PICU vs ICU

[cag01]

Hello everyone!

I am currently a NICU nurse and have been so for about 7 months. This was not my first choice of unit but the other units I was eager to work in were not hiring at the time or only taking experienced RN's. Through these past months I have not been happy in the unit I am at. It's not just the nursing work it self I am not enjoying but the people that are working there (very immature and tense between co-workers) and some of the policies that are on being newly enforced seem to be taking away from our nursing judgment, skills, and independedence. I am not meaning to demean NICU, I must say it is a tough place to work at where you must be on your toes and be extra cautious about anything you do. There are definitely great nurses out there who are helping these little ones survive and have a good life to look forward to. This type of work is not for everyone and I believe in my case its best if I change environments. I think I am not going to grow as a nurse and learn to be the best I can be if I am not enjoying what I am doing. I am currently planning to pursue CRNA school maybe even medical school. This next semester I am enrolled in school so take some prerequisites that I am missing and am starting to study for the GRE. I unfortunately signed a 2 year contract at the hospital I am currently at and will have to pay back 8800 if I leave the hospital. I have been offered a full time position in ICU at another local hospital and at PCIU at the same hospital where I currently work at. If I stay at PICU I will not be breaking the contract and will be trained and oriented to the unit. The director of this unit was my mentor during orientation and we built a bond and is aware of my situation which is why I am probably having this oppurtunity offered by her now that she is losing a senior nurse. Although I am interested in PICU and believe I will enjoy working with a new set of people I think I am torn between this offer and the one at ICU. This PICU is generally slow right now max of 7 patients or so and their usual patient is either CP or seizures, and the hospital where the ICU is at has recently been changed to a level 2 trauma and is usually working 14 nurses meaning they usually have a good census. When I was oriented the director was very nice and seemed very eager to bring me on board and train me. He did not at all seem concerned about my nursing work experience I had, which was just NICU. I was peer interviewed by 5 other nursing staff and it went great! They all seem to love where they work and seem very knowledgeable about what they do. I honestly would chose ICU with out a doubt if I wasnt going to need to pay back this money and if I didnt have a good relationship with the staff in PICU. Not to mention I feel I will learn more and better prepare my self for which ever program I am accepted to. I need to respond to both offers by monday can anyone help me? Or give advice on what I should do? Thanks guys!!:)