neuro ICU for a newbie

[stiglitz]

I might have an opportunity to work in a neuro ICU as a new grad. It is an urban hospital with high pt. turnover, and I was told that the pt/rn ratio can be 3:1 at times. Would accepting a position in this environment be a good course of action?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

That's where I started as a new grad!!! I went right into a neuro/trauma ICU & loved it enough to determine that critical care would be my nursing 'home'. Over the many years since, I worked in a wide variety of ICU settings and the only one that I didn't like was neo icu - due to ethical issues, not the work itself.

I think neuro is a great place to start because (for me) it was much more straightforward & easier to deal with than cardiac. Cardiac patients tend to have multi-system issues but my neuro patients were much younger & 'healthier' trauma victims with only the occasional CVA. I found neuro physiology easy to learn. It was physically more difficult due to patient immobility, so be smart with your back.

[pumpkinspice555]

How exciting! I'm a new grad myself, and I'm starting on Neuro Trauma Intermediate Care. If all goes well on this unit, in about a year, I"m thinking of trying to float into ICU trauma. I don't wanna jump right in to ICU, I kinda wanna get my feet wet first and then see where it goes (: But, I can definitely see a possibility of me being in Trauma ICU.

[stiglitz]

Wow...bad times. After my second interview, I was told that I needed one more interview (peer interview). I thought this meant that I was golden! Well, today, before that peer interview took place, I received an email saying that they would keep looking. What happened?