CarboneF11

Well I'm in an ICU now, I've been there for 6 months, and don't see myself there long term. I actually got this idea after talking with a few firefighters from my area who are RN's as well. I guess they work 8-9 days a month at the firehouse, granted they are there 24 hours a day, but they still have plenty of time for some extra 12 hour shifts a month working as a nurse PRN.

Hello, I was thinking about going this route, and was wondering if anyone on this forum has done the same. I guess I need to take a basic EMT class first, then I can take an RN to Paramedic bridge program. I was figuring on working as a firefighter/paramedic, and doing nursing PRN on the side to supplement my income. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but if someone could point me in the right direction, or give me any info, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all those replies! It really helped sort things out for me. When I graduated from school I was leaning hard for trying to get into the OR, but I always had CRNA in the back of my mind, and alot of my instructors told me that if I went straight to the OR I would never be that marketable because I would lose my regular "nursing skills". In the end I decided on the ICU, but like I said earlier not sure if I made the right decision. I'm just going to take it one day at a time for now and try to figure out what I really want to do over the next few weeks. If I decide it's no longer for me, I'll probably arrange for a meeting with my manager.

Hello, I was hired into a SICU about 6 months ago just coming out of school. I made it through orientation just fine, and have gotten good feedback from others in the unit on my performance thus far. However, I'm starting to think the ICU is not for me. I think its the constant/extreme morbidity of the patients and the stress level that has gotten to me. I'm just wondering the best way to handle this situation. Should I go to my manager and tell her how I feel, or just start looking for a new unit/hospital to move to in another area? I was thinking a regular floor or something like OR.