[hconv]

Curious about Critical Care....
I have been an EMT for 5 years,was an LPN for 4 and now have been an RN for 8 months....I've been on the floor for years and want to know !!!!!! What's it like? Whats the transition like from the floor.....I feel like I could do better in the unit with 2 or 3 than with 10 patients on the floor! Plus I have always been a trauma junkie!

[CougRN]

Go for it. No need to wait any longer. It will be the best decision you make. I went straight into the ICU after graduation over a year ago. I can't imagine not working in the Unit. That's my opinion

[Kayde]

I think you have a great back ground. You have to have the desire to learn and love the fast pace. I can tell you have both. Good luck.

[krisd]

If you really want to see what it is like, can you shadow an ICU nurse for a shift? That is what I did when I left surgical telemetry for the SICU.

As for the transition...it is very, very different. It is just as busy with 2 patients than the floor is with 7-8, but somehow more managable. And I love primary care; I want to do everything for my patients myself (control freak). I think I have learned more, have had to be sharper on my physiology and pharmacology than I did on the floor.

It was the best decision I ever made. Good luck!

[CV CNS CCRN]

I was a manager of multiple ICU's for many, many years, and have one piece of advice for you. When you interview for ICU, do not EVER say you want ICU so that you can care for only one or two patients at a time. I never ever hired anyone who stated that they wanted to come to ICU for that reason. It is a HUGE red flag. If it is what you really want to go to ICU for, then keep that information private. Good luck! I know you will do well.

[Miss December]

If you feel like you have paid your dues, and want to reward yourself, GO INTO A SURGICAL ICU setting. I did the same three years ago and have no regrets. I love it. Orientation into the unit and into the critical care aspect is overwhelming for several weeks, but in the end it is worth it. If you leave the floor, and work in an ICU, you will never go back to the floor again. I even noticed more respect from doctors. When I left the floor and went into the unit, all of the sudden they stopped yelling, and respected me more. It is sad, but true. Floor nurses work twice as hard, and get half the respect they deserve. I will always appreciate floor nurses, because I was once one. But, it doesn't mean I'd ever do it again!! Do yourself a favor, and go into ICU, CCU, SICU, or TICU.

[Hellllllo Nurse]

Originally posted by CV CNS CCRN
When you interview for ICU, do not EVER say you want ICU so that you can care for only one or two patients at a time. I never ever hired anyone who stated that they wanted to come to ICU for that reason. It is a HUGE red flag.

I'm very curious. Why is this a red flag? For what?

[Ruby Vee]

If you say you want to go into ICU to care for only one or two patients, it makes you sound lazy. We have enough lazy nurses in the ICU -- no need to hire more!

There are inumerable good reasons to go into ICU -- more challenge, more to learn, etc. But saying you only want one or two patients makes it sound as if you're going to be a problem child, or what we call a "high maintence co-worker". HMCs are a problem for everyone, and no manager worth her salt wants more of them to deal with!

[hconv]

I have been in the SICU for a little over a month now and find it much much better! Wow.... I never realized how much I didn't know about "stuff" if you catch my drift..... but I'm getting there, learning alot and the confidence is slowly coming around. But your right ...... I will only go to the floor ......... to transfer a monitored pt (ha ha ha ha!!!) !!! But to end with yet another question ...... I was told that the turn-over rate of nurses in my unit is high, they say an average length of stay is 2 yrs(they tend to either burn-out or go ARNP or CRNA). What's it like where you work? In my unit we get Level I 's, open bellys, thorocotomys and CABG's.

[Miss December]

Too funny. I just interviewed for CRNA school!! I have been in the unit over three years, and I deal mainly with guts and lungs in the surgical ICU. We get some bypass pt.'s and ortho stuff too.