critical care vs floor

[mato_tom]

i know a year or more of CC is required for CRNA school, which is a very good idea, but..............

i have worked in a hospital and have a lot of contact with med surg nurses and not so much with critical care........i like everything about the role and education of the CRNA but im not sure i could last a year or two + if CC is anything like regular floor nursing.

this is a serious question...... what are the day to day hour by hour duties of a CCU nurse, other than the meds and monitoring and skilled work........... is there a lot of butt wiping and linen changing involved...ive heard there is less CNA and LPN support in CC and the RN takes on everything......i have no problem with stress of life and death, no problem and lots of experience dealing with docs, and families, ability to stay out of floor/unit squabbles(seems to be prevalent in floor nursing) but i do try to avoid as much as possible other peoples bodily functions and excretions.....

any comments welcome..................thanks

[vaRN]

I am and MICU nurse and the GI bleeds can be rough. A friend of mine works in SICU in the same hospital and claims to have fewer code browns than we do. I get pulled to her unit periodically and I tend to agree with her conclusion. We have no NAs in our unit and tend to be understaffed at times. We have a great deal of back and shoulder injuries on the night shift that were obtained during bath time. Even with help, injuries are possible because many of our patients are 300lbs or more. After 2 years in MICU, I am leaving for school with a great deal of experience and knowledge. We get the overflow from all the other units so I believe my experience was well rounded. I would not trade it for the world. However, I will not miss the wiping, bathing, and turning.