New RN starting on Neuro ICU

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Hi to my fellow Neuro ICU nurses! :nurse:

I graduated with honors from nursing school in August, passed my boards with 95 questions in September, and the following week attained a job in Baltimore at an awesome hospital in their Neuro ICU. Needless to say, I'm ECSTATIC! :D I completed my senior practicum on a Neurosciences CCU and was confidently able to take care of patients relatively independently by the end of my 100 hour experience. That all being said, it has been since the beginning of August that I was on the Neuro CCU for my practicum, and my hospital orientation doesn't begin until the first week of November. We have several weeks of ICU classroom orientation before we are even placed on the unit with a preceptor, so I won't be taking care of patients again until the last week of November/first week of December. The gap in patient care time is a little scary to me :eek: - any Neuro ICU nurses who can offer ANY amount of advice on how to get back into the swing of things would be greatly appreciated! :bow:

Thanks!!

- Nervous New Neuro Nurse :grn:

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.

I started in the neuro ICU in August. The biggest advice I can give you is set mini goals. For example I try to have at least one assessment documented in the computer before 1200. Of course I do them at 0700, but between hourly I&O's, rounds, and med administration, things can get piled on. One nurse told me to always plans as if an emergency is going to happen.

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testing

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