OR nurse to the ICU??

[JoeTheRN]

So I have worked in the OR for about 8 years... I had a lot of OR experience as a tech prior to nursing school, so they hired me in as a new grad so it's the only nursing experience I have. Over the last few months I have been tossing around the idea of going the CRNA route. I work with CRNAs and they are all very supportive (more like telling me to stop wasting my time in the OR), my anesthesiologists included. They have all told me I have the personality and the ability to do it, however, I lack ICU experience... I graduated nursing school with a 3.7 so I feel like my grades are very competitive. What kind of barriers am I looking at being an OR nurse trying to get into an ICU? I feel like I would be competing with new grads for positions since I lack floor experience, but I have excellent references to back up my work ethic/skills in the OR and I am 100% ready to learn (although very nervous)... Also, if I want to go the CRNA route, is this something an ICU manager would look down upon if I were interested in trying to get an ICU position? Thank you guys for your help!

[NPOaftermidnight, MSN, RN, NP]

I would think you'd absolutely have an advantage over new grads getting into the ICU. Also I don't think it would be necessary to even mention that you want to be in the ICU in order to get your CRNA. Maybe mention that you plan on going back to school at some point, but I don't think you need to be too specific. Plus, your plans might change so there's no need to disclose everything.

[detroitdano]

Go for it! OR experience will help you out in many areas. Anyone that says you need to learn manage patients on the general floors first can eat dirt.

I would not, however, mention your desire to go to CRNA school. To some managers it's a giant red flag, others don't care. Better to play it safe and just say you're looking for a change of pace and all of your coworkers keep telling you that you'd do great in the ICU; list reasons why you want to be there versus OR. Maybe a new challenge, wanting to get some bedside experience, etc. A recommendation letter from your direct supervisor is usually a requirement for school though, so if they do outright ask you if you plan on going back to school when you're interviewing, use your judgment on answering that one. My manager had no issue writing letters as long as you had been there at least a year (so two years of work before you leave for school).

A 3.7 from your first degree really means nothing, just an FYI. Schools will be concerned with your core science grades; chemistry, biology, A&P, etc. Having good marks in pathophysiology and pharmacology looks good too as CRNA school is so heavily focused on both. Consider taking classes over again if you had anything besides an A in them. B+ or B is usually the bare minimum, but having A's looks really good for you.

Also, if it's been a good length of time since you were in school, you might end up needing to retake courses. Not sure how many of your 8 years in the OR were after graduation as you didn't specify. I know some schools really only want you to show initiative and take 1 or 2 classes over again and achieve high marks, others have no leniency and expect all classes to have been taken within a certain time period. Look at some programs you're interested in and see what it is you'd need to do as far as retaking classes go, take those while you're working in the ICU and milk that tuition reimbursement for all it's worth!

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

There are a couple of OR nurses that were hired with me into a MICU. They have a pretty big learning curve to overcome (their words, not mine), but I think they are doing a fantastic job. What they say the most often is they wish they remembered more medications from nursing school. That seems to be one of the biggest issues is that they haven't given a wide variety of meds in a really long time, so it takes a while for them to look up everything the patient is on before they give it. If you think this might be true for you, picking up a pharmacology book and reading through it before you start in the ICU might be beneficial, especially cardiac meds and critical drips.