Nyla Maddox

Wow! I'm looking to get hired in the cardio surgical icu too! Thank you for the great posts!

Thank you guys! Maybe I was misinformed. If I do happen to find anything, I will definitely repost.

I live in los angeles and i have been trying to research certifications in continuous renal replacement therapy( CRRT). Is it an official exam for certification like the CCRN or is it something I can take online? I'm really interested in learning about it! I'm having a lot of trouble finding information about it.

By the grace of God I was hired at a prestigious plastic surgery center in Beverly Hills and I'm a new grad. They don't have a real orientation program and I am so lost. I don't want to mess this up cuz it's a huge opportunity. I'm only work as a circulating nurse and recovery nurse. Is thee anything I can read or do to familiarize myself with the different expectations per procedure? I don't know how to set up! HELP!

If you have an iPhone, Download CPR game!!! It even has the new c-a-d order. I feel totally prepped for codes. Definitely made me feel competent and it has explain actions for reasoning behind actions! Involves everything real time from chest tubes- blood transfusion- to even the option of attempting a thoracotomy! Have fun!

Thank you everyone for the responses! It's a 12 bed general ICU. (there's no one particular system we cater to). It's a small hospital, definitely not a trauma center. My orientation is supposed to be 12 weeks. I'm at week 9. I had an older nurse(20+ years) as a preceptor for 8 of those weeks but I didn't realize that she was getting the "easier" patients to care for (the ones that are only there because of the vent). Even then, she wouldn't let me do the total care on the patients. When I switched to a newer nurse she got all the drips and trauma, and post op patients...I feel like I wasted my preceptorship. I asked admin for an extension but the overall sentiment that I got was that "it was already expensive to keep me as an orientee." It doesn't sound like I'll be getting more time. I definitely plan on taking my CCRN and eventually getting my CRNA but for now, I just gotta get past ICU

I'm incredibly smart, I promise... but one year ago, I didn't know what a PRN was. I got my BSN from an expensive/prestigious one year crash course program. Now my smarts have landed me in an ICU (which I'm totally stoked about). I'm about to get off of orientation and I do not feel ready: ( Fears I fear losing my license over making a negligent mistake after orientation is over I fear the things I don't know that I don't know ( if that makes sense) I fear missing the critical signs in a patient because I'm overwhelmed with being task oriented and they end up dying. prep wise: I've literally been reading textbooks tryna remember all the millions of tidbits of information I should be cognizant of. It feels like it goes into one ear and out the other. (like pouring prbc into a hemorraging dic patient). I'm taking a million classes courtesy of my hospital too. I have pocket guides. I'm dizzy with it all. Organization wise: 1. I've adopted my own brain sheet with times meds and procedures mapped out. 2. I get there 30mins early so I can look at labs and medications, general condition of the patient I'm assigned to before report. 3.I also make my bed bath pallates ahead of time so I'm not struggling with it later. I still manage to leave late : ( and feel like I'm the worst person on the team Any advise? Words of encouragement? tips from the nice old battle nurses? things to read? How do I prioritize?!?!