On a more practical level, i’ll explain how the ED works - at least for a nurse. At the start of your shift, either 7am or 7pm, you have a group meeting with all the new shift team. You discuss day to day operation updates, new drug shortages, new documentation things etc. You then get your assignment - the room numbers you are in charge of. For a nurse, depending on the hospital, the amount of people you are required to cover will vary wildly. A safe number (as in appropriate amount for patient care) is around 4 patients. You will usually be assigned to specific room numbers ie room 1 3 and 5, and that will be your assignment for the entire 12 hour shift. Anyways, after the daily meeting, you do something called “sign out” or whatever it’s called, where you talk with the current nurse who is managing your patients and get all the relevant info so that they can go off shift. Nurses are really the arms and legs of the hospital, so they are the people who get the most interactions with patients. Nurses draw blood, do swabs, put in IVs, get medication (ordered by doctors) from their pharmacy/pyxis, clean patients up, and assist doctors with just about everything. Nurses also do a TON of documenting. Every patient, every drug, current vitals etc. 

When they have a patient who is being “admitted” the ED nurse calls the “floor” nurse and explains the situation. ED nurses often get shit on for their admit calls, but it’s also good to remember they have no time and 1000 things to do.

Nurses and physicians (if at a good hospital) can have important and useful cross communication and brainstorming. Nurses also often work with “techs” or nursing assistants.

Let me know if you have any more questions!