Stressors in the ICU environment vs the ER

[edogs334]

Hi all,

I'm a nursing student who currently works in one of the local ER's in my community. Since I've never really worked in an ICU before, I was wondering: what stressors exist in the ICU vs the ER? I'm quite familiar with the stressors of the ER, in which nurses have to assess and treat (almost simultaneously, it seems) multiple patients and get things done that were needed *yesterday.* Sometimes I feel like I'm running around like a headless chicken for the whole shift. I know that most ICU nurses only have 1 to 2 patients at most, however, those patients are quite sick and many need total care. Hence, I'm quite curious to see what you guys/gals have to say about stressors that are unique to ICU environments. Any information would be appreciated.