Possibly switching from tele to ICU and second guessing myself

[Camjayjayy, BSN, RN]

soo basically I've started on my first nursing job on a medicine/ tele unit for 1 year and 3 months now. Honestly it was a lil rough at first like anyone else starting off new but I pretty much got the flow of things 6-8 months in.  However right now I'm lowkey kinda just over my floor. The people I work with are great but just more often dealing with 5-6 pts. I've been better with time management but I feel like I'm just rushing through trying to get by the shift rather than doing nursing care which kinds sucks since it can be hard to build rapport with pts.

There's a Cardio surgical ICU position open up at my hospital that I applied for. I'm supposed to talk to a recruiter soon and I noticed my application is under review with the hiring manager. I lowkey doubt I'll get it. But if I do I'm wondering if im jumping too soon? Cause there are days I feel like I still don't know what I'm doing when something new happens making me feel incompetent. And ironically enough I'm like the top 4 senior nurse as the rest are new grads so I'm often in charge with an assignment if there's no night ANM and end up calling elsewhere for guidance if truly needed.

 I really do love cardio in general and want to work outpatient cardiology office. However I was told  with critical care experience can also be a good thing to have on my back too.

Essentially I'm just guessing myself and wondering if I should still do another year or so before venturing out for more opportunities? Or just take the offer now rather than just waiting around (sorry for rambling I can never get to the point LMAO) 

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

What kind of patients are on your unit? Any vents or cardiac drips? How long would the ICU orientation be?

Why not go for the outpatient job now?

 

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I would go ahead and interview for the ICU job. You'll get a feel for what the position is, and what kind of orientation and schedule is offered. This is a chance to expand your skill set and knowledge. 

 You may not be offered the position, or you may not choose to take it. But you'll still have the experience of interviewing. 

In my area, office RNs do primarily phone triage, so wouldn't necessarily build much patient rapport there. It's also a big cut in pay, if you have any loans to pay off.