[nurseabc123]

Do I like working in the ICU? Yes and no.

Do I like cleaning up patients, dealing with some obnoxious/threatening family members, babysitting and getting grabbed/kicked by confused patients? No. Do I enjoy working short-staffed? (Taking care of 3 vented patients?) Do I enjoy have very few senior staff to look to for support? No. Do I like working every other weekend? No!

But do I like taking care of a fresh heart/AAA - very sick, titrating drips, giving multiple blood products, etc. Be able to critically think. Helping a patient/family die with dignity. Supporting my co-workers. Yes. Those things I like. Unfortunately, you can't pick and choose what you do. The negatives outweigh the positives.

[scorpiontail]

I've been working in the ICU's for the past 9 years. The first year was the worst and the scariest. The anxiety level when getting dressed, driving to work, clocking in and finally walking into the unit was CRAZY! This was the my first year in the MICU of a major county hospital in South Florida. If you took 18 of the sickest patients, one from each of the hospitals in your Tri-county area and put them on one unit then this would describe what I walked into daily. However it makes you stronger and it builds character. You are always going to have co-workers that make your days at work a little uneasy. The way past that is to focus on your goal everyday and then visualize yourself delivering your post-op patient to them as a CRNA. The work in the ICU is tough emotionally and physically. Sometimes I wonder how some older nurses do this for 15 and 20 years. Get all of that experience and don't forget because it is invaluable. Once a CRNA you will never go back to bedside and you just might wish that you grabbed a little more along the way. I think passing the CCRN will take a little more than 3 months. It depends on if you are just studying to pass a test or absorbing everything at work for the sake of gaining confidence and increasing your knowledge base. The latter will make passing the CCRN soooooooo much easier.

[~FloridaCCRN~]

Originally Posted by scorpiontail

I've been working in the ICU's for the past 9 years. The first year was the worst and the scariest. The anxiety level when getting dressed, driving to work, clocking in and finally walking into the unit was CRAZY! This was the my first year in the MICU of a major county hospital in South Florida. If you took 18 of the sickest patients, one from each of the hospitals in your Tri-county area and put them on one unit then this would describe what I walked into daily. However it makes you stronger and it builds character. You are always going to have co-workers that make your days at work a little uneasy. The way past that is to focus on your goal everyday and then visualize yourself delivering your post-op patient to them as a CRNA. The work in the ICU is tough emotionally and physically. Sometimes I wonder how some older nurses do this for 15 and 20 years. Get all of that experience and don't forget because it is invaluable. Once a CRNA you will never go back to bedside and you just might wish that you grabbed a little more along the way. I think passing the CCRN will take a little more than 3 months. It depends on if you are just studying to pass a test or absorbing everything at work for the sake of gaining confidence and increasing your knowledge base. The latter will make passing the CCRN soooooooo much easier.

I totally agree!

[proclivity]

to OP, nope didn't like it at all.

[jdiekhof]

I love the CVICU and taking care of the fresh open heart patients. However, in saying that the nurses I am surrounded by are great and I could not ask for any better mentors and friends than my co-workers. My manager is also wonderful at supporting her staff. My favorite position is in the OR, I worked in the OR prior to my ICU experience. I did a little bit of everything scrub, circulated and recovered. I just think you need to find a place you can surround yourself with the right mentors.

[INFIDEL]

Yes I was an ICU nurse for many years and eventually a nurse manager of an ICU. I loved being a staff nurse. It was a job few people were willing to do.

As for the staff being rude to you, get used to it,, nurses in general not only ' Eat their young"... If you so much as HINT you want to be a CRNA your life will be a living hell. Its called the CRAB BUCKET MENTALITY.

If you want a nice time during your BSN completion tell everyone you are going to be a CNS... or better yet a PhD and are going into teaching.. but for god's sake do NOT mention CRNA.

I took the same route you did,, except I went LPN.. ADN .. BSN .. MSN CRNA.. to whatever it takes to get into an anesthesia school you will NEVER EVER regret it.

[rnbeauty]

Originally Posted by CCRN-CMC-CSC

Sorry I didnt express myself clearly. I did not mean that you needed to like all areas of the ICU. My thought is that you must enjoy one area/aspect of critical care (CVPACU, NICU, MICU, SICU, CCU, general ICU, etc.) - if you do not enjoy any of this type of work I think you will have issues with being a CRNA.

I dont understand why you think you will have issues becoming a CRNA if you didnt enjoy any aspects of ICU.

I personally hated working the ICU...I didn't find anything appealing about it what so ever. THE poop, the annoying families at time, all the phone calls from everyone while trying to give pt care, the baths, the turning heavy sedated patients.....what's exciting about that?
The one and ONLY thing I did enjoy was daily rounds with the doctors...learning about what was going on with the patient and the disease processes; ..everything else i did not like. i worked Shock Trauma, SICU, CVICU, and MICU....and I never would do flips and sing songs to come to work.
ICU is not for everyone...I have been a nurse ten yrs...I figured maybe I was just burned out?

Although I just started my clinical rotations and it is still very early and things can certainly change... but right now I love evrything about anesthesia that I have learn thus far. Maybe because its such a change and im learnng all new material? ....Who knows. ...I honestly find it interesting. In adition, I love taking care of one patient and it is extremly challenging. I think this will keep me happy for many yrs to come.

But I disagree, i dont think it is a MUST to enjoy ICU to be successful as a CRNA. The two are different in many ways. That's just like saying one must enjoy playing the piano to be a successful opera singer. My preceptor (CRNA) only worked ICU ONE Yr and then applied because he hated ICU so much.

MY two cents...

[rnbeauty]

[quote=INFIDEL;2844534]Yes I was an ICU nurse for many years and eventually a nurse manager of an ICU. I loved being a staff nurse. It was a job few people were willing to do.

As for the staff being rude to you, get used to it,, nurses in general not only ' Eat their young"... If you so much as HINT you want to be a CRNA your life will be a living hell. Its called the CRAB BUCKET MENTALITY.

If you want a nice time during your BSN completion tell everyone you are going to be a CNS... or better yet a PhD and are going into teaching.. but for god's sake do NOT mention CRNA.

I personally did not expreience the attitude and the "living hell" while working ICU. I shared with everyone my desire to become a CRNA...and recieved mixed responses from everyone...but that is expected. Who cares? People are people and gonna have there own opinion and thoughts.
I personally dont see the reason the lie about your goals. Everyone has them...what is the difference in saying I want to be a PHd or CRNA or NP or a basket weaver.....they are all goals one set for themselves. I have worked with many nurses that pursued anesthesia and dont recall them going through living hell. If so, maybe low self esteem or some other personal issues are going on in order for someone to have the "GRAB THE BUCKET MENTALITY towards a nurse trying to pursue her goals. Really, that's just crazy to me.

[tonyccrn]

yes and no, some things I like such as taking care of a really sick patient titrating gtts ect... however there are more things I do not like, and otthers have already covered those topics.

I know many crna's that did not like ICU nursing or even nursing in that matter, and are great crna's. I think the jobs are more different then they are alike (my opinion anyways). also, I definitely noticed some coworkers treating me different and talking, becasue I will be going to anesthesia school. should not have let it slip out, oh well. For those who plan on going, do not tell anyone, unless you want to be treated differently and what crappy assignments. we have several people in the unit I work in going to NP school and there seems to be a stigma against the few who are going the CRNA route.

Tony

[INFIDEL]

What makes you think you will not clean up poop or give pts bedpans as a CRNA??