T6B17159

As an ICU nurse, I am compelled to respond to your posting. Throughout nursing school, many students have an idea of what they think they would like to do. I know I did. But the realities of working as nurse are far different from the structured days of schooling. And it doesn't matter what area of nursing you are in......including the ICU. I worked in Med/Surg, Telemetry and did two years of travel nursing. The entire time, I wanted to get into an ICU. I stopped traveling and took advantage of a critical care training class at a local hospital. For 14 months I dealt with being given patients like ETOH withdrawal, Psych and Tele overflow, while the more experienced ICU nurses were given the new open hearts and critically ill patients that would have provided great learning experiences. I finally left, and have been doing ICU float pool. Do I get more interesting patients to learn from? NO. I get the "insignificant" patients that no one else wants (as referenced above). Consequently, I am seeking training in something outside the ICU. My points are these.....make sure you understand what the ICU is all about. That goes for any area of nursing. Do your research, talk with people in the field. No one, experienced or new grad, can possibly know what a job will be like without an intimate knowledge of that area. However, a little effort now can pay off big time in the long run. I am sure you have your reasons for wanting an ICU environment so badly. Some people do percieve an elevated status or prestige associated with this unit. Some think that having a maximum of two patients is much better than five or six on a M/S floor. Whatever your reasons, if this is truly something you want, you will find a way to make it work. Envy is a waste of time and energy. Any experiences you have in other areas will only serve to help you in the ICU. In closing......be careful what you ask for. You just might get it. Good luck to you.

That is good to know. I have encountered so much lateral hostility between nurses in every area I have worked. Thanks for a bright spot!

MrNurseOR, I would like to hear from you. I have a terrible feeling that my upcoming phone interview for an OR internship is with this facility. I would be happy to give you my private email if you do not feel comfortable stating it in this forum. Please let me know. Thank you, you may be preventing this from happening to me!

This is a very disturbing post to say the least. It is particularly so because I have a telephone interview scheduled next Tuesday for an OR internship that could very well be this facility. I hope that the original poster will join in. I would hate to make such a huge decision (I live out West) to uproot and go to a situation like this. I would love to learn OR (correctly) and not deal with constant politics. I have 5 years of M/S, Telemetry, PCU and ICU experience, along with travel nursing. Can anyone give me ideas on where the best OR internships are? I applied to one at Baylor, but did not get in. I would appreciate any help you can give me. I am beginning to become very disillusioned with nursing in general due to these types of situations. Thank you!