ICU nurses?

I'm not sure why you didn't get a response to your post but you stand a better chance of working in ICU than any other area.

The ICU that I work in never has down time really...well, we have been somewhat slow this week and WHAM!!!! About an hour before change of shift the other day there was a horrible acciddent and we received 6 new admits...There was a scramble to move the stable patients to the floor and clean the rooms. So, you never know when something is going to happen. We do not really call nurses off for this exact reason. It is a rare occasion to be called off. If there is down time, not usually, we find things to do. Like stocking the rooms, and reviewing educational materials, occasionally some of us will go to other units to help out.

I forgot to add; If we have a VERY low census the CNA's will be sent home with comp time and the RN's will pick up the slack on the CNA's responsibilities. Like passing trays, feeding, EKG's, LABS, etc...Generally most of us do not mind helping out.

Do you get cancelled a lot or anything? I am just curious.

This hasnt happened more than once or twice the year or so Ive worked agency but it really depends on your area.

Around here some of the agency nurses talk of a dry period where quite a few of them had to hold staff jobs for awhile becuase things were so slow. In many areas things can be kind of seasonal.

Ask some of the agency people that work on your floor. Theyll most likey give you the scoop.

ICU is one of the better places to do agency work. If you work perdiem you most likey will not float. If you do contract youll most likey get floated to the floor unless tyou have an agreement-

just my 2 bits

11