Internship question

[snag]

Dear folks,

I am looking forward to some expert advice...maybe from the moderator. I apologize if this question has been addressed somewhere else on this site. I did do a search for more specific areas, but they didn't seem to hit at the center of my dilemma. I live in Alaska and am a recent grad from an accelerated BSN program in NY at a well known school. I was lucky and did very well there. I am 51 yo male. I am interested in ICU work. I realize there are a HUGE amount of day-to-day care and time management skills I have to learn. I am not one of those who mistakenly believe that if you do well in school and perform well during the limited clinical hours we get in a program that you are a "shoo-in" when it comes to real bedside care. I know I have a long way to go...but I am sure I would enjoy the challenges faced in critical care despite the difficulty of such a steep learning curve. So, I am limited it seems in Alaska. Here in Fairbanks the interim ICU nurse manager says he hardly ever hires folks and it would be quite a while before I get into "his" ICU. I'm no dummy...I can see the writing on the wall. At 51, I don't feel I have the luxury of spending 2 or 3 years on a med-surge floor just to have a "shot" at an ICU that doesn't even handle cardiac or burn patients...they just medevac them to Seattle (good for patients...bad for me). My eventual goal is to get into an air ambulance service here in AK (a very necessary service) as a CCRN nurse. I have flown combat aircraft in the Air Force for my entire 22 year career, so being around aircraft and occasional (non-medical) crises is something I have experience with and enjoy very much. Sorry about the blah blah...So, do I have an option as a newly licensed RN, BSN to do an ICU internship at a large hospital? Is that sort of thing very common? I realize I will start out in med-surge care just like a lot of others, but the thing that is important to me is that I will end up with a preceptor in an ICU and a follow-on position in the ICU instead of waiting for possibly years to get into an ICU that doesn't want me poking my nose around there anyway. I hope this makes sense. Please send me some common sense.

(PS: My wife will be remaining behind at our home in Alaska while I go off to do this. She has a great career up here and is used to me being gone all those years while I was in the AF. I just figure I could leave to get the experience I am after without spinning my wheels and begging for a slot up here and when I am done with my commitment I would return home...just like when I left and drove 5000 miles to attend nursing school.)

Thanks for taking time out to read this tome!

Sincerely,

Snag

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

So, do I have an option as a newly licensed RN, BSN to do an ICU internship at a large hospital?

Yes

Is that sort of thing very common?

Yes/No, depending on area. Couple of programs in the Philly area.

Check out Oregon Health Sciences University: http://www.ohsu.edu/

as know of many critical care nurses from there were active in critical care nursing assoc when I was a member years ago.

Found their internship link:

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/central/hr/nursing/Nursing-Internships.cfm

University of Washington, Harborview is another place i've heard was good:

https://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs/hmc.html

Hope this gives you some ideas where to look.

[snag]

Yes

Yes/No, depending on area. Couple of programs in the Philly area.

Check out Oregon Health Sciences University: http://www.ohsu.edu/

as know of many critical care nurses from there were active in critical care nursing assoc when I was a member years ago.

Found their internship link:

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/central/hr/nursing/Nursing-Internships.cfm

University of Washington, Harborview is another place i've heard was good:

https://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs/hmc.html

Hope this gives you some ideas where to look.

Dear NRSKarenRN,

Thank you for the reply and those websites. At least I have a start now!

Best Wishes,

Snag