New Grad preparing to be hired on a Cardiac Step-down unit

[rmariee]

Hi,

I am fresh out of nursing school and about to be hired for a nurse residency program. I will be starting on the cardiothoracic step down. I am excited, but like all new nurse I am also nervous. I still have orientation and I will probably have a preceptor for 6 months to a year, but I was wondering what I can do to prepare myself.

I plan on going through some of my medical-surgical books and studying up on procedures and cardiac meds, but does anyone else have any advice? Should I take an EKG reading course? Should I watch any study videos? Are there any books I should buy? I don't want to show up on this unit without any knowledge. I'm fairly good with cardiac stuff, but I just want to be preapred.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

[MYSTICOOKIEBEAR]

That's the unit that I started on and absolutely loved my experience for the year-ish that I was there before transferring to the Cardiac/Transplant ICU. Brush up on your EKG interpreting skills and study up on your cardiac meds (CCBs, ARBs, B blockers, lidocaine, amio, digoxin, atropine, adenosine) and also look up your med/surg and make sure your understanding of the anatomy of the heart and lungs is on point.

The rest you will learn on the job. Good luck, have fun, don't be nervous, and enjoy the ride!

[MochaFiend]

Hi, I referred to these sites to help me with rhythm interpretation and practice. Congrats, and best wishes!

Skill STAT: Free ECG Simulator! - SkillSTAT

and this too: ECG | EKG | Heart Sounds | Murmurs | Lung Sounds | Hundreds of free lessons and drills | Practical Clinical Skills

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

I graduated this past May and work on a cardiac stepdown. Ask a lot of questions. Does your hospital have a new grad residency program? Usually they will have EKG classes and tests, etc.