rcd9229

Group interview- know your clinical info well. Especially in the focus area you have been in...and common stuff such as CO numbers, drip info. And if they give you a scenario, just be able to give rational for your decision. Even if it's not the answer they seek, they may give it credit if there is a rational that makes sense. They know you won't know it all.

Just shut down the anxiety for now...find your facebook group, they likely have already started one. This will be your place to vent and stress and support each other. Because you will need it. Your worst class will likely be A&P. Find yourself a group of willing classmates and start a dictation group. I recommend on google drive. This will be your friend later on. Think outside of the box a bit for A&P....if something happens mostly here....mostly is not all...so there may be something else to consider. And the dictation group will cut down on time that you spend pouring through his lectures and let you focus on his wording. Just because he says something only once, does not mean it isn't important. He says things for a reason. Get the Guyton physiology review book and do the questions if he gives you some to practice with. Get the Mohrman cardiac book and the renal book....Both are small, have a lot of questions that will help you work things out when you get there. The pulmonary book by lange and the physiology review book will be pretty handy in 2nd semester. You will hate A&P immensely after your first test. Sorry about that. And you may wait a long while for your grades. Sorry about that too. But that wait may help you out. If you really do not understand something, go talk to him. Because you will appreciate him when the second semester rolls around. But this is the part that you need to understand, this is not about grades anymore. You will need the support of your classmates more than anything else in this program. Because when you flunk a test, and you likely will, someone in that class will be the one to pick you up, tell you its time to study (or grab a beer), explain a concept to you, help you with notes that you just spaced out on and you will do the same. Because it won't be about a grade anymore after first semester. It will be about the finish line. And you may be pushing and pulling each other to get there when you are just worn out. It is doable. Just put in the time. And when you get a few weeks into class, and kinda see who is the defacto leaders, and you know most faces, or they know most faces, go into your facebook, and make sure these are all your classmates. Sometimes the original admin is .....well I really do not know. But that FB page is actually really good for answering questions and getting ideas. And if you want to say some colorful words as a stress release, you just want to be sure that everyone who has access to that site, is in the same boat. Don't even add us upperclassmen. Feel free to message us, but make that page completely your own. You will be thankful to have it in a few months. :) hope that didn't add to your stress. It is very doable. And good lord...do not cheat. That is all I will say on that. And I have had way too little sleep and a lab in the morning. I apologize if I rambled a bit. Just remember, you can do this.

I've worked 2.5 years in Icu, but my gpa isn't awesome.

So how did interviews go?

I know most of the interviews were being done a few weeks ago...just because I kept tripping over people in the hall. but don't give up complete hope, they have been known to add late, I was one.

I think introverted or extroverted really isn't a big deal either way but you do have to be able to work as a team and speak up in Icu. There are tons of quirks in our units, loud quiet goofy....we have all types. The main thing is we all play well together. what's important is that you have some level of critical thinking, in your example, bp is your priority but you are stuck in a room. So if you can't get out of the room, ask for some help. Or sit your patient on the pot, tell em you will be back. And go fix you blood pressure. 5 minutes of high blood pressure is usually not Going to be extreme. And it depends on the situation. Are they coughing, are they hurting, is it Aline or cuff? And anything you give them is going to take a minute anyway. And if they are on nitro then it should be easy to titrate up and fix. The pain medicine? Ask your coworker or stick your head in the room and tell them to give you a few minutes. Icu is critical care so think that way. And don't freak out. The biggest problems with the newer grads is that they get so task focused that they don't see what's going on with the patient. And I agree with the statements above, if you ask me to help you to set up a pa cath or your ventric because you never have, not a problem. If you ask me how to hang a piggyback or take a urine specimen....that's stuff you should know by now. And if you ask every five minutes if you are doing it right....then maybe you don't need to be doing it. Questions are good, helplessness not so much. And index cards or small notecards are wonderful. I used to do it with my labs. I still carry a pharmacy card with various drip dosages. After a while you know it by heart but that one day they ask you for a dose....and you go blank...voila. Handy card. Main thing is know your meds, help your team, ( and this doesn't mean you can't be introverted, but asking someone, "can I help you with something?" goes a long way and it'll start bringing you more into the fold, and they will return the favor.) and approach your day with some confidence.... And the fast facts book on hand....not a bad choice either. Always good to have a mini reference

