CCU VS medical ICu

[Rothenurse01]

Torn between medical icu or ccu, since I'm starting Acute care NP program in the fall I applied to both Medical and Cardiac ICU. If given both positions which will help me in the long run? I wanted to gain icu experience so it can help me with disease process, vents, drugs etc. any feedback will be greatly appreciated

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

You'll see a wider variety of conditions in ICU versus CCU. It also depends on the particular hospital. Where I work, our ICU takes the post-open hearts, CCU does not. We both do Impellas & IABPs. We also take trauma overflow. Our unit also has the rota-prone beds. But that could be completely different at another facility. Do you have the opportunity to interview with each unit? It would be a great interview question to ask them about the typical types of cases in the unit.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

That depends what you mean by CCU. Do you mean a simple cardiac step down or a true cardiac ICU? I worked for 4 years in a CICU which was a surgical open heart ICU. We received and recovered patients immediately post open heart surgery. I much preferred it to the medical ICU next door because they tended to get all the chronic patients that had gone down the tubes...lots of long term vents, septic patients etc. We had lots of surgical cases, and also super sick cardiac patients on multiple drips, IABP, post MIs on hypothermia protocols, CRRT and VADs. I loved CICU and I'd do it anytime over medical ICU.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

That depends what you mean by CCU. Do you mean a simple cardiac step down or a true cardiac ICU? I worked for 4 years in a CICU which was a surgical open heart ICU. We received and recovered patients immediately post open heart surgery. I much preferred it to the medical ICU next door because they tended to get all the chronic patients that had gone down the tubes...lots of long term vents, septic patients etc. We had lots of surgical cases, and also super sick cardiac patients on multiple drips, IABP, post MIs on hypothermia protocols, CRRT and VADs. I loved CICU and I'd do it anytime over medical ICU.

It seems to vary from institution to institution. Definitely important to ask in an interview. It was the reason why I chose ICU over CCU when I met with each unit. I wanted a much more broad, in-depth experience. Our ICU sounds like your CCU. We do Impella, IABP, post-open heart, CRRT, etc.

[ICU2NP]

I would shadow in unit if possible, because it completely depends on the facility. Our medical ICU (where I've worked for 12 years), gets the most wide variety of patients as compared to our CVICU and SICU. We get the complex, super critical patients with common and very odd diagnoses that many other facilities transfer to us because they can not figure out what is going on. It is like figuring out a complex puzzle and it is great for diagnostic skills for all body systems. I love the variety and acuity, and the intensivists are amazing. I guess it also depends on where you want to work following graduation. We have ACNP students in all 3 of our units, and a lot of time the CVICU RNs that are in the program are wanting to stay in their specialty, and they network with their cardiac surgeons so it's a good place for them to work - amongst the surgeons. Good luck, I don't think you can go wrong!