Adult and Peds ICU

Specialties Critical

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Telemetry RN.

What are the differences between the adult ICU vs the PICU? What types of conditions do you see in each unit? Is there a way to work adult ICU and peds ICU? Are there any good books on what it's like to be an ICU Nurse? Thanks for taking the time to read this. My clinical preceptor at school told me that I should do ICU because I am so focused on every detail about my patient. When I submitted my first careplan after clinical my nursing preceptor said, "You did a fantastic job. I'm impressed. You should consider working in ICU. You would thrive in ICU. ER might drive you crazy."

As as I kept thinking about this I could see how she was right because I feel as if in the ER I would be rushing the patient care (keep in mind this is needed because you need to find the most life threatening problem first...I totally understand the mentality and I respect ER nurses and paramedics and the docs) and I don't like to rush things. In nursing school whenever I study for an exam like the one that is coming up next Thursday I make a study plan and make the check boxes while studying each section extremely methodically. I am not the person to waste time and cram it all in the last minute. Also when I do my head to toe assessment on my patients I try to be as smooth as possible but try to hit everything thoroughly. I may do a focused assessment but it bugs me sometimes cause I feel as if I missed vital info if I am pressured for time. I am still calm under pressure for most of the time. Sorry for all the background info. Kinda got carried away there. Thanks though for taking the time to read this and see where I am coming from.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

The main difference is in peds ICU your 'patient' is really 2-3 persons. The actual sick child and their mother/ father. That and the Disney movies.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to the Critical Care Nursing forum for more responses & feedback.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

I can't speak for adult ICU, but in pediatrics we see a lot of respiratory illness in the winter and trauma in the summer - swimming accidents, ATV accidents, etc.

We also see non-accidental trauma and have to deal with the family who is being investigated while their child is on life support.

Sometimes there are patients who have been admitted after a failed suicide attempt - overdosing and attempted hanging are the two that I saw most often.

There are also a lot of "chronic" patients. While some patients with chronic health problems can go to the general floor, those who are ventilator-dependent at home might automatically have to come to the PICU for management of their vent while they are hospitalized.

Many places have a separate PICU for cardiac patients, but in other places they are all placed on the same unit. Those patients are different from adult ones as well - their diagnoses are (mostly) congenital defects, not acquired heart disease like atherosclerosis.

Like meanmaryjean said, our patients nearly all come with some form of family unit, and they can take just as much time and energy as the patient themselves. Of course, adult ICU patients also have family, but it is a different dynamic in pediatrics.

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Specializes in NICU.
That and the Disney movies.

We have one section of the NICU that has the hospital's video system hooked up (teaching videos, hollywood movies, relaxation videos). If I have to hear/see Frozen again I am going to lose it. :madface:

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
We have one section of the NICU that has the hospital's video system hooked up (teaching videos, hollywood movies, relaxation videos). If I have to hear/see Frozen again I am going to lose it. :madface:

Just got back from a work trip to that place in Florida. Managed to avoid Elsa and her posse entirely-but like you I DETEST Disney songs now for that very reason.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
We have one section of the NICU that has the hospital's video system hooked up (teaching videos, hollywood movies, relaxation videos). If I have to hear/see Frozen again I am going to lose it. :madface:

I've never seen the movie, don't know the plot, but I absolutely can sing every song along with the movie in every. patients. room.

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Specializes in Critical care.

I have to say that as annoying as Frozen can be at times we found it works wonderfully on calming down older dementia patients, especially at night. There is something about it that works so much better than other children's animated movies. We were so upset when it was removed from the list of movies patients can play on their tvs, but somebody obviously had words with The Powers That Be as it has returned and hasn't disappeared.

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