New peds Cardiac icu nurse... tips/advice??

[stacylethani, BSN]

I just started a new job on a peds cardiac icu unit. I've had two weeks on the floor so far (which I know isn't much). I'm feeling overwhelmed and kind of anxious. I've been a nurse for two years, coming from a peds cardiac medsurg unit, which helps a lot, however, all the ICU stuff is just kind of going over my head. There's so many lines/tubes/gtts and it's so hard keeping them all straight and remembering what they all do! CVPs, art lines, vents, CVLs, NIRS, oh my! For example, when my preceptor tells me to draw a blood gas, it takes me a minute to figure out which line/lumen I'm supposed to draw off of because there's just so many. I know that you'd draw gases off your art line and use that for bp's as well. I'm still taking care of the stable kids right now, so I want to get my understanding of these down before I move onto the sicker kids in my orientation.

Additionally, I think my preceptor is a really good nurse, but I'm second guessing whether it's the best fit. My first preceptor when I started as a nurse was very very by the book, policy driven, and pushed me like crazy, which helped me become a good nurse! This preceptor is a little more laid back, lets me do a lot more on my own, has never pulled up a policy for me, and I feel like I have to ask her to explain what she's doing in more detail sometimes. She's a great nurse and has been a nurse in the cvicu for over eight years, however, sometimes I wish she just talked me through more things and communicated more/watched me a little more. It's interesting because I was a preceptor at my previous job and there's just a lot of things I wish she would do for me as a preceptor that she isn't. I don't know how to approach that conversation though without making it awkward.

I just really want to be a good nurse on this unit and get myself in a good place before I end orientation in a few months! Any advice?