Is it just me?

Brownms46 · Jul 2, 2002

Hi huggietoes..:)

Ummm please don't take this wrong...but what kind of ICU are you in?? I ask that, because I have worked ICU, and we rarely had time to sit. I always found the ICU very challenging, and there was always something to do, even if it was helping someone else who had a difficult assignment. Maybe it's because you "may" not being receiving any really unstable pts, d/t your limited expereince, and the fact, that you're a new grad. Is that possible??

You seem to be in a good place where you are, and in this business , there are FEW who can say, what you just did about your NM!

If I were you, I would stick around and "acclimate" yourself for a while. Having the ICU expereince will be very useful in what you called :organized chaos".. :cool:

live4today, RN · Jul 2, 2002

Originally posted by huggietoes
I am a new grad and was offered several positions at the hospital at which I am employed, after reviewing my grades and performance evals from the college I attended the ICU gave me the hard sell and I accepted the position. I was really excited, until.... I had to perform 3 weeks on a med surg floor and fell in love with the "organized chaos" well now I am in ICU and I am not liking it one bit. It consists of assessing the patient, watching the monitor, assess the patient, watch the monitor, pass meds. Alot of sitting, which I find somewhat boring. It just does not seem like a good fit for me. I really like the nurse manager she is incredibly nice and flexible as far as scheduling, listens to concerns. I hate to try to bid out to another floor so soon, what should I do? I told myself that I would give it 6 months to acclimate myself and find a groove. Any of you have any words of wisdom or had the same experience?

Huggietoes...I can relate to your feelings as I once oriented to SICU/OPEN HEART in a military hospital some years back. It was during that orientation that I felt that particular unit was NOT for me. I think some nurses SHOULD trust their first instincts, and leave while you are young in the game. That way, you can get a feel for another unit and see if your gut feeling tells you that it is YOU. I was totally bored in ICU. I went to Cardiac Stepdown and found my niche...until we moved again...then on to something else, but that was way out of school UNLIKE you being a new grad and all.

I think hospitals should orient their new grads to UP TO THREE different units of each new grads choice. Let them spend a week on each unit buddied up with another nurse...then rotate to the second unit...buddy up with another nurse...then buddy up with the third unit's nurse...THEN...and only then...should the new grad elect which of the three units she/he would like to continue orienting on. Then, situations such as you are experiencing would not be an issue.

Some nurses are just born ICU material, and some aren't...same with every other unit of expertise. It's either "YOU", or it isn't. :)

huggietoes · Jul 2, 2002

Cheerfuldoer, you are wise beyond your years. I think that is an amazing idea. How can they possibly expect a new grad, such as myself to know exactly which area of the hospital they would like to work in if they have such limited experience? I would have loved to have had the opportunity to orient on the telemetry floor. It looks so interesting and busy. I also think it may be the age difference, the nurses in the ICU I am currently working in are 30 years older than I am which makes it a bit hard to relate. Also, I was a bit mislead, I was told that I would be receiving emergent post-ops, vent patients, vasoactive drips, instead the patients are walking and talking, which leaves little for me to do. I spoke to the preceptor I had while I was in nursing school about my concerns, and she just wagged her finger at me and commiserated, as she had to float there a few times. It just makes for an incredibly loooooooooong day sitting in a chair looking at rhythm strips! My concern is that if I request to change floors after such a short time I am going to look unstable or at the very least picky and difficult to satisfy. I am going to tough it out and just try to gain as much experience from the situation as I can.

live4today, RN · Jul 2, 2002

originally posted by huggietoes
cheerfuldoer, you are wise beyond your years. i think that is an amazing idea. how can they possibly expect a new grad, such as myself to know exactly which area of the hospital they would like to work in if they have such limited experience? i would have loved to have had the opportunity to orient on the telemetry floor. it looks so interesting and busy. i also think it may be the age difference, the nurses in the icu i am currently working in are 30 years older than i am which makes it a bit hard to relate. also, i was a bit mislead, i was told that i would be receiving emergent post-ops, vent patients, vasoactive drips, instead the patients are walking and talking, which leaves little for me to do. i spoke to the preceptor i had while i was in nursing school about my concerns, and she just wagged her finger at me and commiserated, as she had to float there a few times. it just makes for an incredibly loooooooooong day sitting in a chair looking at rhythm strips! my concern is that if i request to change floors after such a short time i am going to look unstable or at the very least picky and difficult to satisfy. i am going to tough it out and just try to gain as much experience from the situation as i can.

huggietoes...brownie's comments would fit more with what you are describing in this particular post because it does sound as if what your preceptor and the older nurses are doing is not rushing your orientation, but perhaps they've been instructed to take it slow with the new grads so as not to overwhelm them with too much too soon, thus....sending them running before they even give it a chance.

since it sounds like you want to stick it out and give it a whirl, try not to rush your orientation. learn what you can with those "slow patients" by reviewing their charts, their doctors old and new orders (something we experienced nurses don't often have time to do anymore because of the pressure of overload, etc.)....assess the patients and try to discern why such and such meds or treatments were ordered on that patient, etc. this is the time for you to take it slow and learn step by step as you progress into the unit's chaos more. if those nurses you work with rush your orientation, then you will be flustered way too soon, and then want to leave...when, if you had taken it slow while attempting to pick up everything you could, you may not want to leave down the way.

icu is different in that you have got to think beyond the norm and think more critical in regards to what could go wrong with a patient. when an icu patient crashes, they usually crash quick without much warning in most cases. i wasn't a new grad when i went to icu...far from it, so i knew it wasn't for me early on. but, as a new grad, you still have jitters unrelated to what unit you may think you'd fit it on, so giving it a chance for a time is not going to hinder you, but make you more certain of your ability as a nurse to better be able to make those choices down the way...which unit you want...don't want...what you can handle...what you can't.

reread brownie's post, then reread what you just wrote here, and you'll see that brownie had the situation you are in pegged right off the bat. she is the icu nurse...not me. :) keep us posted. i'd love to know how you are doing along the way. just relax and learn all you can while you can. pretty soon, your new grad status will wear off, and the other nurses won't be so gentle on you. now...that's scary! :chuckle :kiss