Critical Care Training?

Nurses General Nursing

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Good evening,

I will like to work in Critical Care but I do not have any Critical Care experience. I do know how to read strips and am not doing Med-Surg Telemetry. Unfortunately, most of my experiences of being precepted have not been positive so I will like to be proactive and get the training of the ins and outs of Critical care such as the equipment, procedures, etc. ;)Does anyone know of any websites or classes I can take to get the training needed?:confused:

Thanks much!

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Ask what your hospital offers... if they have a tele unit, more than likely they have a telemetry class. I took one at the hospital I work at (did not have any tele experience really when I stated working ICU) and that helped a lot. Also I have a book "Critical Care Made Incredibly Easy" and thats a neat book that talks about different critical care issues, so that would just help make you familiar with different dx and tx for critically ill patients.

There is also a CCRN cert you can get... I looked it up and it says that you have to have a certain amt of hours caring for "acutely and/or critically ill patients"... so I am not certain of what constitutes "acute" and if you fall into that category but you can take classes and get certified in that, and THAT in itself makes you are very favorable candidate for an ICU/CCU and would help prepare you for the patients you would see and be managing.

Good luck! I love ICU and would never consider going back to M/S or PCU... I absolutely LOVE the critical thinking and actually being able to care for my patients and not a task list. If you're the type that loves the challenge and is not afraid of it, you will not regret it!

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OH and also, go ahead and get your ACLS and your PALS. You will learn a lot with that and its also a requirement to have that working in an ICU/CCU

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Sorry... I have a lot of advice... You can also ask your ICU (or if its online you can look them up yourself) and look at policies regarding different drips and procedures they do.

You can also (if your hospital would be ok with it) respond to codes... you may not necessarily do anything, but you can go and just see the motions of what happens when a patient crashes.

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Specializes in Trauma, MICU.

Try the following website: icufaqs.org

It's awesome!!!

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Our state has a course called Basic Critical Care Course and then it has updates on specific areas u can take refreshers on each year. Check it out with your hospital for something like that or contact your state board of nursing.

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU/CCU, Specials, CM/DM.

The hospital that I worked mandated a telemetry course to work telemetry. Once I got that experience, I took ICU training course coinciding with a preceptorship in ICU. There are also many resources on the internet for ICU. Fast Facts for Critical by Kathy White is a great resource. I had used this book when working in CCU/ICU as many of my co-workers also did. ACLS and BLS are a must in most ICUs. The CCRN exam is usually for nurses that already have the ICU experience and knowledge. Wish you the best!!

Christy, RN

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Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

Check around other big hospitals some of them have a Critical Care course. They usually have them around May and December. They usually have them for new grads. I know when I graduated, even though I had worked in ICU all through school. I still went and I still learned a bunch of stuff.

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Thanks everyone! I will look into these options.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

ICUfaqs.org is an amazing website.

There is also the Pulmonary Artery Catheter Education Product: http://www.pacep.org/

You have to sign up, but it's free. Great resource for learning about PA catheters.

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