KatieRN29

Yes I have thought about both. It would be hard for me to take a prn job because I work mon-fri along with taking call on certain weekdays and some weekends. If I leave PACU then I would need to just go full time in ICU because theres no way I could do both. If I could take my PACU team to ICU with me then I know without a doubt that I would like it

I do plan to finish my BSN while working in PACU before making any move. If PACU experience is accepted towards CCRN then I would try to obtain that as well. I feel like alot of what made me nervous in ICU to start with was I constantly was on edge because I was scared for someone to code, and I also felt incompetent with sick patients that had alot going on. I take care of ICU patients in PACU now and it doesnt bother me so that makes me feel like I could go back to ICU and succeed this time. I feel like I really didn't give ICU a chance before I jumped ship so I dont really know if I would like it or not but I do know that I want to be a CRNA and if I'm going to do that then I need atleast one year on ICU experience. I guess if I still dont like it then it will be a sacrifice for something that I really want.

Hello everyone, I want to start this by asking for any advice or insight if anyone has been in the same situation. It would be greatly appreciated. Now to my story....... I graduated two years ago with my asn, I was 21 at the time and enjoyed nursing school very much, graduated top of my class and had aspirations of going to CRNA school, so, I accepted a job at a large hospital in the CICU. I also enrolled back into school less than a month after graduating nursing school because there were several pre reqs courses that I needed to take before I could start my BSN. I enrolled in 4 courses for that semester (all online) and started in the CICU. The hospital was 60 miles one way from where I live but I was willing to sacrifice the drive to obtain the experience in hopes of going to CRNA school. Shortly after I started I was to a point of crying before work, could not sleep the night before a shift, had no appetite and started feeling depressed. I attributed it being exhausted from driving 120 miles everytime I had to go to work, taking so many courses at once online while trying to learn the role of being a nurse, along with attending classes mandatory for the CICU (CRRT,IABP, etc). So, I applied for another ICU position at my local hospital (small rural hospital) and got the job, started and even though I felt more rested, I was still doing the same thing, crying before work, nervous at work, no appetite. After talking with my family, I decided that maybe the ICU isn't for me and a position became avalible in PACU and I applied and started.... this all happened in the course of 6 months..... now after 1 1/2 years of being in PACU, I love my job and I love the people that I work with. I feel comfortable at work and am happy. However, I now realize that I put to much on my plate at the beginning of my nursing career and that was more than likely they reason I didn't succeed in the ICU at first. I was very ashamed of myself because I failed at it. I still very much want to become a CRNA, especially now that I have been able to work around and see first hand of what that job entails. Recently, I have been contemplating giving ICU another shot with the intent of eventually applying to CRNA school. But, I am scared to leave my current job in PACU not knowing if I will actually like being full time in ICU. I just dont know how to approach this situation because I do not want to get myself in the same position that I did when I first graduated plus if I leave PACU, the turnover is so low that I would not be able to easily get my position back. Has anyone gone thru a similar situation? Any advice on how to approach this?