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I think we had about 16-17 yesterday interviewing. From what I've read, they typically interview 40-50 candidates, take about 14 and have 5 alternates.

Best of luck to everyone! I interviewed yesterday, and I'm assuming the other half of candidates will be interviewed today. Definitely a new experience doing it all through Zoom!

Little late, but I received my invite to an interview as well! ?

It's doable! Setting healthy boundaries and expectations with patients and their family is a good place to start. It also helps that your fellow ICU nurses have experience with the same thing. Not only will we commiserate on particularly demanding days, but we will also take turns answering call lights if we see one nurse is struggling with their patient load. Ideally, your charge nurse will ensure a well-balanced assignment and help where it's needed, but patient conditions can change on a dime in the ICU. When I have a vented Patient A on multiple pressors paired with a fairly independent Patient B, I make a point to apologize for not being in there more often and explain in a professional manner than my other patient (Patient A) is quite sick and requiring a little more of my attention. Usually, Patient B is pretty understanding. It helps to try and get them and their needs squared away before popping off to see your other patient again as well as prepare them for the fact that they might have another nurse checking in on them while you stabilize your other patient. In the ICU, it can be a matter of life and death, and it's the unfortunate reality that some better off patients have to accept. That's not to say that we don't care about their wants or needs, but it's a lower priority. I would by no means let the patient population deter you from exploring nursing in critical care! Like Nursy said, too, a lot of our patients are too sick to make such demands, and when there is family at the bedside, their priorities are usually different than what you find in medsurg ?

Hello there! I just wanted to start a thread for those who have applied this year to Millikin's DNP Nurse Anesthesia program. Best of luck to everyone ?

That's rough! Give me multiple GSW patient, cursing me out and threatening me because I won't give him a mouth swab any day, but when you get the snide little comments from patient family members that take digs at your integrity and ability as a nurse? Ugh! I've come home in tears after a patient's daughter told her mother (while I was in the room), "Don't worry, Mom. Some people just don't have compassion." It really eats away at you, and those are a couple of nasty scenarios that you had to deal with for sure! Like yourself, I'm definitely not into confrontation, but I will agree with Cowboyardee: you're still a baby nurse and young in the critical care world. Add your youthful appearance, and you're a potentially easy target! ? While I don't think that's appropriate at all, I've seen it happen a lot, especially to the younger nurses with sweet, bubbly personalities. I imagine as you gain more experience, you'll learn to carry yourself with greater confidence and read the room better. Not saying you don't now, but I've certainly acquired a knack for faking it 'til I make it while in front of family members and patients. It sounds like you're on the right track! This kind of stuff happens to the best of us! At the end of the day, I try to remind myself that we are getting a glimpse at one of the worse points of our patients' and their loved ones' lives. They're stressed, fearful, and want the best for their loved one. Unfortunately, that means they sometimes take that anger and frustration out on us! Keep your head up and keep on keeping on!

Absolutely nothing! I've never worked there, but I have had clinical rotations there, and they were excellent experiences. It's a great hospital!

Hello there! Chicago RN here. Major hospitals to look into, in no particular order: University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)University of ChicagoIllinois Masonic Medical CenterNorthwestern Memorial HospitalRush University HospitalLurie Children's HospitalSome of it depends on where you'll be living, commute time preference, your educational background (ADN or BSN), and what you're looking for-- another CV ICU, Trauma Level, etc. Obviously there are TONS of hospitals to choose from in Chicago, but those are the big ones. Loyola is an excellent hospital with excellent nurses-- I've worked with a few of them. Feel free to shoot me a message, if you wanted to chat more!

The ICU is a stressful environment! And like JBMmom said, there is a HUGE learning curve, and yes, lots of moving parts! It can take about a year on average before you start feeling like you've got a good handle on things, but you will be learning something new every shift regardless of how long you've been there. I've worked in a surgical/trauma ICU for 3.5 years now, and while I'm sure it doesn't help for me to tell you that I LOVE the ICU and knew I would from the start, I can definitely see how it can take an emotional toll, even when you take the constant stress of learning a very intense specialty out of it. There are some days where I go and feel depressed. You see some really tragic stuff, and you're encountering people who are potentially dealing with the worst point in their lives. How they convey that to you can vary from being incredibly grateful for your care or questioning every move you make. That being said, I know quite a few EXCELLENT ICU nurses who after a year or two decided that it just wasn't for them. They didn't enjoy the constant stress that comes with the area. They moved to areas where they're still using those critical thinking skills but in environments where it's a little more routine and less stressful, and that's okay! I'd ask yourself this: Do you feel like your preceptor(s) has given you the tools to succeed in this new area? Why did you go into ICU? What other areas of nursing do you feel you would thrive in better?At the end of the day, if you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it, but there's going to be some growing pains in an area like this. I say utilize some trusty resources-- whether it's an ICU Nursing book or it's a fellow nurse who's also fairly new to the unit that you can commiserate with, dig deep, and give it a good six months before making the decision to move units. Best of luck!

