Looking to change from Med Surg to ICU...any advice?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 9, 2018

I've been working on the same med surg/oncology floor for almost 10 years, since graduating from nursing school. We are going to be moving in a couple of months and I need to start looking for jobs. ICU is something I've always wanted to do, and I feel like now is the perfect opportunity to make the change in my career. However, I am worried that my Med Surg experience won't be viewed as relevant/valuable even though I know I am a strong nurse. I guess my question is, has anyone been in a similar situation and were you able to transition right to ICU from Med Surg, or did you find that you were encouraged to do something else in between (like a step down unit) before applying for an ICU position? (I really just want to jump right in, but I'll do what I gotta do.)
Also I am curious how to make my resume paint the picture of someone who would be a worthwhile candidate to interview for an ICU job...I have my BSN and 2 board certifications (Med Surg and oncology) and am chemo certified, and I have my ACLS and NIH certification...I've also been a charge nurse for about 7 1/2 years as well as a preceptor. Looking at different sample resumes, some have a "skills" section but my skills are skills that pretty much any acute care nurse would have so I feel ridiculous listing them because they aren't specialized (the only specialized thing would be administering chemo). Some resumes also list subjective things such as "team player" or something about critical thinking or time management, but again I feel as though that's something you should have anyway so I feel a little silly putting it on a resume.
I'm sure I'm overthinking this as I tend to do with most things, but any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

I can't help you with the resume questions -- the last time I looked for a job was in 2003. But as an ICU nurse and preceptor, I can assure you that Med/Surg nurses are valuable as new hires into the ICU. For one thing, we don't have to teach you how to be a nurse -- you already have that. You've got the time management thing more or less down (priorities will change in ICU, but you already know that). You know how to talk to patients, physicians, physical therapy, etc. You may not know the "back channels" of a new hospital, but you're aware that they exist, know how they can benefit you and will be looking for them. You've learned about workplace relationships and you've already suffered through that horrible first year of nursing when you hate everything about your job and your life and want to quit. You've learned a lot about medications, disease processes, critical thinking . . . the list goes on and on.

Be prepared to explain in your interview why you'd like to move into ICU (DON'T say you thinking only having one or two patients will be easier, even if you actually believe that.)

We (and I include the preceptor group for my ICU) believe that we can teach you the skills you need to function in the ICU. We just want to hire someone we want to work with . . . good work ethic, good workplace relationships, someone who will show up when it snows or when the hurricane is about to make landfall. Med/Surg (and LTC nurses) already have a solid foundation we can build upon.