May be a silly question

[RNmilwife]

Is a Cardiac PCU the same as cardiac step down?

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

Cardiac units vary by facility in what acuity of patients they care for, what kind of monitoring and drips they do, and their staffing level. Some will pull sheaths, titrate multiple meds, etc.

In my hospital our unit was called a PCU, but the name has changed to CVU. We do not pull sheaths, and titrate Cardizem and Insulin gtts only. We will administer IV NTG, dopamine, dobutamine and milrinone with a set dose only. We take 4-5 patients with aides.

Our hospital just started a stepdown unit that is staffed 3:1. It is staffed with ICU RNs and takes mainly respiratory pts. needing cont. BiPAP and HF patients with Swans.

ICU is staffed 2:1, 1:1 or 1:2.

[ADeks]

When I did clinicals I was on a PCU which was EXACTLY like the floor I worked on Cardiac step-down. So it depends on the hospital and what they want to name it.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

Yup, my floor was a stepdown but will be a PCU when our ICU beds open (or maybe its the other way around?) who knows...

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

Mine seems to be a combo-

In one way it is ICU step-down - as in patients progress from ICU to us.

But we are also Intermediate Care - as in patients are too sick/unstable for the general medical floor, but not quite sick enough for ICU.

We titrate some drips, some drips only titrate down or not at all.