MICU vs SICU

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I was currently offered a training position at Cedars-Sinai Hospital at the MICU/RICU and SICU department. They were asking about my preference. I came from a Med-Surg/Tele floor and I was wondering which unit is harder MICU or SICU? Where can I learn more and have the best nursing experience?

I really don't know if one is "better" over the other, to be honest, because they are both so different! I have only floated to our SICU, but my home unit is a MICU, so I can tell you a bit about that... In MICU, we deal with a lot of chronic illness, and everyone is right who says that our patients typically stay a long time - that is, unless they die or are simply having an acute health problem but are healthy at baseline. We have an extremely diverse pt population with a lot of complex problems. We have a lot of really, really, really sick patients. A lot of... gross things... a lot of infection and enhanced precautions. A lot of gtts (pressors, paralytics, sedation, etc).

I didn't see anyone else mention this, so idk if it is common - but our MICU (2x the # of beds of the other units) is the overflow for all of the other units (CICU, NSICU, TICU, SICU, and BICU). We get a lot of the mid-level ICU pts of all types and our nurses are more highly trained because of that (we do extra cardiac, neuro, and trauma training in addition to our own yearly stuff). We also get transfer patients from other ICUs that develop acute medical problems (so sepsis following a surgical procedure, and most s/p code patients). If there is an RRT or a code on the floor, the patient nearly always comes to the MICU (unless it is an obvious cardiac issue or something like that). We also staff the PFT lab when they're short, work as additional resource nurses (starting IVs, transferring pts, etc), and help staff the ED when those areas have short-term needs! If your facility is similar, it may be something that could sway your decision. I am all about the extra training and experience!

I have floated to all of the ICUs, though, and I really love them all for how different they are! My dream job would be to be a permanent ICU float. :)

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