Critical Care?

[edcampbe]

Hello all,

I'm getting close to choosing a unit to complete my senior capstone experience (which usually turns into a job after graduation). I have a contact on a CRU (Cardiac Recovery Unit) who says the floor is great experience for nurses who hope to attend nurse anesthesia school someday. I assume from the job description of this unit that it would be considered "critical care." However, I've heard people refer to CRUs as step-down floors as well. Any experienced nurses/SRNAs/CRNAs have an advice for me? Below is a porition of the job description:

"Cardiac Recovery Unit. Position is nights, 7:00p-7:30a, 36 hrs/wk, full time, .9 FTE. Required: Oregon RN license, BLS, ACLS required within 6 months of hire into critical care with renewal every two years thereafter . Preferred: Current experience within CRU or completion of the residency program, pacemaker, vent, and hemodynamics, intra-aortic balloon pump and CVVH."

Thanks much!

[dfk, RN, CRNA]

Hello all,

I'm getting close to choosing a unit to complete my senior capstone experience (which usually turns into a job after graduation). I have a contact on a CRU (Cardiac Recovery Unit) who says the floor is great experience for nurses who hope to attend nurse anesthesia school someday. I assume from the job description of this unit that it would be considered "critical care." However, I've heard people refer to CRUs as step-down floors as well. Any experienced nurses/SRNAs/CRNAs have an advice for me? Below is a porition of the job description:

"Cardiac Recovery Unit. Position is nights, 7:00p-7:30a, 36 hrs/wk, full time, .9 FTE. Required: Oregon RN license, BLS, ACLS required within 6 months of hire into critical care with renewal every two years thereafter . Preferred: Current experience within CRU or completion of the residency program, pacemaker, vent, and hemodynamics, intra-aortic balloon pump and CVVH."

Thanks much!

yes, CRU is considered a step down unit. although good experience, perhaps even a good way to get your feet wet, it is still "necessary" to get into an icu-type setting. can be peds, nicu, whatever, and most programs smile more so on an adult icu experience. your choice.

my advice? call some programs that you're interested in and see what they like, then follow that.

basically do whatever necessary to get in.

good luck..

[skipaway]

It may be a matter of semantics. Cardiac Recovery Unit could also be what that specific hospital calls its CVICU. Maybe the CRU gets fresh hearts to "recover" which then go to the Cardiac stepdown unit. If the requirements that were posted of experience with "pacermaker, vent, hemodynamics, IABP and CVVH" are indicative of what this job entails..I'd think that CRU is an ICU unless you see these things in a cardiac stepdown unit.

[GregRN]

I had an opportunity at MassGen in what was going to be a newly formed trauma unit. As one who is pursuing CRNA school one of the first questions I asked was, "Does this unit sill fall under the ICU umbrella?" When the answer was "no" I then refocused my attention to other ICU positions within the hospital.

Ask specific questions as whether or not this position is part of critical care within the hospital. If not, and your hope is to leverage your Sr. Practicum/Capstone experience into a job after graduation for the purpose of starting that ICU clock for CRNA school, then you may want to look elsewhere.