It will get better...right?

It will get better, but it will take time. So give yourself the time :)

Thanks. I'm trying...lol

Hello,

Im considering applying to scott and white and read in one of your earlier threads about you working there. I just passed my boards and wanted to do the icu there? I was wondering how you feel about scott and white honestly and the inside details?

All I can share is that for the first 6 months as a nurse, I felt like I was 30 seconds away from killing everyone I touched. The second six months, I felt like most of them had a shot at surviving the shift. At the end of 3 years, I felt like I could pretty much handle whatever hit the door on our telemetry unit. So then I went to ICU. Bang! Back to feeling like I was the most dangerous nurse in the place, I didn't know enough, etc. Now, more than a year on, I feel like I can cautiously handle most of the stuff that happens at our shop -- now, am I ready for an Emory, Duke, MCV, Johns Hopkins ICU? Of course not, if I went to that level of criticality, I'd feel like a newbie all over again.

But that's what's great about nursing. You can always reinvent yourself by doing something different. I recommend the ICU Book, and the CCRN study guide -- they help fill in the blanks for the things you don't see all the time. We won't have an A line for 4 weeks, and then we'll have half the people in the unit on them (I'm in a small rural ICU). It's good to have as a resource in the locker for when weird stuff hits the door.

Give yourself time. I also started in the unit as a new grad and it takes time to feel comfortable. Once you've been exposed to more patients and illnesses you will have a frame of reference when caring for patients. You will recognize the patterns and symptoms of the critically ill. Give yourself time, I've been at it over 7 yrs now and I still learn something new every day.

I served 12 years in CVICU.

No, it does not get better, but you do.

Hang in there, it can be pure hell at times, but you can do it!

Thanks all! I'm officially off orientation. I get butterflies almost every time I go in (especially after a series of days off). But, I'm learning to breathe and to also use all my resources (more seasoned nurses). If I can just get through the first year mark, I'll feel so much better. Can't wait to see myself then! :)

Give it a good six months. I felt like I made so many errors when I started. The patient deteriorated, and it was all my fault? Of course not, but I could not see why. I was so tired and stressed, the whole anatomy and physiology of intensive care was beyond me.

But after a while it did make sense. It did 'click' and I got good feedback from my mentor. It did get better. But the first few months were really tough, and I didn't think I was any good at all.

12 years later, still in ICU, clinical nurse specialist. Some days it is crap, other days I love it. :)

you chose to start nursing in a difficult job. it will get better -- honestly it will. but the first year of nursing is overwhelming, scarey and sometimes just downright sucks. don't ever stop learning . . . you don't know everything now, and you never will. i've been a nurse for a good long time, and i still learn something new every day.

There use to be a time in nursing where common sense prevailed. New grads had to do 1-2 years on the floor to get comfortable in their new role, become more organized, etc. . icu was a natural progression. unfortunately, many new grads are in icu 's and are fish out of water, placing a further strain on the exper. rn's, and placing patients at risk. Horror storys galore. be careful.