marilynbaker

hang in there! you seem to be your own worse critic. It sounds like you are doing great. Just take a minute each day to reflect on your accomplishments each day you come home from work. you are doing just fine!

erwindt, thanks for the advice!

Choose the PCU, you'll learn lots! (personally, I hated PCU years ago when I had clinical) congrats!

I think prioritization, clustering care if possible can help. but you are still new. You will get the hang of this.

I have never seen a cresent shaped incision at my facility. I have only seen the traditional "zipper" incicion.

I think it depends on the unit, med/surg has 6, ED has 4, ICU has 2 or 3, CVICU can have either 1,2,or 3 depending on if their a heart or not, CCU can have 3-4

I would say ask your charge nurse for harder patients, if you can handle them at the end of the day then it will make you look like a rockstar!

index this may help :) congrats!

Have you considered med/surg floors? I know you hate codes but the stat team can always help with the code and you can call rapid response before you sense a code is going to happen.

CONGRATS!

I am in the same boat as you! I feel exhausted after all my work but at the end of the day I feel like I accomplished a ton! I'd say it is normal...

COngrats! You should celebrate your accomplishment :)

I have gotten the same message a few times before. Not to worry, you know how to do the EKG and no one can fake a STEMI. It is good he went to the cath lab as quick as he did.

this may help. Its more general ICU but I found it helpful when I was starting out. I also saved my old text from school: Lewis Medical Surgical index

Will your facility allow you to work every other day? I think that may be beneficial to you as you would still get a 36 hour work week.

my hospital has the same protocol.

4-5h atleast for propanolol

We have EPIC at my hospital and I didnt find it as bad as cerner powerchart is. I found cerner power chart to be very redundant. But once you get the hang of EPIC it isnt so bad, its all a matter of finding where things are. Best of luck!

I think as long as you have the hours you can go for the certification. Good luck!! :)

This does sound like a PCU

As stated above you need to have your CCRN or PCCN in order to have the CMC/CSC certification

First off, congrats on choosing nursing and finding your desired path! I'd say the best way to get into an ICU is to find a nurse internship for the ICU. If you feel that is hard to come by, I would say working as a tech would help you. My niece just graduated nursing school and she worked as a tech to gain experience needed and she landed herself a job in the ICU! I think it is all about how aggressive you are is how you will find a job. One does not simply apply online and hope for a phone call these days. Best of Luck!

My hospital is 1:1 for fresh hearts and iabp 1:2

I work in a CVICU and I'm so thankful that where I work, we were not just thrown into the fire, we had like a few months of orientation with another nurse. I feel so lucky that the nurse I was put with was so knowlegable and open to teaching (I was a new grad at the time) I think what helped me was whatever I saw at work, like drips I went home and looked up so when I came into work next time I would have an idea. You will do just fine.

CCU > PCU maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth from years and years ago when I did clinical on a PCU unit...