T14WFLY

Thanks for sharing. I know people like this too! I always go out of my way to make sure my rooms are stocked and my patients are clean and well taken care of, but it never fails that I follow the lazy people. Very frustrating!

Thanks for all the tips! I got it!!!!

ER can be stressful because you never know what you're going to get. You take care of multiple patients throughout the day ranging from minor to critical. One minute you can be bored bandaging up cuts and scrapes and the next minute a full arrest rolls in followed by an overdose and an MI! Prioritization and time management are essential. You can't spend 10 minutes doing one task. You have to be quick and effective. ICU you spend more time getting to know your patients. You treat the entire person, not just the Main problem. However, you can have one very sick patient that is so sick that you can't leave their side for 2 minutes to pee because you are so busy titrating drips and hanging electrolyte replacement and blood products. Med/Surg-Tele etc...You can have 4-8 patients ranging from an observation to a borderline ICU patient. Most of them have multi-pharmacy lists of meds and some sort of pain or nausea requiring PRN meds at least Q 2 hours. You go from patient to patient doing assessments, charting assessments, ADL tasks, accu-checks etc... Nursing can be stressful no matter where you work. It is a different kind of stress no matter where you work and you just have to find what suits you. Hope this helps.

I appreciate your advice. You had some great tips. Now to conquer those behavior based interview questions. There is no way to prepare for that. ***Sigh***

There was a new guy who started a couple of months ago and the girl who precepted him would always say things like "oh God, he's here today", "He doesn't know anything" "Why do they always give me the idiots to train". Now that he's off orientation, she acts like she is his best friend and he even hangs out with her group of friends. I haven't even been there a year yet, but this is what I have seen. I don't trust any of the people I work with and I don't even attempt to make friends with anyone, because I can't trust them. Everyday, they are talking about someone different and then the following day, they will gossip with the person they were previously talking about and talk about someone new. I'm busy doing my work and there will be a group of them in the nursing station gossiping and being loud enough to hear from down the hall. One day a family member even came out and asked them to be quiet because her mom was trying to sleep. I work night shift, so they are able to get away with a lot. A lot of them are younger. I'm only 30, I'm not VERY old, but maybe they are just still immature. I just dread going to work. I do my job and go home. I love what I do, but I can't stand the people I work with. They are so disrespectful. This thread was in attempt to remind me that people like this are everywhere and I shouldn't quit my job just because of them. I'll stick it out until my dream job opens up.

I'm just trying to get people to give examples of how we all go through it. I'm not celebrating it! If we can't brush them off or laugh about it then the Mean Girls win. No offense intended at all by this thread.

JUST FOR FUN!!!! I just watched the movie MEAN GIRLS and it reminded me of some of my co-workers. Does anyone have any MEAN GIRLS (or Guys) stories to tell about your workplace??????? And just when we all thought high school was over.... we grow up and get a job and start all over again:clown:

Wow! 61 views and no reply. Ouch! A little advice would be appreciated from some of the experienced flight nurses/medics out there.

What makes you stand out during that intense flight nursing interview from all of the other Type A, over-achieving adrenaline junkies? I've got all of the requirements, but how do I shine apart from the rest of them?

She is a prime candidate for a pulmonary embolus. Sounds like you did everything right on your part.

"ICU nurses have a difficult time with the chaos of the ED and don't like that there is so much movement of the patient from one place to another, like wise there are the true adrenaline junkies of the ED that cannot appreiciate the necessity of the preciseness of the ICU. ED nurses have much higher incidence of ADHD. It is like apple and oranges while both fruits they are completely different. While ICU and ED are both critical care areas they are completely different specialities, appreciate now what it feels to be on the other side. " I can definately see what you are saying here. I may be one of those adrenaline junkies. However, I am not giving up yet. I have much more to learn first.

I've been a nurse for 7 years (five in ER) and I just switched to ICU and they are giving me 8-12 weeks of orientation. I am also doing ECCO modules. It takes a seasoned nurse time to learn all of the drips and the bells and whistles of ICU. Be patient with yourself and give yourself some credit for having the guts to start out somewhere like ICU.

Thanks for your honesty. I can see what your saying. My first week I did a lot of standing and sitting. In the ER, I was on the move constantly. It's like going from ADHD world to OCD world. I'm still trying to get more detail oriented. It's a lot to get used to. I am learning a lot and I think it will be good for me. I still work ER relief, so I picked up a shift the other day to keep up on my skills. I haven't started a single IV in ICU. Everyone has PICCS or Central lines. I miss IV's. I am going to stick it out in ICU and hopefully I can use the best of both specialties to help shape me into a better nurse. Hopefully, I can move on to flight nursing someday and then I can apply what I've learned in both areas. Good luck to you and thanks for your input.

Thanks for your input!

I may go for CCRN. Probably not for another year or so though;)