in pain and those people will learn very quickly if the ER is for them. The ER is an unpredictable environment and very stressful. The scope of the position limits the social interaction I got with patients. You'll spend most of your time typing and talking to providers, nurses and secretaries, but very rarely the patient. Days are long from 8-12 hours. 8 and 12 hour days are rare. The 10 hour shifts, depending on the volume of patients can be exhausting.
