Where do I start working at?

[Crazynursingstudent]

I am to graduate this December from an ADN program, and I am having trouble deciding where to apply. I have worked at a smaller hospital for five years and have a great relationship with the ICU staff. Some of the staff is trying to talk me into coming to work with them. So my question to ya all, is do you think it is a good idea for a new grad. to go directly working in the ICU, if critical care is where you want to be?

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

You will get many opinions on this subject. There are also many,many threads on this subject.

I was told by a nurse I worked with last night and she told me how much she regretted not starting out in med surg. I work neuro ICU.

So if they have a good orientation program for new grads, with critical care class, and you have a good preceptor you can do just fine.

I really think I made the best decision to work med surg right out of school. It really helped me.

[Sillynicunurse]

I think it depends on you and the acuity of the unit. I started in an ICU as a GN. Our ICU is not one that is full of high acuity patients all of the time. A lot of our patients could really go to the floor a lot sooner than they do but their docs hamper those moves for various (usually selfish) reasons. We seriously have patients that have lived in the ICU for 5 or 6 months and could have moved on within a month.

Having said this I am glad that I started here and don't know if I would have been able to handle a more acute ICU at first. I don't forsee myself staying in this unit much more than a year. I plan on moving to a larger trauma hospital with a little more action in the unit than what we currently get but I will take a great knowledge base with me.

Best of luck to you.