Using an ultrasound is great, if your patient is stable. If not, be happy with an ac, or whatever you can get at the time. Beats an io.....

perbd, Whatever you do, don't quit the ICU. I wish you hadn't quit the ER either but either way. You are my mirror image right now. I am interning at a large trauma 1 ICU. I've had 2 years of med surg experience and 2 years outpatient surgery. All of my preceptors are giving me tons of "good jobs" but I usually leave feeling like a ball of nerves. It's the nerves eating me alive, not the job. You sound a bit like me, and what I keep getting from everyone one is-I need more self confidence and I'm a little timid. But the timidness comes from being unsure. And I too got pretty emotional knowing I was coming to the end of my internship and felt so incompetant. And apparently, we are gonna be unsure for at least a year. So what we have to do is find some way to bump that confidence, or "fake it until you feel it". There are a couple of nurses who have been a bit similiar to me but I am not sure that the nurse you are speaking of was really trying to be nasty. You said she had suggested that you call the doctor. She may have been trying to push you to start being more proactive. One preceptor told me to go ask the doctor for something. The resident looked at me I realized later, and gave me minimal orders because I was rather minimal in my presentation. My preceptor went on and flat out told the attending "this is this and we need to do something about it." He looked at her, and asked, well what do you think would be good out of these. That doctor looked at her, a girl probably ten years my junior, and gave her the respect of an equal because she was standing up for her patient, and was not unreasonable, and that nurse was completely confident that she was doing a good thing. I want to be that nurse. I'm not stupid, I care for my patients, and have had nothing but good reviews from my peers and other physicians prior, and nothing but support here. I refuse to quit what I want to do. Because as stressed out as I am, I want to do this. I want to be just like that nurse and the dozens others I have seen in the past few weeks. Because I need to do it, to prove something to myself. And you need to for the same. Because you sound like you care, and you want to do it. Anything you do in nursing is gonna be hard, I guarentee. But if you let this defeat you, it's gonna follow you around from place to place and just drag that confidence down. You sound like you have support from most of your peers, that doctor? he didn't turn around and tell you to quit nursing or quit er and get out, he saw that you needed a boost and he pushed you towards it. And left you to make a decision. He coulda just agreed that you sucked and walked out. But he didn't. That says something to me. And that nurse that was nasty to you, she told you basically the same thing, stick it out. Many ICU nurses seem to be on the blunt side, many seem a bit cold to me but I really am starting to think its just my perception. Because I am so sensitive. And you've got a lot of nurses here telling you the same thing, nerves are just something you have to work past. I've seen some really good nurses make some serious mistakes. It happens. But you do your best. I've seen some new doctors just as nervous as me and you here lately. I got on here looking for some advice for my own nerves, because I too was thinking of just giving up because I can't seem to conquer them simply because my confidence is so low right now. But I guess in reading this, and the advice given to you, I'm gonna keep chugging along and just keep trying to fight the nerves until I make it through. I really hope you do too because I kinda feel like I need you to as well. To know that there is someone out there just as nervous as me. Because its not fair to us or the patients to give up just because its hard. I would much rather have a nurse like you that may be a little slow and knows it, than one who has no doubts and hurts a patient. So do me a favor and stick it out with me eh? :) Besides, ICUs are famous for swarming to help each other out.

Kevin, NS MA, depending on where you want to go, I know NS MA said she wanted to stay up north, there are two good programs in Texas, maybe more. I am currently in an ICU internship at Scott and White in Temple Texas. Its a 70 bed ICU with Medical, Surgical/Trauma, and Cardiothoracic ICUs. Its a level one Trauma center and its only an hour north of Austin Texas so you can live either big or small town. If you are an experienced nurse from another field (like myself) but lacking ICU experience, you get a ten to thirteen week internship with class and clinical time, new grad get a 16 week program (with an extension if they think you need it). I know most of them start in Jan and June but they have the occasional random internship as well. One started in October. I love it. And you get shift differential as well. You might look into it. I know Baylor in Dallas offers one as well......

If you would be okay with a smaller town, Scott and White in Temple Texas has a really good internship program. Paid, in critical care, ER, OR areas. Its a 70 bed level 1 trauma and its only an hour north of Austin so you could live in a bigger town and commute. I know my intern class had a bunch from Illinois, and Northeast for the same reason. Just a thought. Their next group starts in June I believe as well.