ICU vs OR nursing

[Jordym919]

I am in my last semester of my nursing program and will be graduating this upcoming May, which means it is almost time to find a nursing job! I currently work in an ICU as an aide and have for the past 3 years, our hospitals ICU also has a step-down unit that nurses float between. Right now I am doing my preceptorship for school in the OR for 5 weeks to explore another area of nursing, both departments have specialty programs for new graduates open to apply for, so I am looking for any words of advice about starting out in either of these specialties? My ultimate goal is to become a travel nurse after I get a few years of experience, I also realize starting out in a specialty can be challenging, however having worked in critical care for the past few years, I have found that I really love it. The OR is a little newer to me and I enjoy the environment from my experience so far, I just worry that if I started in the OR, especially as a new graduate, I would lose a lot of skills like critical thinking, assessment, medications, etc. I also think it could get pretty repetitive, correct me if I am wrong, and if I did decide to start in the OR and after a couple of years decided to go to ICU would that be extremely difficult? On the other hand I really like the thought of starting in the ICU where I have worked and know people and getting to be in the step-down unit as well getting my time management down, assessments, meds, etc. So again any opinions or words of advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

[MYSTICOOKIEBEAR]

Having worked on a CVT Stepdown and now a Cardiac/Transplant ICU, I would recommend you go into the Critical Care arena. The Units is where a lot of the action is at, you get to work on your time management, use your brain for critical thinking, and get to be challenged. I have worked with a few OR only nurses who got bored after a few years and had a VERY difficult time transitioning into the ICU and having to make decisions and think for themselves.

In the ORs you become a mechanic, and by that I mean you become very good at physical tasks and your sterile prep game is flawless, you do what you are told and do not have to do very much critical thinking or decision making, you do the same things in the exact same way every day, you work with a very tight knit group of people, and do not have a lot of contact with patients or family members. A lot of nurses find this therapeutic and it is perfect if you want to go to work, you don't want to think much, and you don't really want to deal with families or patients.

On The Units you become more of an operator and have to be very sharp, think fast, move fast, make stressful but important decisions, and be very dynamic. You use your critical thinking, have to be well versed in a lot of medications, spend a lot of time with very sick people, the family members that are seeing their loved ones in such rough shape, and you deal with death. You will have to become a master of time management, It is very challenging but extremely exhilarating at the same time. You will gain a massive amount of confidence dealing with the sickest patients and will feel comfortable anywhere you go in the nursing field afterwards because of the experiences that you have lived through.

As for me, I am an adrenaline junkie and I want, need, and crave action and excitement , and I feel there is a healthy and steady supply of that on The Units. Since you know everybody and are comfortable there, I would say stay on The Unit for a year, get that experience, and then do whatever you want to do afterwards. Your time as an ICU RN will open so many doors and opportunities for your career and I have never heard anyone say they regret getting that experience.

So go through your rotation, ask a lot of questions, see how you like it, try to figure out the things that make you happy and fulfilled, and decide. Everyone's journey is different, you just have to figure out the right one for you!

[Jordym919]

Thank you SO much for your feedback! I appreciate it, I am definitely keeping my options open but I am leaning towards critical care because not only do I love it, but like you said the experience will open up so many doors in my career as a nurse. Ultimately the choice is mine, but I love hearing experienced nurses opinions! Thank you again!

[dcwang]

@Jordym919. I sent you a PM.

[Jordym919]

I got your PM, the website wouldn't let me reply to you because I have not posted enough? Anyway, That is cool that you know for sure you love OR and that is where you want to be, I still am unsure therefore I probably won't start there just because I feel like you need to know you love it and that is where you want to be especially if you want to start there as a new grad. I like my experience so far, however I feel like it is a place I would want to end up instead of start out. Thank you for you insight and I hope it works out for you! Good luck with the rest of nursing school!