Neuro experience transferrable to other ICUs?

[zhazha123]

I have worked in a Neuro ICU over a year now at a major academic medical center and I'm interested in travel nursing. Obviously my preference would be to work in a Neuro ICU but recruiters have presented me with opportunities in general ICU's at smaller hospitals. Has anyone made a transition like this? Will I be able to safely practice in a general ICU?

[Crawford-RN]

It depends on the kind of hospital you worked at while in Neuro. How many other problems did they have? Did you work at a level 1 trauma center with possibly other kinds of patients? I would also highly recommend getting your CCRN. It will look great on your resume as well as refresh you in other areas besides neuro.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

Yes you can successfully change to another ICU. I have had coworkers change from neuro ICU to NICU, to CVICU, MICU.

[TravelerLisa]

I agree with both the other postings. Any specialty certification you can get helps with skill set and reinforces education. I worked in a level 1 university nsicu transferred to smaller hospital still a level 1 but more general ICU pts. It was a nice change neuro patients are labor intensive and lay a good fundamental. 😉

[OllieW, DNP, PhD, NP]

In the past I worked float pool between all the ICUs and although Neuro is a bit different (my least favorite) you still understand the basics of hemodynamics, critical lab values, AMS and you area's typical meds. Some areas may be a bit trickier but as a traveler you should not see fresh CABGs, fresh Transplants, etc... I traveled for a few years as well and the biggest adjustment is getting use to a new charting system, figuring out where supplies are and discovering which physicians were buttheads! Plus, if you are looking at smaller facilities a lot of their acuity is less than you would find at a trauma/transplant center. Another huge difference is going from a teaching hospital to a non-teaching hospital to me it was night and day.