How do I know if I will enjoy Critcal care

Biffbradford · Jun 18, 2014

Well, you'll need to know your ECGs, lab norms, and drugs inside and out. You'll need to be able to keep calm when everything is going down the toilet and the family is freaking out, or the patient himself is freaking out because he can't breathe, or is going through DTs, or the doctor is freaking out "What did you do to him??!", etc. When the patient is broken, you can't send him away ... he's YOURS. :dead: Yes, you can know your patient inside and out but you really don't have much extra time to do this. I guess, you just learn when to squeeze that in. You will learn something new every day, even after 25 years, you will keep learning new things. Is it scary? You bet. Some folks thrive on that though. There are days when it will suck the very soul from you, yet you have a sense of great accomplishment that you're able to survive in that sort of environment. :sneaky: I think that average lifespan of an ICU nurse is 6 years. Some make 20 years, others less than one. The only way to know for sure is to try it.

amiodarone3 · Jun 19, 2014

The questions you must ask yourself are these: am I oganized to the point of mild OCD, do I enjoy being task oriented, am I highly observant in my environment, am I intelligent (now, let me be clear that there are PLENTY of stupid ICU RN's out there-I am just indicating it is a good quality to have), am I highly motivated, do I have strong morals/ethics, do I want to be challenged...

those are some questions that arise often. If you want bigger and better things that challenge you mentally and emotionally. that is your best bet

LeanneNis · Jun 19, 2014

I am most of the things you describe I think lol but I do tend to struggle a little with anxiety and fear this may worsen in a critical care area.

iluvgusgus · Jun 20, 2014

Actually, the average run of an ICU RN is now 2 years.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2014

I think you should ask to shadow in an ICU for a shift! See if your employer will set this up for you. At least that way you will know if you absolutely hate the environment.

ICURN3020 · Jun 21, 2014

do I enjoy being task oriented

Your response was, I felt, was very helpful to the OP, with the exception of the above quoted statement. Having a "task oriented" frame of mind can be disastrous to an ICU patient.

Nothing should be done to/for (meds, procedures, etc.) these critically ill patients unless the health-care provider understands the rationale behind the task, the expected outcome, any possible adverse outcomes and takes into account that particular patient's situation (current labs, PMH).

Take positioning a patient - seems simple, right? But unless you understand WHY you must position an intubated patient with the HOB 40-45, a post-heart cath patient flat for x # of hrs, etc, you are just carrying out "tasks" a monkey could be taught to do.

An ICU nurse needs to be able to step back, review all available information and use his/her critical thinking skills to decide what interventions to do or not do and to understand the reason for such.

Whereas more stable patients may be able to tolerate the unwanted side-effects of a medication, for example, a critical patient is at a much higher risk of becoming quickly unstable as they are already in a state of serious compromised health.

To the OP, if you do decide to work in critical care, just try to make a habit of asking yourself "why am I doing this" or "not doing this" and what can happen to my patient because of my decision/action. Good luck to you!

amiodarone3 · Jun 22, 2014

Your response was, I felt, was very helpful to the OP, with the exception of the above quoted statement. Having a "task oriented" frame of mind can be disastrous to an ICU patient.
Nothing should be done to/for (meds, procedures, etc.) these critically ill patients unless the health-care provider understands the rationale behind the task, the expected outcome, any possible adverse outcomes and takes into account that particular patient's situation (current labs, PMH).
Take positioning a patient - seems simple, right? But unless you understand WHY you must position an intubated patient with the HOB 40-45, a post-heart cath patient flat for x # of hrs, etc, you are just carrying out "tasks" a monkey could be taught to do.
An ICU nurse needs to be able to step back, review all available information and use his/her critical thinking skills to decide what interventions to do or not do and to understand the reason for such.
Whereas more stable patients may be able to tolerate the unwanted side-effects of a medication, for example, a critical patient is at a much higher risk of becoming quickly unstable as they are already in a state of serious compromised health.
To the OP, if you do decide to work in critical care, just try to make a habit of asking yourself "why am I doing this" or "not doing this" and what can happen to my patient because of my decision/action. Good luck to you!

well to be honest. it is task oriented. only after you get to the point of understanding what you are doing. obviously you have to be thinking about things critically and using clinical judgment and you absolutely have to "know" your patient for nuances in vaso gtts, meds etc...etc...but after a while there are highly repetative tasks. all i meant by that. i don't negate using your brain