Med/Surg to ICU?

[EGVnurse]

Hey everyone,

I've been working on a med-surg unit (ortho and post-renal transplant) for almost a year now. I'm really interested in SICU/Trauma ICU nursing after I hit my 12 month mark (or I may wait until the 18 month mark). There is a bridge program at my hospital offered to RN's without critical care experience that I think would be good for me.

I've already started studying my pharm, lab values, EKG's (although EKG's sometimes vex me). What else do you suggest I study up on? My hospital offers a Code Blue class, Mechanical Vent Class, Phlebotomy and IV therapy classes and possibly even an EKG interpretation class that I plan on taking. I'm also aware I need to look into ACLS certification.

Any other words of advice? Pros? Cons? Am I going to be shocked by the contrast between floor nursing and ICU nursing? I've heard the teamwork aspect of the ICU is spectacular.

Your wisdom would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[jennycRN]

Usually these bridge programs or classes for nurses new to critical care are good at teaching the basics. Hemodynamic monitoring was probably the one topic that was most foreign to me and that I am still least comfortable with. My one suggestion would be to join aacn. It gives you access to a lot of free educational material on their website and I think that the magazines/journal that come with membership are generally good reading and give you an idea of some of the current topics and trends in critical care nursing.