Baby Nurse in Progressive Care Unit

[nurseg112]

Hi everyone! I'm a newly registered nurse and will be starting in a seemingly high intensity progressive care unit next month. It wasn't the exact job I was looking for out of school but seems like a really great place to get a solid skill set. The unit at the hospital I'm working is considered critical care - an intermediate unit between ICU and med/surg and every patient is on cardiac monitoring. I wanted to brush up on some knowledge of things before I start and wanted to know if any nurses out there had any suggestions for me as to what chapters I should re-read in my text books or types of things I should be researching online so I'm prepared for my first few weeks! Thank you in advance!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

The ACLS manual will be a good place to start, and you'll probably have to get ACLS certified at some point anyway. It covers rhythms, emergency drugs, emergency protocols and stroke recognition. Start there.

[2210485]

Ruby Vee said:

The ACLS manual will be a good place to start, and you'll probably have to get ACLS certified at some point anyway. It covers rhythms, emergency drugs, emergency protocols and stroke recognition. Start there.

Yep acls manual, followed by critical csre nursing made incredibly easy and hemodynamic monitoring made incredibly easy.

EKG skills need to be on point, get a good practice workbook and get started!

Lastly consensus statements! 1 per day, everything relevant to your patient care starting on page 1, until repeat topics start showing up. They almost always include the latest and greatest advice on medical management. You need to know your drugs, know why they are given and what the best option is.

JACC

On that same note, download a pharmacology app on your phone. Research every new drug you come across, write them down, make flashcards etc.

If you still have to check a reference to know if an infusion is incompatible, or if there are drug interractions you need to be making flashcards.

[PeekabooICU77]

don't get too caught up or stressed with worrying about what or how much you should know prior to starting. if it is a halfway decent hospital and new employee program, you will receive plenty of refreshers of things important to your position on the unit, including what you learned in school but also probably going into some topics more in-depth. you will also learn what books/websites/etc. are helpful or even required by your unit, whether it be via your orientation or coworkers.

this unit sounds like an awesome opportunity to start your nursing career. you will learn so so much, and hopefully enjoy it as well.

good luck!

[PeekabooICU77]

If ACLS is required for your role, please don't bother buying your own ACLS guide. you will most likely borrow the ACLS books from your hospital library for free. books are costly, and speaking from experience, I have not opened my ACLS reference books I purchased on my own accord, not even once since buying them.

I agree that critical care-focused material would probably be useful, but again I'd wait until you start before investing in any expensive books. different hospitals and units and providers may have different ways of doing things than what you read in certain books. word of mouth-recommendations are always my favorite.