Should a telemetry nurse be expected to float to a critical care unit?

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jun 9, 2007

This may sound like a silly question but, what makes an ICU nurse different than a tele nurse? I am still a pretty new nurse (one year since graduation)so, I really don't know what I would/should say if the small hospital that I work at asked me to float to the ICU. I've had orientation to the three depts in this hospital...the two regular floors with vented pts and no tele and the ICU. We just opened a tele floor this past week and I was one of the first nurses to staff it. I have taken tele training, and been ACLS certified and the pts I had all ran normal sinus rythyms but, I will admit I was still pretty nervous to have an actual assignment on this floor. I am now wondering if there is other training and/or certification that I should have to agree to float. Now that I have started on tele, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before this comes up.

You might try to get a copy of your hospital's criteria for admission to a Critical Care unit versus a Telemetry unit from your hospital Policy and Procedures manual. That might explain the difference way better than I can.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jun 9, 2007

I don't think telemetry nurses, or any nurses, should be expected to float to CCU or any other department where they are not orientated or do not feel comfortable. I used to always cringe thinking about being pulled. It was always me or several other nurses. The lazy or ditzy nurses never got pulled. I felt like I was being punished for being a good nurse. I found other units not at all friendly and the shifts seemed much longer than 12 hours. Several times I absolutely refused to float because I felt it was not my turn. I didn't get in any trouble but would not have cared if I did. I'm now in medical imaging. I get pulled from outpatient to inpatient. The techs in both areas are awesome and very appreciative and I don't mind being pulled. Most importantly, I knew from the git-go, when I was hired, that I would be pulled between the two.

Myxel67 · Jun 9, 2007

At my former hospital, the night supervisor started floating me to CCU/CNU because I had worked tele for 3 years and was then on pulmonary floor with stable/longterm vents. I wasn't crazy about it, but I did it. If there were 3 pts waiting to go to tele, I would get all 3--standard assignment for the CCU nurses was 2 pts. I was the only RN in the entire hospital to be floated this way. The hardest part (as I stated in a prior post) was the paperwork and finding the light switches!

Perhaps I was a little naive--or maybe just dumb. I was not given the option of refusing. When they sent me to ICU a couple of times, I did refuse patients they tried to assign me--fresh open heart, for example. On the tele floor we got them 1 day post op, so I was not comfortable.

Eventually, I did move to CCU/CNU and stayed there 3 years. In the long run, though, I don't think it was the right job for me.