I've been a preceptor for several new grads and internal transfers now, and I have to agree with all the above! Here are some of my tips: Allow them to just take it all in the first 1-2 shifts. Explain what you're doing and why you're doing.Start getting them to develop those hands-on skills early to create muscle memory-- priming lines, drawing up meds, setting up an a-line, etc.When it comes to titrating meds, like weaning bridging a patient from propofol to precedex in preparation for extubation, I like to summarize the situation at hand and ask them what they want to do and have them tell me why. Let them think aloud in a safe environment with you so they can get comfortable with not only titrations but also using their critical thinking skills to look at the whole situation (vitals, patient's RASS score, etc.). Ask them at the beginning and/or end of the shift what they would like to focus on or what they think is going to help them the most. Admit what you don't know! Learn with them and don't be afraid to refer to other nurses on the unit, whether it's for something you don't know or getting your orientee to learn from someone new and maybe see something they haven't been exposed to yet. It takes a village to precept sometimes, and it promotes honesty and camaraderie! Personally, I like to slowly loosen the reigns and start giving them more and more autonomy while being a fly on the wall. Obviously use your best judgement. If they're not safe enough to have that much freedom, then stick a little closer. That's okay! They might just need more time. Once they have a good handle on charting, I like to starting giving them the responsibility of taking care of one patient one day. Then maybe patient care for two patients and charting only for one. Then patient care and charting for both. Like those above said, have fun! You obviously have a lot of great qualities both as an individual and as a nurse for them to want you to have such a responsibility! Best of luck!

Hey HR1989! Apologies for not getting back to your PM in a timely fashion. I had just attempted to send you a response, but apparently I haven't been active enough on the forums to be allowed to send PMs yet. Not sure if/when you'll see this, but if you'd like to exchange emails, I'm all for it. Just shoot me another PM and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have :)

Hey Fitch! Congrats on graduating! I am currently due to graduate in late August myself, and so I can't offer you too much in the ways of advice as an experienced RN. I did, however, do my undergrad down at U of I and absolutely loved the area. I also received my EMT-B license while I was there, so I am somewhat familiar with the two hospitals in the area (Carle and Provena). From what I've heard, Carle's a great hospital and a level I trauma center! Anyway, just wanted to offer some words of encouragement if you do end up moving to the area :) It's a lovely college town, but there's a more grown-up downtown area in Champaign if that's more your thing. There are some rougher patches in the surrounding areas, but you'll find that no matter where you go. The area is also a little bit country, too. I'm not familiar with Erie, PA, but as a kid from the Chicago suburbs, it was definitely an enjoyable four years that I had in the CU.

Sorry for the delay in response HR1989! I can't really give you a solid answer for where to apply for financial aid. I go through my campus connect account, which is all set up and assigned to prior to starting the program. I'd definitely shoot the Financial Aid office at DePaul a phone call or email. And I am at the Lincoln Park campus. The program at Rosalind Franklin opened up a quarter or two after I had started. As for favorites, pugluv, I have yet to feel that way. I don't know how the opportunity for professors to play favorites, and even if they, you're with so many others who are likely receiving the same form of treatment as you that it's really negligible. If there is a problem with a particular professor, the faculty is pretty good about attending to it so long as you do it tactfully and try not to cause too many waves. And now I'm just chiming in! Haha. I had someone come along with me to the orientation/info session, goodegirl1991, and others had someone with them as well (significant others, a parent, a sibling, etc.) During the big presentation part, it goes pretty unnoticed and no one seemed to mind.

Hey HR1989, 1) To my knowledge there are scholarships (at least for minorities), but I never looked into it and am not a minority I think I know a few people in my cohort who have some form of scholarship, but honestly it never comes up in conversation, so I couldn't tell you for sure. Yes, there is financial aid. That's basically all I'm using, and they've given me more than enough each quarter. I understand though. It's definitely pricey! 2) Do not worry! I'm not sure what your background is, but everyone is basically on the same playing field come second or third quarter, though I will say that those who have tech jobs have a bit of a leg up in clinical but it's all negligible in the end, and everyone's pretty good about helping each other out. So long as you stay humble and ask a lot of questions, you'll be okay. The faculty are usually available for office hours and have been helpful from what I've heard. There are various quizzes and tests that we take throughout the program that sort of assess how you're doing with different subjects, and if you're not doing too hot, you're usually required to do some remediation and work with the faculty. It sometimes feels like we're on our own, but it's helpful to remember you and the rest of your cohort are all in the same cohort and there is strength in numbers. The faculty want to see you do well. Some are easier to work with than others, but you're going to find different personalities where ever you go. 3) Clinicals are all over Chicago. Usually there are 3-5 locations for each quarter, and come registration day, it's first come first serve. Some common places: Northwestern, Swedish, Loyola, Lutheran, Masonic. It varies from quarter to quarter and subject to subject. 4) As far as time goes, it varies. Haha. I'm an unmarried 24 y/o who lives at home. There are people with kids, spouses, and jobs (tech jobs usually), and they all make it work. It takes a certain degree of flexibility, and you will have to be okay with putting some relationships on hold. I don't see my bf or friends nearly as often as I'd like, for instance. It really depends on you though. I know some people who seem to spend all their waking moments studying while others manage their time differently. I definitely manage to have some downtime each night, but you definitely feel like there's ALWAYS something you could be doing. Hope that helps :)

Congrats to everyone! Pugluv, I had originally applied for the Fall 2012 Cohort but got waitlisted and guaranteed a spot in Winter 2013. I currently have two quarters left :) If anyone has any questions now or throughout their time in the program, I'd be more than happy to offer some tips and advice. As far as the program goes, in my opinion, there are some moments where you feel the whole thing is completely disorganized, but from what I've heard from others, every program is like that. It's going to be a tough two years, but you learn a lot, and I've met a handful of DePaul MENP alums who are very successful right now in their nursing careers :)