How did you get into the ICU?

Specialties MICU

Published

I'm a new grad in my third month in Med/Surg. I was not one of the lucky ones who got to start out in the ICU, even though I did everything I could in nursing school (right tech job, icu preceptorship, ACLS, PALS, and a member of AACN) to start in the ICU. I miss the ICU so much. I'm so busy at work, but bored. Most of my patients are walkie talkies, and I feel like I'm basically babysitting them over night, until they are discharged in the morning. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I am really glad to have my job. But I'm starting to get a little nervous; most of the nurses that I work with have never left med/surg. I'm afraid that I am going to get stuck on med/surg.

So, I'm looking to allnurses for some inspiration and advice.

How did you get into critical care? And do you have any advice to help me get into the ICU when I finish that magical one year of med/surg experience?

Thank you all in advance.

Specializes in icu/er.

i got a cousin who worked icu at umc & he told me that the best and brightest were in the unit or eventually made their way there. i took it with a grain of salt. then, while i was in nsg school everytime in clinicals when the crap started to hit the fan they would always call the icu for a nurse to come take a look at something or for advice. that left a impression on me.

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I've always wanted to be an ICU nurse. During clinicals, the ICU nurses were always called upon when something was just not right with the patient. They were a part of the "rapid response" team and I've gained an interest in that. I had a goal to start in ICU right after nursing school, but I hear it's very difficult to get a job. I graduated from nursing school at the end of July of this year, and passed the boards about a month after graduation. The first two weeks of applying for jobs, i was very determined to get an ICU job. I've only applied to ICU positions. However, I received rejection email after rejection email stating that they are not interested in new nurses. At the time, I worked as a PCT on a med/surg telemetry floor. I've given up on applying else where and decided I should try to get a job on my unit. The unit has a brand new nurse manager and I was told that I should work more PCT shifts so he can see how my work ethic is. I was a bit offended because past PCTs that went for their RN were offered an RN job right away. I put in my two weeks as a PCT and pursued other places to work.

I've applied for Mayo Clinic's GN program and listed my interest in the ICU. I was told there would only be one spot for ICU, but I was very determined. The whole process took about two months with filling an application and turning in documents such as transcripts and recommendation letters. I was pre-screened with a telephone interview and was chosen for a panel interview with 5 different nurse managers and the recruiter. I found out this past monday that I was accepted into their GN program in the medical ICU. I got pretty lucky!

I am glad that my old hospital did not offer me an RN position. Everything worked out the best for me. Just keep the determination strong. You are bound to be an ICU nurse some day =)

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
And do you have any advice to help me get into the ICU when I finish that magical one year of med/surg experience?

*** I don't know about every place but in my part of the country med-surg experience is the last thing our managers want to see for an ICU applicant. I work in a large Magnet, teaching, tertiary care trauma center and they started a nurse residency program for new grads going directly into the ICUs. Among the reason they did this was their dissatisfaction with trying to re-train med-surg nurses to ICU. We found it was easier and faster to train new grads than to train med-surg nurses to think like ICU nurses.

Just reporting on it, not saying I agree with it.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, PICU.

I worked in the hospital for a couple of years prior. Both in the lab and as a tech in the NICU (neonatal).I applied to every ICU (MICU, SICU, PICU, NICU and ED) had interviews and was accepted.

My lab manager was awesome about me leaving the lab. She knew I was graduating and brought me into her office and wanted to know where my interest was. She called up and spoke with the managers. I'm pretty sure she was the reason why I had so many offers.

The hospital I worked at was very tough in getting hired. It was the regions only Level 1 Trauma Center, Transplant, health education and research center. Once people were hired, they never left.

The issue for me know is, I've moved out of state. Currently in smaller ICU/CCU but I'm def trying to get into a larger hospital for the past 1.5 years with no success!

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Specializes in Not too many areas I haven't dipped into.

Sounds to me like you are in a hospital that is way too small for what you want. Frankly, in a hospital that has less than 4 beds in their ICU, you are still not going to truly get a good ICU experince because most will get shipped out to a larger, more specialized facility. If I were you, I would just keep applying and applying frequently to ICU positions all over. Openings come and go and your application will eventually get reviewed. You might also want to look at your resume and make sure it pops!

As to the nurse who metioned that some ICUs like new grads over floor nurses, we are experiencing that in our area as well. It used to always be the other way around where oyu had to have 2 years of floor work before entering the ICU. My last nurse manager verbally said that she preferred new grads to seasoned nurses because she felt new grads had not learned bad habits yet and they are easier to train in the way our ICU wants their nurses to perform and they are less expensive, salary wise.

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Specializes in CTICU/CVICU.

Where are these new grad-friendly areas/hospitals?? So I can apply to them when I graduate in June! I'm a PCT, working in the ED for 4 months, previously worked on cardiac floor for a year in the same hospital. I'm pretty sure I can get a job here (my cariac nurse manager is alos over the ICUs and I floated there often) but I wanna move out of state, preferable to Texas. But, for the dream ICU job, I'll go almost anywhere!!

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Specializes in Not too many areas I haven't dipped into.

Cincinnati seems to be the place for new grads in a lot of the ICU especially in the Mercy system.

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*** I don't know about every place but in my part of the country med-surg experience is the last thing our managers want to see for an ICU applicant. I work in a large Magnet, teaching, tertiary care trauma center and they started a nurse residency program for new grads going directly into the ICUs. Among the reason they did this was their dissatisfaction with trying to re-train med-surg nurses to ICU. We found it was easier and faster to train new grads than to train med-surg nurses to think like ICU nurses.

Just reporting on it, not saying I agree with it.

jUST, exactly, WHAT IS A NURSE?

ASK THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

Your petty egos and inflated sense of SELF denigrate the profession.

Been "in it" too long...and have my share of misery, to let this triviality go unanswered.!

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
jUST, exactly, WHAT IS A NURSE?

ASK THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

Your petty egos and inflated sense of SELF denigrate the profession.

Been "in it" too long...and have my share of misery, to let this triviality go unanswered.!

*** Did you forget to take your meds?

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