MICU to SICU

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Ok guys...i just finished one year of MICU in a very laid back ICU. It was never as challenging as I am starting SICU in a very busy NYC hospital. I am not a new nurse, i have 2 years telemetry and 1 year float experience on CT stepdown and cardiac floors at a busy hospital prior to my ICU experience. I also recently got my CCRN certification. So my question is that how bad is SICU? What should I expect in SICU? I know the surgery residents can get mean sometimes...but i can handle that LOL.

thanks,

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Lots of drains! Lots of wounds and dressings. Usually very fast paced with unreal sick patients. Surgical ICUs still tend to use a lot of PA Caths (especially if it's a SICU that accepts trauma patients as well). You will drown your patients in fluids before starting pressors....almost literally drown them. A lot of post-op resp failure/ARDS/ALI and some really really nasty severe sepsis and septic shock. You'll have post-op MIs to deal with.

Surgical ICU is super fun! You'll learn how to manipulate the surgery residents to get what you need for your patients. Generally it means acting just like they do but once they get to really know you....Give me a surgeon any day over a medicine team.

Good luck!

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Specializes in adult ICU.

Agree with above poster on most everything.

I would die in our MICU. DTs, GI bleeds, prolonged ventilation for respiratory failure....no thanks.

I would say that the SICU is generally higher acuity than MICU as far as cares, especially if your SICU takes CVICU patients -- but the patients actually GET BETTER. That is the kicker for me. You recover them for a day or two and (mostly) get them out the door. There are a few, of course, that do poorly, but most do well. There are way less deaths and frequent flyers than in MICU. Surgeons are also very BS free doctors -- they aren't going to sit around and ponder every rare diagnosis that is a potential before making a decision -- they just do it, which I find a lot easier to deal with.

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thanks guys...i actually started working on surgical icu...and love it already...no BS...straight to the point...love the surgery residents...they are straight to the point...1+1 means 2 for the first time...lol

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