Progressive Care Unit

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I will soon be starting a new job on a progressive care unit, and I am very excited! I know that progressive care is patients who are not quite sick enough for the ICU but too sick for med/surg. Other than that, I don't know too much more about it. Like, would a patient on a ventilator ever be on a PCU? Or one with CRRT? I guess I'm just wondering what things I might see there that I wouldn't have likely seen at my old job in med/surg.

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Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

Congratulations on your new job!

It varies hospital to hospital, and in some hospitals, PCU to PCU. I worked in one hospital where the cardiac PCU took vents but the other PCUs didn't, and I worked in a unit that would keep a patient if they needed one pressor, but anything beyond that went to the ICU. I recently worked on a unit that did aquapheresis, which I had never seen before.

If you've already signed your offer letter, maybe you can touch base with your manager or educator and ask what you can review before starting. If you haven't signed your offer letter yet, I would wait; you don't want to draw attention to a lack of knowledge (even though they should know what to expect with you after the interview process) just in case.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.

I work in a PCU and we can take stable chronic vents (but haven't had one in 3 years!). We don't do pressors. We have patients on drips and titrate but certain drips (mostly those that require frequent/complicated titration) go to ICU. All of our patients are monitored so that makes it possible for us to push meds that require closer monitoring, and we do moderate sedation for procedures.

As said above it really depends where you work and what type of floor. It will be different if it's a specialty floor vs general, and some PCUs are lower acuity while others have patients that in another hospital would be in ICU. I think it's a good idea once you're fully hired to ask about common conditions you might see and what they recommend you review. You will look eager and prepared! Side note I looked up aquapheresis and it's so cool!

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16 hours ago, Swellz said:

Congratulations on your new job!

It varies hospital to hospital, and in some hospitals, PCU to PCU. I worked in one hospital where the cardiac PCU took vents but the other PCUs didn't, and I worked in a unit that would keep a patient if they needed one pressor, but anything beyond that went to the ICU. I recently worked on a unit that did aquapheresis, which I had never seen before.

If you've already signed your offer letter, maybe you can touch base with your manager or educator and ask what you can review before starting. If you haven't signed your offer letter yet, I would wait; you don't want to draw attention to a lack of knowledge (even though they should know what to expect with you after the interview process) just in case.

I have to go next Wednesday to turn in all my paperwork to HR, so I'll definitely ask about it then! The first time I went to do my drug test and get my paperwork, I didn't want to ask for a tour of the unit because I figured they would want to limit who is in patient care areas due to COVID. It seems like every hospital uses their PCU for different things, but I'm excited to find out what new things I'll get to learn! I definitely want to start studying up before orientation starts.

15 hours ago, LibraNurse27 said:

I work in a PCU and we can take stable chronic vents (but haven't had one in 3 years!). We don't do pressors. We have patients on drips and titrate but certain drips (mostly those that require frequent/complicated titration) go to ICU. All of our patients are monitored so that makes it possible for us to push meds that require closer monitoring, and we do moderate sedation for procedures.

As said above it really depends where you work and what type of floor. It will be different if it's a specialty floor vs general, and some PCUs are lower acuity while others have patients that in another hospital would be in ICU. I think it's a good idea once you're fully hired to ask about common conditions you might see and what they recommend you review. You will look eager and prepared! Side note I looked up aquapheresis and it's so cool!

Thanks for the info, I'll definitely be looking up aquapheresis! I'm really excited to go next week to HR and get more information about their specific PCU!

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CONGRADS! I just recently started on a PCU this past march. And a previus posyer is correct...it just deoends on one PCU to the next. We do have vents on my unit I work on. We dont run too many pressors.....but I'm still pretty new here so I dont know exactly everything, as far as gtts go. Seems like I will learn alot. I'm not a new nurse....just new to PCU.

Hope it all goes well!! Keep us posted!

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