ICU-RN89

Hi kp1987 Thanks for that information on St. Paul's. Do you work in the ICU at St. Paul's? Can you give me some examples of the kinds of patients admitted to the St. Paul's ICU? Are there patients on ECMO, CRRT, IABP? What kind of surgical patients are admitted? Also, I've read/heard that St. Paul's and Providence Health Care in general are "faith-based." Do you know what this means and how this makes them different from other hospitals/health care centres? Thanks!

Thanks, sunship88!

Hi I am an ICU RN currently working in Canada, but outside of B.C. I am planning on moving to Vancouver, B.C. where I would like to continue to work in an ICU. So, I am looking for anyone who currently works or has recently worked in a Vancouver ICU and could give me some general information (size, acuity, patient population etc.) on the unit. I know a bit about the VGH ICU (but more information is always welcome), but what about Lions Gate, Richmond, St. Paul's? Any others I missed? I'd like to know how these units compare to the unit I'm currently working on (medical-surgical ICU at large inner-city teaching hospital). Any information would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks for your reply, RNnur! You've given me lots to think about, and a lot of great issues to ask about at my interview! I definitely plan to ask about unit environment, openness of staff to new graduates, orientation, and whether the unit has hired new grads in the past and how they have done. Your experience sounds somewhat similar to mine in that there was recently a hiring freeze at the institution that this hospital is part of and although they've started hiring new graduates, they haven't been able to post any new positions, which means that if the unit is short-staffed, new grads might be their only option. I know that the unit is looking to hire 3 new graduates, which could be a red flag as you said, or could mean that the unit regularly hires new grads and is open to investing in their success. Can I ask what you did in the end? Did you stay in the ICU, move to another unit, or an ICU at a different hospital? Thanks again!

Hi In May, 2013 I graduated from a registered nursing program in Quebec, Canada. I have been invited to interview for a new grad position in the intensive care unit of a big inner-city hospital. The head nurse suggested that the position was essentially mine, unless I had any requests like "I can't work nights" or "I can't work weekends", since I worked as a student nurse the summer before with the same institution. I did my final clinical placement in the ICU at another hospital in the same city - I really enjoyed this placement and left thinking that I might one day like to work in the ICU. At the same time, I've really enjoyed many of my other clinical placements in oncology and medical-surgical settings. While I think that working in the ICU would be a amazing experience and great learning opportunity, I'm worried that by not starting out on a general medical-surgical unit I'll be missing out on an equally valuable experience and learning opportunity - in particular I was looking forward to learning how to manage my time providing care to 4-5 patients per shift. I always assumed that I would start out on a general medical-surgical unit (I never thought I would or could get a job in the ICU right after graduation) and work my way up to the ICU. So, I'm wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation (**I think, although I'm not sure, that I may be in a unique situation because, for some reason, things work differently in Quebec than they do in other Canadian provinces or in the U.S. in that new graduates can work in the ICU and other critical care and specialized settings immediately following graduation) and if so, what they did. I'm also wondering if anyone who has worked in both a general medical-surgical setting and the ICU (what order did you work in these settings?) has any advice for me. And I'd appreciate anyone else offering their suggestions and advice. Thank you in advance!