From MICU to CCICU

[delphine22]

I work on one of the cardiac PCUs that takes pre- and post-cath and pacer pts (we are called the Cardiac Interventional PCU). This also makes us the de facto chest pain floor, and we take the most non-titrating cardiac drips and have most of the weird arrhythmias. We do not pull lines though we do a lot of groin management. The chronic afib/CHF go to another PCU, and POD 2 CABGs go to yet another (totally boring otherwise) CVPCU.

I desperately want to get a job in CCICU. They've had positions open forever and I've applied but been basically ignored. I'm told people from my unit have graduated to there, but I have no ICU experience (besides working maybe a dozen shifts in a general ICU to care for PCU pts there, at another hospital). I'm willing to train, sign a commitment, whatever, and I'm pretty sharp, not to toot my own horn. I'm a leader on my floor, even though I have only 2 years experience, and I'm constantly trying to learn.

The question is: Should I take a job in MICU to gain critical care experience to get into CCICU, should I stay on my floor that I love otherwise and is challenging and interesting (and take some of the intro ICU training classes on my own time), or should I go to the CVPCU that takes the healing CABGs. I've floated to that floor very often and it's boring as heck. I don't mind going to MICU (we have a separate SICU so there won't be a lot of traumas) if it will help me, but I don't want to get stuck there and never get back to my true love, which is cardiac.

There's a lot of agency/travelers in CCICU now, so I know they're willing to pay for experience. Where do you think is the best place for me to get my experience?

[delphine22]

Followup: Next week I'm taking an all-day class on IABPs. I'm also signed up for hemodynamics, ABGs, vents, CXRs and other classes aimed at the novice critical care nurse. Even if I don't use all of it, I want to show that I'm trying to learn. :-)