How soon after graduating from nursing school before I can acquire one year of ICU experie

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Hello. Here is my story. I am 36 years old. I want to apply for the US Army Anesthesia program after I graduate. I hope to graduate by the time I am 39. Without a waiver, the age range for applicants is 21-42. What are one's chances of quickly acquiring a year of ICU experience? If I am being honest, my guess is that there are some that got it done quite expeditiously but perhaps many that encountered difficulties. I would love to hear about some of the experiences of others.

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It more than likely depends on the market where you live and what job opportunities are present. If you can find a new grad residency that hires new nurses into the ICU setting or even a hospital that is short nurses that is wiling to hire and train new nurses in the ICU setting, it will be easy to acquire this experience.

If you live in an area where it is difficult to find employment you might have to "settle" for what you can find and work your way up to ICU when possible.

Will you have a clinical rotation in school in the ICU? I would try to make connections; get to know the nurses on the floor, your preceptor, and the nurse manager. Express your interest in the ICU and your future goals. You might make it easier as it is sometimes who you know and not necessarily what you know.

Best wishes.

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Depends on the area you live in & if you are willing to move out of the area for a job! The job market may be different when you graduate though. You might want to try to obtain a CNA job per diem at a hospital that hires new grads into the ICU. Sometimes if you get your face & strong work ethic known by the staff & management it will get you an interview ?

Also, it would behoove you NOT to mention your firm plan to leave after obtaining a year of experience. An organization won't want to invest its time & money to train someone who is leaving that quickly!

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Specializes in ICU.

Are you willing to relocate to get a job in the ICU? I graduated in AZ and it was pretty rare to get a job in the ICU as a new grad. (Most want you to have 2 years of med-surg experience first.) If you aren't familiar with "nurse residency" programs, Google it and a bunch of options should come up. I moved to CO because they had an awesome new grad/nurse residency program and you have the option of starting in an ICU as a new grad. I know there are several hospitals across the country that have developed programs like this to train nurses to work in the ICU (and other units). I have now been at my hospital working in an ICU for 2 1/2 years and can't imagine doing it any other way!! I received such a great orientation and they treat you so wonderful! In my opinion, look at big teaching hospitals who have a new grad program because your chances of getting into the ICU sooner are much higher. Let me know if you have any questions about that, I would be happy to help!

Also one more thing, try your hardest to do your senior nursing practicum in an ICU. I know at my hospital, in order to be hired directly into the ICU, it was an absolute requirement that you had to have done your senior practicum in an ICU or worked in an ICU as a CNA.

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Thank you for your reply. I will move anywhere needed to get that ICU experience out of college but preferably a midsize or large city. I am applying at U-AZ but I live in Austin, Texas and I am from St. Louis. I am used to moving! Good tip on senior practicum. However, I will be in an accelerated program and wonder how much of a choice I will have.

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This is some advice that I won't forget, even though I wouldn't have let that cat out of the bag in the first place. I have worked overseas before. Moving to other parts of the country is not a problem for me!

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Thanks for the reply. I will try to make connections with as many people as possible. You are right about connections!

It more than likely depends on the market where you live and what job opportunities are present. If you can find a new grad residency that hires new nurses into the ICU setting or even a hospital that is short nurses that is wiling to hire and train new nurses in the ICU setting, it will be easy to acquire this experience.

If you live in an area where it is difficult to find employment you might have to "settle" for what you can find and work your way up to ICU when possible.

Will you have a clinical rotation in school in the ICU? I would try to make connections; get to know the nurses on the floor, your preceptor, and the nurse manager. Express your interest in the ICU and your future goals. You might make it easier as it is sometimes who you know and not necessarily what you know.

Best wishes.

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