Changing career from Telemetry to ICU

[jovial10]

:lol2:I have 4 years of experience as a Telemetry nurse and would like to have a career advancement in ICU. Is there any hospital in this planet that would train & hire me for ICU?

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I'm sure many hospitals would be happy to train you, just make sure this is what you want. It's a high stress environment, multiply all the alarms on the tele floor, increased risk of back injury from turning patients, and increased risk of mandation due to nursing shortages. There always seems to be a perpetual shortage of ICU nurses at our hospital, increased mandation, people quitting.

[grandmawrinkle]

My hospital will take you in the ICU as a tele nurse if you have 1-2 years experience. With the way the job market is right now, they have stopped hiring new grads and are taking more experienced people, including ICU experienced people. In a lot of areas right now, tele experience is probably the minimum you are going to need to get into the ICU.

I went from a high-acuity tele unit as a new grad to an ICU two years later. There are quite a few of us that have done it this way...it's just a little harder right now because the hiring people can afford to be choosy and may go with a more experienced candidate.

[alem-tsahai]

To the OP,

You are ripe for the picking!! Hospitals love experienced nurses nowadays, and yes I believe you should have no problem securing an ICU position with your four years of tele exp. Try to transfer internally first, if you can. Otherwise start sending out those resumes and using your contacts. Good luck, I loved my ICU years and so will you! :)

[himilayaneyes]

There are a lot of ICUs out there that will love you. As a new nurse, I worked on a high acuity tele floor for 2 yrs and actually start in trauma ICU at a different hospital tomorrow. They're putting me through a critical care course and 12 weeks of training. They only required 1 year of acute care experience. Tele experience is definitely going to help you. And taking a critical care course on your own will only help you. I just finished my 4 day course...and my one month long course is in November. So there are definitely hospitals that want you...just make sure you have your ACLS and BLS up-to-date...and try to take a critical care course. Critical Care concepts is really good one. During my three interviews, they asked me if I had ever taken a critical care course.If I can do it, you can do it.

[jovial10]

Good morning everyone! It's nice to know that there are a lot of Nurses who really care. Sweet!!! I tried to apply on line...still no luck:uhoh3:

[Flying ICU RN]

I tried to apply on line...still no luck:uhoh3:

Getting into ICU is as easy as convincing a manager somewhere (best chance is your current hospital) that you are a likely good candidate to train.

This cannot be done on-line.

Good luck!