Want to do ICU nursing.....I think

nursejill155 · Nov 6, 2008

I currently work in the SICU and we see any type of surgical pt including post-op CABG's, ortho that has gone bad, general, vascular and traumas. Basically you can get anything and many ICU's will take overflow from other ICU's if needed. I love the ICU because it is so different from the floors there are many procedures you do at the bedside including line placement, thoracentesis, chest tube placement, many road trips, intubation...we even had a surgeon who would open a pt abd every other day and wash it out! I can't say thats the right way to go about it perhaps the OR is a better choice but she did it anyways. SICU often gets trauma pt to so you will be doing massive transfusion protocols with the rapid infuser... FUN! :nuke:

jspacegirl · Nov 6, 2008

I've actually applied to a SICU floor at a near hospital. What exactly kind of patients and procedures do you do from a day to day basis? What does your day consist of? I've done ortho for almost 2 years and ready for a change, more towards doing critical care/ICU. Ortho is physically demanding, which i'm sure all floors are in their way. But I want any suggestions/comments about SICU/ICU and if a time for an interview comes questions I could expect? I'm nervous but know this kind of nursing is great to have on your resume. I would love to know how to read and do EKG's, take ACLS etc, which i'm sure is a requirement for ICU nursing.

SICU, at least where I work, is very physically demanding! We do total care for our patients (very few techs to help us out), and all of that turning, bathing, etc., really takes a toll. Especially when you have heavier patients!!

As far as how the day goes; it definitely involves lots of charting. Vitals and I&O's every hour, full assessments every 4 hours, neuro checks, etc. Let's see what else...titrating drips, turning every 2 hours, oral care every 4 hours for vented patients, traveling to MRI or CT scan, maintaining art lines and ICP monitoring systems, dressing changes, suctioning, documenting, documenting, documenting!! Lots of work to be done, for sure. But don't let it scare you, it is very challenging and rewarding.

TStewartfan · Nov 7, 2008

I love ICU. I came straight out of nursing school right into MICU. I wanted an overall part of the ICU and darn if I didn't get it. We get traumas, COPD pts on vents, cancer pts, in the past month we had three quadraplegics two from MV crashes and one from a freak fall. We do everything, turns Q2, oral care Q2, all meds and documenation, road trips from CT clear on the other side of the hospital to nuclear med to Interventional Radiology and the list goes on. Today I had a DKA pt, a blocked ureter with a right sides nephrectomy tube who had a 11mm and 5 mm stone in her kidney and several others that were blocking her tube she goes for a stent in the AM and she was nauseated and vomiting every two hours. Then we transferred three pts out so my whole assignment changed to a medical misadventure pt (OD on several different meds) and we were waiting for Police Officers to transfer her to the local psych facility for treatment and a poor lady who came to visit her son and ended up having a stroke and a heart attack and was vented for 14 days and now her vocal chords won't close completely and the nurse that I took over for had attempted to place an NG tube in place and the pt squirmed so much that her husband got upset and asked her to stop so then they had to call in teh charge nurse and things got a bit hairy so our charge had to put in a SBFT. When I went in to take over I introduced myself to the family and told them what my plans were for the rest of the day for their loved one. The pts husband was very apologetic but was very upset about everything that had been going on and he told me that he was very sorry for acting out and that I was to tell the nurse that he apologized. She didn't take him to heart because he had been through alot.

I guess my main satisfaction has been recently. I have only been an ICU nurse for almost two years. Well recently they have been placing students with me to precept them during the day. I have gotten two accomodation letters from two students and lots of compliments from the others and have them now thinking about becoming an ICU nurse. My best compliment I think was today I was assigned a Paramedic student. Paramedic students are completely different then nursing students because they cannot give meds. So alot of my stuff for the day was explaining things to him. Right before he left he told me thanks and gave me a huge hug and told me that I was an excellent nurse and had a wonderful bedside manner. I think that was when I realized that I was where I needed to be. I am going to go back and get my masters degree in education. We need much more educators for nursing students.

Whew... my husband says I have diarrhea of the mouth... I just love my job....

