CCURN87

Hi all, I'm thinking about leaving the current job that I'm at. I'm a new grad and I haven't made a year in the ICU that I work in, but I'm just not happy at this hospital anymore. Could I apply to another ICU at a different hospital or do I need to start from scratch again? My only concern about going to another hospital is that, although I do now have some "experience", I don't want to get to a new hospital and deal with ICU patients I haven't dealt with before. Most of the really sick patients are given to the more seasoned nurses. I have had some sick patients before, but I would hate to get to this hospital and feel out of place because I lack experience with a certain kind of patient. Any suggestions as to what I should do?

Yea, this is my first job as an RN. I know some people can pass with flying colors inthe ICU starting out and some ppl need sometime and maybe need to start on the floor. I'm not afraid to admit if I am having difficulty. I'm not going to give up on being a CRNA just yet, I'm still pretty young and got room to grow to get my critical thinking skills up. I was pretty emotional when I wrote the original post, but after having some time to think about it, i think this may end up being better for me in the end. I'm not giving up on my dream just yet!

Hello everyone, I currently work in an MICU with the goal of becoming a CRNA. I have worked here for 8 months now, however, I have run into a few bumps in the road. I've made a few mistakes now and it seems as though everyone on my unit has lost trust in me and I think they are potentially going to send me to the floor. I am absolutely freaking out because I feel like my dream is slipping away! I work hard and this is something that I really want to do, but right now I'm lost as to what I should do. I'm not opposed to going to the floor, but I wonder if this will hurt my chances of getting back into ICU (at this particular facility) in the future and completing my experience needed for CRNA school? Should I go to another hospital in their ICU when I feel that I am ready? Has anyone ever run into a detour/bump like this? I really need some advice because I'm not sure what I should do right now.

Hi all!! I'm very interested in applying to LSU for their CRNA program. I was wondering if anyone knew what it is like? What's a typical day like for you? How are your grades while in school? Looking for any and all information is welcomed!!

Hi all! So I am facing a little dilemma as to when I should go into CRNA school. I live in TX so my optimal choices are to stay in the south (preferably in TX or Louisiana - i have relatives in or nearby these states). I managed to land my first job out of nursing school in an MICU in a pretty large, but not a teaching hospital. I've been working here for almost 6 months. My initial goal was to go into CRNA school for August 2010 hopefully. So that would give me about 1 year and 8 months of experience. But as I look at all the requirements, prerequisites, and COST to go to the schools I want to, I find that it's going to be very challenging to get everything done before application deadlines. I feel like if I applied for next year, I would only be really happy with one application versus the many others that i had sent out. And I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket. So I am thinking maybe apply for August 2011. HOWEVER, my dad has this plan for me to go for next year, but it seems impossible because there's no way i can raise at least $30K in that amount of time, not to mention I'd be rushing on trying to take my GRE, get my CCRN, follow a CRNA, and get my managers to write me a letter of recommendation. I don't know if I'd be pleased as a manager to write a letter of recommendation for someone who hasn't even been in the MICU for a year yet! I'm really young too instead of going into CRNA school at 23, I'd be going in at 24...........which is still very young IMO (I'm 22 right now). What do y'all think?

Hi there! I'm a very recent new grad and i work in a MICU. I am only 4 months into working and i've been off orientation close to a month now. The first 2 weeks of being "off orientation" i only had one patient or i had another nurse who also had my patients but i was still doing all the work ( i don't mind i think it helps my learning). Nursing has so much paperwork involved in it though as I've recently realized. I had my second admission off orientation the other night, but i still got out late that morning (I work night shift). However, I guess my getting out late was due to the condition of my patients b/c i had to clean my admit 4 times during the shift and i helped clean him up again at the beginning of the day shift. My other patient was pretty stable, but needy and kept taking off his pulse ox and it was impossible for me to get a good reading after he took it off. Anyways, there so much stuff that has to go into a new patients chart, and it's so easy for me to forget what i need to do, especially when i'm busy trying to do things for my patient. I just fear that if something were to happen down the line and (God forbid) one of my patients decided to sue the hospital, that i could get in trouble b/c of not having everything in the chart. Has anyone else ever felt like this when they were a new grad? I mean feeling like your always forgetting things to document or put in the chart? Any words of encouragement or insight would be greatly appreciated.

thanks everyone for your information and support! Noise during the day doesn't bother me, i can sleep through a hurricane if you let me, so i don't think sleeping during the day will be a big problem. But as much as I would like to move out, i'm trying to save for grad school. I was going to rely on loans, but with the way the economy is going, i'm trying to save becuase there may not be loans left for when i want to go to school....yikes!

