DianaT

I am in a very similar situation right now. I've been a RN for almost 2 years on a tele floor. The same floor I worked as a tech on through nursing school. I've always wanted to work ICU or ER. As such, I take every chance I get to float to the ICU (which is fairly frequent). I had applied for an ICU position a few months ago. I had been passed over for the day position (it was given to an external hire who has ICU experience) and I was offered nights. I work days now, so I passed knowing that it wasn't a good fit for me right now. Then 6 weeks ago I floated to the ER and it was like finding my people! I was offered a spot within a few weeks of floating and start down there Sunday. I've been picking up shifts down there to help them out and am feeling very self sufficient. But I can't help but feel a little freaked out as my last day approaches. I'm leaving the only unit I've ever known. I float to all the units regularly (I love to challenge myself by learning new things, so I will volunteer to float if someone doesn't want to), but knowing that I can come home to my tele unit is comforting. Now I have to create new work relationships with the nurses and the docs. I'm most nervous about leaving my physicians. The cardiologists and hospitalists I work with are amazing and we have developed an excellent communication system. They know me, I know them, and as such I believe my patients get better care. I can anticipate their orders before I even get them and they truly listen to me when I think there is something wrong with a patient. That's not always the case for nurses and especially one with relatively little experience. I'm hoping I get to that point in the ER as well. Anyway, my point of that whole rant was that I totally understand where you are coming from. Nursing continually pushes us outside of our comfort zone, so I figure this is just the next step in the journey. Good luck!