CVICU training.

[Telenurse1990]

Hello all! I am an ICU nurse working in MICU/CCU for the past year and a few years of Tele/Medsurg Prior to that. I was recently offered a job in a 10 bed CVICU in a large Trauma hospital. The CVICU strictly takes post op heart patients. I am super excited about this opportunity due to the fact that they are going to train me. My question for all you cardiac nurses is how long is sufficient training for someone with my background? I will be getting eight weeks of orientation along side a preceptor, but there is no classroom component to the training, which is my only hesitation. I planned on traveling this year but this opportunity arose out of no where and decided it would be best to get this experience before I travel. Any advice is welcomed!

[SubSippi]

I came to a CVICU after about a year on a tele floor, and got about six week of training. Even though I didn't feel ready, at that point I think I was competent enough to take fresh hearts, but only because there was someone close by that I could get advise from (and did, frequently). So I guess what I mean, is that I definitely could have benefitted from more training, but I didn't make any huge mistakes. I at least knew enough to be able to tell when something was going wrong, and when I needed help.

I also didn't get any classroom training, but I spent a lot of time outside of work studying up on hemodynamics and cardiac meds.

While it is definitely intimidating, I think it's doable. You'll find that most surgeons are pretty predictable with the orders they give to solve problems. And, in my experience, even though CT surgeons are notorious for being turds, they also really take responsibility for their patients. By this I mean that they are more likely to want a phone call for every little thing (for fresh hearts, not necessarily post-op day 3), so you don't have to stand around wondering if something warrants a phone call.

Congrats on the new job!! CVICU is a great combination of having complete control and an adrenaline rush at the same time. It's so much fun. Just know your numbers, don't beat yourself up over a mistake, and take LOTS of notes during orientation. Good luck!

[Telenurse1990]

Thank you for the advice! Any recommendation for any books or anything that would be beneficial?

[eroc]

I had 8 weeks of orientation before I was on my own, with no classroom. But our surgeon does not allow his patients to go to step-down, so new hires take the "step-downs," that don't leave the unit, for 3-6 months then are trained on the post-op heart when they are ready.

I was a teley nurse for two years before moving to the CVICU.