Do I really need ICU experience?

[Dakeirus]

Just a little background--I've worked Med/Surg for over a year and I am currently in an ortho unit and work per diem at an outpatient EENT department at another hospital. I was talking to one of my seniors who encouraged me to work in the ICU for a few years before "settling" down. She said that the ICU experience will take me far and that I don't want to be stuck in a specialty for the rest of my career considering today's economy. She told me that things might change in the future and that at least once you have the experience--if you end up looking for another job you can say that you have a solid ICU experience.

It does make sense to me. But the thing is, I've come to realize I don't really like the floor/inpatient setting and I have no interest in critical care at all. I love ortho. But who knows? I might end up getting bored of it in the future? I don't know. I really like what I do also in my other job at an outpatient setting and have come to like ambulatory care.

Is working a specialty for years that bad if you like it or should I really consider sucking it up and work ICU for a couple of years despite my lack of interest?

[Asystole RN]

Do you NEED it? No.

Will it expose you to a wide variety of experiences and specialties? Yes.

Your career is your career.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You can also have a long and glorious career in orthopedics-- with the aging population, there will be a lot more joint replacements; you could find yourself specializing in sports injury or pedi complex trauma ortho; there's a lot of interesting ortho research going on you could eventually tap into. I say if you don't want to go to ICU, then don't. (And I was an ICU clinical specialist and adored it.)

[RNperdiem, RN]

Job satisfaction is a gift beyond measure. If you are happy in ortho, stay where you are. Get good at what you do. ICU will still be there if you need a change.

[SierraBravo]

Job satisfaction is a gift beyond measure. If you are happy in ortho, stay where you are. Get good at what you do. ICU will still be there if you need a change.

Exactly what I was going to say. As you already know, that is the beauty of nursing - so many different job options. Don't feel pressured to do something that you're not passionate about. Life is too short to be unhappy. Consider your future goals and if ICU is consistent with what you want out of nursing in the future, then perhaps working in that area makes sense; otherwise it sounds like you're happy in ortho.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

If you're happy in orthopedics, stay in orthopedics. As a recent recipient of bilateral knee replacements, I have a healthy appreciation for ortho nurses. I've worked in the ICU for 32 years and I love it. But it isn't for everyone, and if you have no interest in ICU, don't go there! Someday, if you feel the need for critical care experience and truly want to work critical care, do it then. But don't leave a place you're happy to try ICU just because someone told you you need the experience. Trust me, you don't!