Babylady - that is correct as well, those with seniority have the option to move to days. caliotter3 - yea, i couldn't have my mom drive me to work lol, I'd have no way back home after i got off. I do also think i would be much safer at work at night than during the days as well....at least my parents will know that i'm safe. I also already call them to let them kknow when i got there/when i'm coming back home

i think her concern is me being on an opposite schedule as everyone else. It's only me, her, and my dad in a household right now. i have a younger sister who's away at college, so i think the focus is on me right now. But i figure i'm only working nights 3 days a week, it shouldn't be so bad especially if I do 3 days in a row. I'll be leaving home when the sun is still up and I'll be coming back home when the sun is up (thanks to daylight savings time), so it's not like i'll be walking in the dark from the parking lot.

Hi! I am a new graduate in a MICU at my hospital. I signed up for nights becuase that was the only time available i could have for ICU, I don't mind though because I'm a night owl and I think it will faciliate my learning better since things maybe slower. My mother is concerned with me working at night though (I'm only 21, but I live at home b/c I'm trying to save for grad school). Right now I'm still on days because I'm still in orientation, but once I'm off I'll be on nights. She was fine with it, but now I think she's coming to the realization that my orientation will be ending soon and she wants me to stay on days. I can't seem to shake this thought from her to try to convince me to go to the day shift. Can anyone give me any advice to make my mom feel more comfortable about going to nights?

Hi! I'm very interested in becoming a CRNA and I was wondering if my experience would measure up? I just started as a new grad in a teaching hospital in their MICU. Most of their patients are vented with drips with Diprivan, Dopamine, Primacor, Neo, etc running. I haven't had RN experience with these yet, but they mentioned that they on occasion get hypothermia patients, IABP's and patient's with CVP and a-lines. I'm just wondering if this would be a sufficient ICU to be in? Looking forward to y'alls opinions!!

I had a friend tell me that her interview was cancelled, as were others. So they are notgoing to have a GN program, period??? What about those that already had an interview?

Hi all you cardiac nurses! I am curious as to what exact unit you work on in the hospitals you are at. I am very interested in becoming a cardiac nurse and eventually want to go into CRNA school. I'm currently working in a CICU as an extern/intern at a large teaching hospital, and I must say that i am learning quite alot and it's only been my 3rd day. What type of patients do you have there? How would you describe the acuity level? How many beds are on the unit? If you could also share one of your most interesting, powerful, inspiring stories while you worked as a cardiac nurse that would be great!

Hi everyone! I'm curious, is anyone applying to any externships for the summer or for a year round rotation? If so.... Which one(s) are you interested in and why? Which one(s) have you applied to? Have you gotten accepted into any programs? What specialty/area are you interested in working in? How long is the program? What do you think you'll get out of the program? I'll start by answering my own questions: Which one(s) are you interested in and why? I was really interested in MD Anderson Cancer Center and St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital. I had a previous clinical rotation at MD Anderson and really enjoyed it. I've never been to St. Lukes but i heard that they have an amazing heart center (#7 in the U.S. I think) and i thought that would be something that i could really get an experience out of. Which one(s) have you applied to? I live in Houston (go to Texas Woman's) so I applied to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, and Michael E. Debakey Veteran's Affairs. Have you gotten accepted into any programs? I got accepted into 2/3. I did not get into MD Anderson. I got accepted into St. Lukes and the VA hospital. I chose St. Lukes. What specialty/area are you interested in working in? At St. Lukes we will be in one area for 4 weeks and another area for 4 weeks. I chose a general med-surg unit and an ICU (i'm not very picky with which one, but i have an interest in SICU, Cardiovascular recovery, Coronary Care Unit, NeuroICU, and Transplant) How long is the program? over here it's 9 weeks during the summer, but i think if you do very well they may extend the externship and offer you a PCA position until you graduate and then you can see about becoming a full fledged RN on their units. What do you think you'll get out of the program? I think i will get a feel of what it's like to work like a real nurse (working 3 days a week, with 12 hour shifts). I'll get the opportunity to enhance my nursing skills and learn more. Become comfortable working in an Intensive care unit. A very good learning experience. I think it'll also be alot of fun! Anybody else?