Help with Departments!

[ilovenursing2009]

I am applying for jobs and I need help understanding what each department does?

First...what is a PCU? Is that a progessive care unit? Like a SNF?

Also, I have done lots of Med Surg and am applying to Med Surg Ortho. Is that just a Med Surg that is like a "speciality" in ortho care?

Thanks for your help!!!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I think PCUs are like ICU stepdown. I would imagine ortho would be medsurg with mostly ortho patients. Probably varies by hospital.

[Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN]

PCU's are Progressive Care Units. Patients are obviously too unstable for Med/surg, but not critical enough to be in ICU/CCU. I worked on a specialized Cardio-Throacic Step Down Unit in which we primarily had open-hearts PCIs, AICDs/PPMs, and CCU transfers. I am now currently getting another job in a PCU at another hosptial. So to be honest idk what 'kind' of patients you would get. But hopefully I answered ur question in the first 3 sentences.

[PAERRN20]

In my area PCUs are not telemetry step down units. PCUs or progressive care units are like rehab or long term care floors. These patients are not critical but rather sub acute patients- hip fx, failure to thrive, general deconditioning, etc. Floors that accept ICU step down patients are known as intermediate care or tele step down around here.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

you just need to ask someone who works at the hospital of interest