Smalltimore

Anyone else waitlisted?

Good to know, thanks!

I'm going on the 14th. I've heard there's a written test and a panel interview w a mix of personal and clinical questions but that's all third-hand info so who knows...

I'm not sure, I would give it until the end of the week and then maybe call or email

I did too! 3 years in the micu at a large academic hospital, 3.8 gpa, ccrn, have done some safety and qi research

In our ICU all patients get a chg bath unless contraindicated. Bedside RNs change all central line dressings except for PICCs. Our vascular access RNs place and manage those lines.

I wouldn't be ok with a few feet of IV tubing lying on the floor, although I don't know that it necessarily increases the risk of infection if there are a couple of feet between the patient and the part on the floor. Bedrails are notoriously filthy and our lines rub against those all day. Still, I would be really uncomfortable with something connected to a central line just hanging out on the floor. It would increase the risk of tripping (especially for visitors) and, over time, I imagine stepping on IV tubing could do some damage. Personally, I don't have a problem with visitors or patients pointing out or asking about stuff like that. If it's something that needs to be addressed I do it, and if it's fine then I explain why.

I did my final practicum in a MICU so I don't have advice specific to cards, but I would highly recommend it if you're interested in starting out in critical care. You will get a chance to practice lots of basic nursing skills: foleys, blood draws, suctioning, wound care, and giving meds and blood products. It's also an awesome place to work on your assessment skills, on critical patients you have to be very thorough and pay attention to small changes. I gained confidence in my ability to notice when something wasn't right, even if I didn't always know why. The doctors are always around, which means you get a lot of practice communicating with them. You will probably get to participate in codes and it's really cool to be on a unit where your patient doesn't get shipped off when they decompensate because they're no where else for them to go. Finally, you will get a chance to work with dying patients which, for me, was the most valuable part of my time there. I saw good deaths and not so good ones, and that has really informed the way I interact with patients and their families at the end of their lives.

My two cents as a new grad who recently started in critical care: Go with the place that offers the best orientation/education and is the best cultural fit for you. I had to choose between two ICU positions, one at an amazing trauma center that i've always dreamed of working at, and one on a icu at an teaching hospital. I ended up choosing the second, even though it's not my ideal patient population. I did this because the management and staff all seem really happy to be there, the orientation is longer, and I talked to a bunch of nurses on the floor who started there as new grads who said they felt really well-supported. The other ICU would be an amazing place to work eventually, but I didn't feel like it was the right fit for me right now. Plenty of nurses switch up the type of ICU they work in, so I don't think the type you start with will necessarily determine where you can work in the future. I'm more concerned with building a solid foundation and gaining confidence in my assessment, time management, and critical thinking skills.

Nursing student here, it seems like keeping critical patients in the ED for that long would be dangerous. Is this something that happens in cities with lots of hospitals, or only in more remote areas where transferring the patient isn't possible? I understand transferring critical patients is difficult, but I would imagine it would still be safer to get them to an ICU. Am I wrong? Thanks!

No personal experience, but there is a blog about blog about a young Utah boy who is on the Hemp Extract Registry.