Just starting out

KC, Lets say you were just hired onto my unit. A busy Trauma, Burn, Surgical, catch all ICU with 18 beds.

First you would have to attend a 6 week ICU care class, that meets twice a week while attending this class you would start working on the unit two days a week. Attend classes in disrythmia, Ekg reading, and specialty topic classes and case studies. This in conjunction with the minimum 6weeks orientation, but more often than not runs closer to 12 weeks for someone with your experience background. During this twelve weeks, you would start out learning vents, and how to juggle "stable" pairs. ( keep in mind no patient in an ICU can truly be considered stable, two weeks ago three of our stable patients went south at the same time, with three of my new hires carring for them, I was stressed, We cardioverted one, Swanned another and addressed an acute abdominal compartment syndrom in the other while admitting a new patient.) Once you are comfortable with two patients, you start moving into harder stuff like patients with vaso active drips, fresh admits, opening bellies in the room, fresh burns with air way involvement, swans, ............ neuro patients........ to donors.

Then after you finally get comfortable with those, you are on your own, starting at the stable pair again, and not taking admits for at least a month. So now we are on month five, and you are just starting to get interesting patients. So do we start your year of experience here? I would think so. But too many people think that they are already half done with the required ICU time to become a CRNA. I think you can see some of the folly in that thought pattern.

Anyway, my point is one year of experience is really more like 1.5 years actual time. So, I would advise you to switch to ICU as soon as you finish your BSN and feel comfortable starting the learning process over.

Good luck.

Craig

Thank you Craig. That's really valuable information that I'll keep in mind when I'm considering my options in the future.

And....thank you for being considerate in not labeling my present "specialty" as only 'assisting' and 'observing'. That last post by Wntrmute really ate away at me today as I was working my butt off with my preceptor. We don't have a NINE MONTH training period for nothing!! Believe it or not, we actually RUN THE ROOM that we are assigned to. When it comes to patient advocacy...we have to be the ULTIMATE patient advocate because our patients are either completely unconcious, or 'under the influence'. We also develop management skills that allow us to 'survive', and I mean S.U.R.V.I.V.E. in the OR. You can drown, get trampled on, or eaten alive real fast if you don't plan ahead and manage your time or activities well.
As for going to the ICU....the only reason that I would go there would be for the experience to qualify for CRNA school. (Don't think I wouldn't give it 100% either..I would work as hard there as I do in the OR) I know that I would end up back in the OR eventually....where I really want to be. Even though it's freezing cold most of the time, and we don't get out much..... it's my home.

Have a great day Craig. (thanks for reading my venting...I appreciate it)
Anne

PS.
I asked one of our CRNAs today if her job was anything like the 1.5 years she worked in the ICU. She said it was nothing like it....she didn't even work w/the same drugs now that she did then. I don't know.....I'm sure you are supposed to be comfortable in handling life-saving situations. However, when our CRNAs get in a bind...they have us call the Anesthesiologist for assistance. They aren't on their own when it gets really bad.
**my observation**

Dear KC, you are the one who brought up the topics of assisting and observing a CRNA being of value when you are working in the OR. I certainly did not place a value judgement on it. If I offended you I am truly sorry. I was only trying to illustrate the differences between the specialties. Remember I discussed my high regard for the specialties of floor nursing and your chosen path - the OR. Please keep in mind that you asked about the value of observing and assisting and I tried to vividly give you some of the differences. I am also not the one that decides that you need ICU experience, those folks right the rules for you and me. Some SRNA once said " Life is hoops. Only in NA school they are smaller, made out of concertina wire and they are on fire." I am truly sorry for "the in your face" answer it was not intended to hurt your feelings.

W,
Sorry if I jumped on you. Maybe I just misunderstood. I'm used to people assuming they know what I do...when many have never been in an OR before, that's all.

Thanks for the advice...I'm sure it will come in handy some day.
A.

I talked to my program director about OR experience qualifying for NA school. He says that the ANAA says 1 year of "Critical Care" is required. Exactly how that is interperted is up to the individual scools. HFH and St Joes in Detroit have decided that while OR experience is valuable, it is not the training they want. He claims that most schools but NOT ALL have similar policies. So maybe checking the individual schools you are thinking of applying to would help you make the decision whether to work in an ICU for a while. Good luck