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Discussion

Trouble getting into CVICU

So I have worked in SICU, MICU, Burn, and Trauma, as well as IR but for some reason I have trouble getting into CV. Some of these were before I became a traveler but either way every time I have tried I am either told before the interview that they want someone with CV experience so they pass on me, or after the interview that they decided to take someone with CV experience. So how do I get into that realm. I asked my last recruiter to find out what exactly went wrong with the interview last time and she came back with "they said you had a hard time articulating your experience with cardiac patients". I was honest I am not going to say I know something when I don't, but I am willing to learn and I am a fast learner. I am honest about this when I interview. I normally interview very well and have always been offered a job after an interview unless it was CV, even well before I became a nurse. I do not get nervous I don't say "umm" or "like" or all the other things people say not to do. I have strong critical thinking skills, great references, make eye contact, and good personality. So any tips for how to get into CV? Would a smaller hospital with a mixed CV unit help? Also is there a difference between a cardiac ICU and a CVICU or are these terms used interchangeably? I missed a good opportunity at Darthmoth because of this.

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    • Admin

    Are the CVICU jobs you're interviewing travel positions? If so, that's probably exactly why you aren't getting them. Travelers are expected to be up and running ASAP, and that is why the facilities are hiring them- an immediate need, not someone who's going to need an orientation. In order to get the CVICU experience they're looking for, you may have to leave traveling for a while and take a full time job in a CVICU and stay there long enough to gain the experience that will make you competitive.

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    • Author

    Yes they are travel positions, however I did get a MICU travel position without MICU experience. Just curious if there was a way to get my foot in the door as a traveler.

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    • Admin

    But did you already have some ICU experience? My facility doesn't even separate MICU and SICU; it's all one unit. However, only select nurses have been trained to take post-op cardiac surgery patients and travelers are not permitted to care for them at all. The way I see it is you have two options: continue applying for CVICU positions when you've been turned down by all of them for lack of experience or get the experience outside of the travel realm. Without experience, I really don't see you getting your foot in the door as a traveler.

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    • Author

    Yes my experience prior to travel was SICU, IR and BURN. so Trauma and MICU came with travel.

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    I think you will have to get lucky at a smaller hospital to get CV experience. While unit titles are completely facility specific, CVICU often implies that at least some of their patients are fresh open hearts. You are not going to get lucky picking up experience there, you will have to go back to staff to pick up that. If you want to live dangerously, you could puff up your skills checklists and do some serious studying on dysrhythmias and treatment (especially pharmaceutical Tx). After intensive study, you could ask to shadow a CVICU nurse on your days off to see where you stand.

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    • Author

    Thanks everyone. Know I would not feel comfortable puffing up my skills, I am honest about my experience. I don't plan on going back to full time staff anytime soon so for now I will just avoid CVICU. Thanks again

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    Come to the CVICU at Cape Fear Valley in Fayetteville, NC (called CSICU for cardiac surgery ICU). We hire travelers all the time, and when I was a traveler I told them specifically I did not have CVICU experience. So, basically I did not recover hearts but was expected to take them at POD1 and still d/c swans and such. That'll get your foot in the door. Then, when I decided to become a staffer, I was trained to recover hearts right away. Our schedule is pretty skinny at the moment, and I know our manager is looking for travelers at this time.

    There is a difference between a cardiac ICU (STEMIs, 3rd deg HB, Pacemaker insertions, etc.) and a cardioVASCULAR ICU (open heart, vascular surgery, thoracotomy).

    Also- about Dartmouth, I was a traveler up there for a 13 week assignment. They did have a CVICU unit seperate from their other ICUs. The travelers hired for the CVICU stayed in the CVICU. However, the travelers hired for the ICUs basically were always floated to med/surg or even observation. I hated it. I had one true ICU assignment throughout my 13 week assignment.

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