Starting in The MICU as a TECH, but unsure

[Angela.RN2B]

I am starting work in the MICU at a Level 1 trauma center. I plan to go to Nursing school and I want to become a Nurse Practioner. I also would like to travel Nurse and maybe volunteer eventually. ANYWAY! I was constantly being avised to get critical care experience and the MICU would be a great experience for me. But I can't find much info on what ype of patients to expect or how I can apply this to what areas of nursing? I just have people telling me it takes a real strong person to work there, cause it's total care. Can anyone give me advice on what to expect and if anyone is on this unit how is it really. I want to be a GREAT Nurse so I want to get all the experience I can. I just want some clear insight thank you!

[Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN]

Working in an ICU is physically and mentally challenging but dont let that get you down. I have been an ICU tech for about a year now but i have 4 yrs of ER experience. ICU is a bit more structured and things have to be done in a timely basis. You will have to keep track of temps and blood glucose testing, sometimes patients need there glucs checked every hour due to an insulin drip so you have to be task oriented. You will also be assisting the RN's with patient care, where you will see a lot. Swans, Blakemore's, Vents, Trachs, Ventriculostomies (SP?) needless to say you will learn a lot and quick too.

It is a lot to take in at first but as long as ou pay attention and are adament about learning your new role you will be fine. Congrats on your new job!!

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

What types of patients will you find in a MICU? I would assume patients with multisystem failure from a variety of causes: liver failure, renal failure, respiratory failure, basically anything that can cause a person to need that level of care and invasive monitoring. Medical ICU's have more variety in what you'll see, as opposed to more specified ICUs (cardiac, neuro, trauma for example). Any medical disease process that has either an acute exacerbation stage (like diabetic ketoacidosis in a diabetic) or an end-stage stage (like end-stage liver disease) you will probably see at some point in the ICU.

You can expect your patients to have tons of invasive tubes and be on lots of medications. The simple act of turning a pt from their back to their side can be quite a chore when you have to worry about accidentally disconnecting a life-saving tube or line. Its kind of hard to explain since I don't know your medical background, but needless to say you will learn a lot simply because you will be exposed to a lot.

To answer your other question, you can apply ICU experience to any area of nursing. Literally, the knowledge and skills you will learn there can be applied to any other specialty. If you want to talk more, just pm me! I'm a new critical care nurse, so I'm excited to talk about it, lol.

[APwips]

I worked in a MICU for about a year as an RN. Pretty much any patient that doesn't need a major surgical intervention will be there if they are really sick. Common patients we saw had GI bleeds, Sepsis, respiratory failure, TB Isolation, HIV, end stage ocology and drug OD. In general many of the patients had chronic diseases which resulted in high mortality and poor quality of life. Pretty much, it ain't the happiest place to work. It seemed like 90% of our patients were either over 60, over 300lbs, or homeless (sometimes all three). Oh yeah, the MICU has a reputation of being poop party central, definitely WAY more than the CVICU I work in now. But it was a great experience; you work hard and you learn lots about various systems.