At long last... I'm in the club!

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Specializes in Mechanical Circulatory Support.

With some luck, a LOT of hard work and countless sacrifices, I am among the fortunate few who snagged their dream job right out of nursing school. Tomorrow I will don my patch-free scrubs, anything-but-white-shoes, and RN badge, and with a great deal of excitement (and a little trepidation), begin my orientation on the unit as a Cardio-Thoracic Critical Care nurse (woot!!!).

As a new RN - energized, enthusiastic, and no doubt credulous... I just want to say that am so pleased to be in this honorable profession and we are all Rock Stars!!

So there. (my up-lifting words to refer back to in a few weeks when I start wondering what the hell I got myself into... lol)

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Specializes in Med Surg, some Tele.

Congrats:yeah:

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Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

Congratulations! I am in a similar situation; I start orientation on 12/5 for a cardiovascular surgical stepdown unit, just 3 days after finishing school. I'm a bit nervous, though; I spent most of this year in the PACU, so while 3-lead EKGs, drains, and post-op assessments are very familiar to me, I haven't had a patient with a chest tube, haven't changed a dressing in almost 2 years, and have never cared for a patient with RN after my name. Heck, I haven't cared for the same patient for more than a couple of hours in over a year! And more than one patient at a time? Are you kidding? Holy smokes; I'm about to psych myself out. So I'll stop ranting for both our sakes; good luck to you--let's keep each other posted, along with any other new grads starting in cardiac!

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Specializes in Mechanical Circulatory Support.

Week #1 down and I'm surviving... and more importantly, so are my patients!! :D

Congrats wannabecnl! I floated between the cardiac stepdown and the ICUs as a tech while in school. You'll be busy, that's for sure! 5 more days until you start... You'll do great! What kind of patients will you be caring for? I saw mostly cath patients in our stepdown when I was there...

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Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

Lots of open hearts and other types of cardiovascular surgical patients, bariatric surgery patients, and overflow from other cardiac and surgical floors. Had orientation on the floor today and wonder how different it really is from med-surg; right now it looks like all the "stuff" of med-surg with sicker patients. We'll see how it goes. I'm glad that you are surviving and hope it goes well for you!

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Specializes in Mechanical Circulatory Support.

Update: I love my job! :) How's it going on the stepdown unit wannabenl? Are you done with orientation?

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Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

Well, I had 2 days on the floor with fair-to-middlin' success (i.e., I felt like a bumbling idiot but my preceptor wasn't unhappy) before my mom passed away suddenly at my home, and I haven't been back yet. Not sure how it's going to go, but I'm to return this week for a class and then later in the week, perhaps, for my first shift back. I'm so glad you love your job! I have a feeling I won't be in CV surgical forever, but I also think it's a great opportunity to learn before going back to the PACU, which is my real heart's desire. I miss the operative "thing" terribly; my patients are post-ops, but it's not the same!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

any tips for snagging such a job? i hope to be in the same position when i graduate in december!

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congrats to you guys. I am in the club now also! GL to us all.

to benm93: to snag such a job as a gn, look for externships now if it still isn't too late, and request for the cvicu or any icu. very hard to come by, but GL

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Specializes in Neurosurg ICU, CVICU, Float ICU.

Congrats! It is so great to see hard work pay off! :yelclap:

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Specializes in Critical Care Transport/Intensive Care/Management.
With some luck a LOT of hard work and countless sacrifices, I am among the fortunate few who snagged their dream job right out of nursing school. Tomorrow I will don my patch-free scrubs, anything-but-white-shoes, and RN badge, and with a great deal of excitement (and a little trepidation), begin my orientation on the unit as a Cardio-Thoracic Critical Care nurse (woot!!!). As a new RN - energized, enthusiastic, and no doubt credulous... I just want to say that am so pleased to be in this honorable profession and we are all Rock Stars!! So there. (my up-lifting words to refer back to in a few weeks when I start wondering what the hell I got myself into... lol)[/quote']Congratulations! You'll soon find nursing to be a very rewarding career. :)
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Specializes in Mechanical Circulatory Support.

benm93 - It was lots of hard work and some good old fashioned luck. I was in nursing school when I heard from a friend about a manager on a cardiac stepdown unit seeking out nursing students for techs on the unit (luck). I emailed her right away and applied. I also asked for a letter of recommendation from my acute care clinical instructor who, as it turns out, was in the same graduate program with the manager and knew her (luck). I got an interview and was hired. It was at the interview that I found out that I could be pulled to any of the ICUs at any time when needed as part of my job description (luck). Basically I fell into my job and it was mostly luck. But once I was there, I didn't take anything for granted. I worked harder than anyone I knew. I picked up shifts, I spent my spare time learning. I consistently went above and beyond and grabbed the attention of the managers. Now I work one of the ICUs that I was pulled to as a tech. That part I like to think was pure skill. :)

Work your ass off and don't take no for an answer and luck will find you too!

On a side note, I sought out many opportunities to gain experience on the ICUs without luck and with a great deal of frustration before this opportunity presented itself. Don't give up if it's what you really want!

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