I'm an RN with 3+ years of telemetry experience and recently accepted a position in a very large CSICU. I went into this field because I love cardiology, enjoy focusing on a few patients rather than 7-8, and so far am enjoying the kind of work I'm doing, but I fear that I might not be a good fit for this unit after all. The unit is extremely fast paced and my preceptors and educators are concerned that I am not working as fast as I should for this level of acuity. I tend to be very careful, double check orders and drips, etc. but they need me to work even faster than that and have an almost instinctual work ethic.
Personally I think the jump in acuity, working with a new system (ex. new IV/PCA pumps, vasoactive meds, ventilators, an entirely new computer system, etc.), and a sudden increase in autonomy are all factors that are slowing me down and require getting used to. I'm not sure if I am just not a good fit for the unit, or if I simply haven't had enough training.
When I accepted this job they told me it was going to be 13+ weeks of orientation, but as it turns out 4 of those weeks are used for classes (2 weeks were not even ICU-related, they were on hospital policies and general hire education). At this point I have worked 13 shifts so far and am working mostly independently with 2 patients or 1 patient with VAD/CVVH/TAH with my preceptor as a reference usually, but they still think that I work too slow especially in emergencies. I only have 1 more week where I get to work alongside a preceptor, and after that I am expected to admit patients and work independently with a preceptor only as reference.
And if it matters at all, the unit has extremely high turn over. I think about 10 out of 70+ or so nurses quit this year, so they are hiring in droves and hoping to fix the staffing as soon as possible. One night nurse who was leaving told me "F*** this place".
Does anyone have any tips for working faster in ICU, or about time management in general? Is 5 weeks for an experienced telemetry RN enough orientation?
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I'm an RN with 3+ years of telemetry experience and recently accepted a position in a very large CSICU. I went into this field because I love cardiology, enjoy focusing on a few patients rather than 7-8, and so far am enjoying the kind of work I'm doing, but I fear that I might not be a good fit for this unit after all. The unit is extremely fast paced and my preceptors and educators are concerned that I am not working as fast as I should for this level of acuity. I tend to be very careful, double check orders and drips, etc. but they need me to work even faster than that and have an almost instinctual work ethic.
Personally I think the jump in acuity, working with a new system (ex. new IV/PCA pumps, vasoactive meds, ventilators, an entirely new computer system, etc.), and a sudden increase in autonomy are all factors that are slowing me down and require getting used to. I'm not sure if I am just not a good fit for the unit, or if I simply haven't had enough training.
When I accepted this job they told me it was going to be 13+ weeks of orientation, but as it turns out 4 of those weeks are used for classes (2 weeks were not even ICU-related, they were on hospital policies and general hire education). At this point I have worked 13 shifts so far and am working mostly independently with 2 patients or 1 patient with VAD/CVVH/TAH with my preceptor as a reference usually, but they still think that I work too slow especially in emergencies. I only have 1 more week where I get to work alongside a preceptor, and after that I am expected to admit patients and work independently with a preceptor only as reference.
And if it matters at all, the unit has extremely high turn over. I think about 10 out of 70+ or so nurses quit this year, so they are hiring in droves and hoping to fix the staffing as soon as possible. One night nurse who was leaving told me "F*** this place".
Does anyone have any tips for working faster in ICU, or about time management in general? Is 5 weeks for an experienced telemetry RN enough orientation?