ICU requirement for 1 year?

I don't think so, because in icu you will also learn about different types of drugs.

I also agree that the schools might not like this-as working with ventilators is only one part of the whole critical care equation. Best thing to do is just call some schools and ask!

Some schools will accept ER experience, but I have not heard of one taking telemetry.??. Most want adult ICU experience so Ped's ICU may not be acceptable/desireable in some programs either. Each program is different and some value certain ICU experience more than others such as CVICU or SICU over others. Plus most programs want more than the year of experience. Some wont even offer you an interview until you have the minimum of 1 year which usually makes it 2 years by the time school starts. If this is something you want to do then get the ICU experience and don't short cut anything.

Another question about critical care experience, what if the unit has a policy of rotating all staff between different patient acuity levels? 1:1, 1:2, 1:3-4 all on the same unit? Does anyone know how programs feel about this type of ICU experience?

I'm not familiar with the rotation of acuity thing. But if you work in a unit designated as an ICU, then it seems like most/all of the pt's would be critically ill and thus fall under "ICU care". Of course, different hospitals have different populations. Some hospitals have ICUs with 'less sick' --if you will-- pt's than maybe a hospital that does transplants or is a county hospital, etc.

As for just working with vents, well, I didn't know. There is a lot more to ICU than just vents. You need to get your experience on a floor with, yes, lots of vents :) But also lots of drips like pressors/vasoactive drugs, lots of sedation, hemodynamic monitoring (CVP, Art lines, swans/lidco, etc.). You can have very stable pt's on vents, people go home on vents. You want the really really sick pts, and they will be in the ICU. As to which ICU is better, that really depends on the hospital. I work in a medical ICU and we happen to have lots of vents, multiorgan failures, drips, sedations, invasive monitoring, etc. Most people say SICU or STICU is really good, also CVICU. So when you're looking for a unit, try and see what kind of pt's they take because it's the experience with the pts, not the name of the ICU that will get you into school Good luck!

Yes, like the previous poster said, some schools will look at ER experience, but if you want to be the most attractive candidate with the most school option you really need to get into a high acuity ICU. The "type" or name of the ICU isn't as important (in my opinion) as making sure the ICU has the right type of pts to get you the experience you need. You need to work with vents, sedation, vasoactives, invasive monitoring, etc. I just answered a post similar to this I think. . .

I work in a medical ICU and we see all of the above. Some medical ICUs may not have all that. A lot of people say Neuro ICU doesn't give much experience with things like I mentioned and some people say it does. I think it really just depends on what kind of pts your particular unit has. Most people will tell you, however, that STICU and CVICU are usually the best bets for seeing the kinds of thinks the CRNA school admit committees want you have experience with.

Also, if you are a new grad and you want to do ICU don't let people talk you out of it. If you really feel you aren't ready to start in an ICU that's okay, but if you think you want to give it a try DO IT! I started as a new grad in an ICU and its been great, and a lot of the nurses I work with also started in the ICU and have never left :) So anyways, that's just my plug for not having to do something else before ICU (or if you want to that's okay to, I'm just sayin'. . .)