ICU position immediately after graduating with BSN

Specialties Critical

Published

I'm a nursing student in the los angeles area and I have two more years before graduating with my BSN. I want to eventually get into nurse anesthesia, and I know that in order to apply to nurse anesthesia school, I need at least one year experience in the ICU. I'd prefer to get hired for an ICU position as soon as I graduate with my BSN (as opposed to wasting a year working on the floor before getting into the ICU). I have my EMT license as well, and I would like to know if working a few years as an EMT while in school will help me at all with getting hired into an ICU critical care position straight after graduation? Are there any other things I can do to help my chances ( such as working a CNA position)? PLEASEl, any advice would help! I would really appreciate it!

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

New grads should go directly into the ICU. Time spent on the floor is worse than wasted, it can be harmful. Patients lives are more important than our own goals so do the right thing by them and properly train new grads to be ICU nurses.

Obviously when we speak of new grads going directly into the ICU, something like a real 4-9 month nurse residency program followed by a mentoring program.

Specializes in cardiac/PACU/SICU/Trauma ICU.

I do not think you would be wrong going either way. I have seen new grads work in areas like PACU/ICU right out of the shoot and they have done just fine. I think sometimes it can be scary and stressful, but I think it is that way for anyone walking into a critical care area with no ICU experience. It is the unkown. You already know the basics and lets face it, they teach you just that in school. THE BASICS! You are going to really learn and grow as an RN after you get some experience under your belt. I started in the surgical stepdown cardiac unit, but was only there for 8 months before I started working the critical care. I think either way you will learn what you need to learn and be just fine! I say if you want to work in ICU, shadow and see how you feel. If you think that you would want to start there then wonderful! I do think that if you are wanting floor experience first, cardiac is a great place to start! A little more exciting then med/surg and you will learn telemetry and cardiac!! That is something that will help with your transition to ICU.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Hello PMGB-RN

I enjoyed reading your post. I am looking for an ICU position once I finish nursing schools. What hospital do you work for? How do I go about finding nurse residency programs for ICU?

Thanks

Farah123

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

I think going directly into a critical care area can definitely be tough, but I also think, overall, it's dependent in the individual and the team/unit they will be working on. I just got a Job offer for the CVICU in one hospital where I precpted at. I also have 2 offers from another hospital from the Cardiothoracic ICU and the Neuro ICU. New grads have been successful on all these floors because the unit took the time to effectively orient the newcomers to the units and processes.

My preceptor said she was always told to go to Med-Surf first and she never did! She went straight to CSICU and has loved since she started 20 years ago.

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