Newbie

[ADDnurse]

Hi! I'm addnurse,I've been a RN for 13 years,but always scared of working where I always wanted to;the CCU.Can anyone give me some direction;there's a local hospital William Beaumont in Royal Oak,MI that is offering internships in January.I am 52 years old,an ADN with ADHD and a slight physical handicap,but I have finally reached the point where darnit I'm gonna have the guts to do this and be good at it!I'd like a job description,some advice and maybe even encouragement from you pros;I refuse to continue believing that all nurses 'eat their young'.I'd appreciate any help;thank you! addnurse

[nynurse!]

where is your experience?

i went right into ccu from school so my advice is to try it...you can always transfer out if it's not for you

ccu is intense,scary, difficult...very sick pts...but usually interesting

if you are up for a challenge and take your work seriously then go for it

[RTQ3444]

I just spent 6 months in ICU and loved it. I am 53yrs old with an ADN degree. The hospital had a fantastic clinical educator who gave me 6 weeks or orientation and classes. The best tip I can give you is to ask to be put with ONE preceptor and work her/his schedule. Because of summer vacations I had about a dozen different preceptors and so no one felt comfortable showing me what I didn't know yet because they didn't know me that well. I never felt "close" to anyone. Unforturnately, some nurses do still eat their young. It happened to me. It seems like "new grads" are accepted with open arms and are nurtured and coddled until they are on their own. But us old nurses don't get any breaks. It's sink or swim.