Jodi

dopaminequeenRN · Nov 17, 2008

I love ICU! I worked at an ortho/stroke rehab facility for a few years before going to ICU as a new grad RN--so I can relate to your story. Making the transition was hard at first because the two environments were so different. Thankfully, my co-workers were good to me and with time, the unit became my new comfort zone. At my hospital, we have 4 ICU's under one manager--MICU, SICU, CVICU, and CCU. We float to all of them, which isn't a big deal because each of our units is very similar to the other. I work 7p to 7a. We never have more than 2 patients per nurse (we are lucky, some hospitals aren't that way). I come in, do a chart check on each patient, do a full assessment on each patient, chart the assessments, and try to get one bath done before visiting time at 8:30pm. Then at 9pm when visiting is over, I get my meds ready and give those. At 11 pm its time for more assessments and charting. Then there are usually midnight meds. In the mean time, you have to suction and turn the patients every 2 hours. The night goes on like that---usually. Sometimes you move a patient out, and get a new admit. Sometimes you have to pack them up to go to CT. Sometimes you spend 12 hours just trying to keep one or both of them alive. Then at 6 am its time for visitation again. I went from taking care of 7 to 12 patients as an LPN at the rehab hospital to having just two. I feel like I am giving better care now because of that. I felt so guilty not being able to spend enough time with my team of patients at the rehab hospital. The knowledge I have gained from working just two years in ICU is awesome. My experienced co-workers are extremely intelligent and I am so blessed to have them share that kind of knowledge with me. I hope my little story gives you some insight. I wish you the best in your decision!

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 24, 2009

I work as a dialysis nurse and I spend a lot of time in the ICU and I can tell I would love it. The other day I had a patient take a turn for the worse and was tranferred from MICU to CCU and I was there to watch the whole process unfold and I was fascinated.

I would like to make the change to ICU but have no idea how. Every job posting says they want experience. Most nurses I know got their experience through an internship. All internships say that to qualify an applicant must have no RN experience, and since I've been a nurse for a bout a year now I can't apply for an internship.

Do I have to work med-surg first and hope and pray I'll eventually transfer to ICU? Can I get hired to a step-down unit first?

RNcorazon · Feb 2, 2009

hi dominique, i see that you really love what you do, and that is exactly how i feel about my job as a telemetry nurse, i love taking care of people and no matter how busy is the day and how stress i am, i always have a smile for every patient in my charge.

i got to tell you, this is my first year as a nurse, i being off orientation for about 8 months already, i received a lot of complements of my charge nurses, considering that i was a new Grad. they were surprise how well i adapted and my time managment is great, but now i am thinking in taking the next step for more critical ill patients, one of my friends is working PICU and she loves it, i do like what i do, but i know i can do much more..

How is the transition to a more advance Unit like MICU or ICU, do they teach me more skills?? see, i am not familiar w/ vents or suctioning pt s, i had a pt the other day w/ a trach and i did the suction, but it was once...i mean, i don't want to kill anybody, how much trainning do i need?? do you know? any advice, i will really appretiate it.:redbeathe

CABG patch kid, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2009

hi dominique, i see that you really love what you do, and that is exactly how i feel about my job as a telemetry nurse, i love taking care of people and no matter how busy is the day and how stress i am, i always have a smile for every patient in my charge.
i got to tell you, this is my first year as a nurse, i being off orientation for about 8 months already, i received a lot of complements of my charge nurses, considering that i was a new Grad. they were surprise how well i adapted and my time managment is great, but now i am thinking in taking the next step for more critical ill patients, one of my friends is working PICU and she loves it, i do like what i do, but i know i can do much more..
How is the transition to a more advance Unit like MICU or ICU, do they teach me more skills?? see, i am not familiar w/ vents or suctioning pt s, i had a pt the other day w/ a trach and i did the suction, but it was once...i mean, i don't want to kill anybody, how much trainning do i need?? do you know? any advice, i will really appretiate it.:redbeathe

You should try and find out, either from some of the ICU nurses at your hospital, or from the ICU manager, what kind of training they do there. I'm sure it varies between facilities. At my facility, we have a class called ECCO (essentials of critical care orientation) that it is on the computer and you take that class for 3 months before you even work in the ICU. Then once you are there, you are paired with a preceptor for 2 months. I know some places have more time with a preceptor, but since I'm not considered a new grad anymore, my time is 2 months. Anyway, ask around and good luck to you!