I've got a question for you all. Do most hospitals have a seperate CVS ICU or do the post CAB pts come from OR to your SICU. The latter is what happens at my facility. I guess I'm interested in case I move somewhere else. I'd miss taking care of sick hearts and ruptured AAA's all day.

At my hospital, they come to the SICU. There is no CVICU, although I think that was the original plan.

Thinking of moving? Consider Southern California. There's a definite need for experienced RNs in ICU. We're always looking for them in my unit.

Whats the pay like out there? Where I work now after 3+ years I make 32/hr plus shift diff and weekend bonus.

Nurses here start at about 32/hr. Shift diff for nights is 4/hr and you make 4% more if you have a BSN. No weekend diff at my hospital. Several of my friends made 100K last year. Granted, that's with overtime, but still......who'd have thought you could pull 6 digits as a bedside nurse? California has nurse/patient ratios as well, which makes it a pretty nice place to work.

We have a CVICU, ICU and a CCU. CVICU takes all CVOR cases that our docs feel are too sick to be recovered in PACU. ICU takes Neurosurgical, trauma, ect. CCU is more of a medical management ICU for cardiac cases. Our heart program has about half of the surgical cases referred from other hospitals where they have been determined to be inoperable. The other hospital in our city has both CVICU and ICU combined.