Usually working in emergency rooms or on medical transport units, trauma nurses must respond quickly and decisively to a wide variety of trauma cases. They deal with patients of all ages, and must often deal with language barriers and other factors that limit available information.

Despite often having limited information, trauma nurses are responsible for assessing and stabilizing patients. This leads to a high-stress, high-pressure work environment. Trauma nurses should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to communicate with other medical staff effectively as well as deal with often distraught family members.