Why did you choose to be an ICU Nurse?

Specialties Critical

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I was wondering why you chose to be an ICU nurse? And at what point did you realize that you wanted to do this type of nursing? What is it like caring for patients who are severely sick? Thanks.

Specializes in Cardiac/Transplant ICU, Critical Care.

I always wanted to go into The Units after my leadership clinical in a mixed ICU, but the Cardiac Surgery portion is the part that I absolutely fell in love with. After seeing a patient come out of the OR and the RNs swarming around the patient like a plague of locusts while collaborating with multiple teams, titrating so many different meds, adjusting the vent and a plethora of other things, I was enamored. As I stood there, as a student nurse, I thought to myself "This.....this is what I want" :p. Lo and behold 6 years later I am doing exactly that at a Top 10 Hospital.

I realized very early on that I wanted to help people and REALLY make a difference every day that I work. Caring for truly critically ill patients, for me, can be horrifyingly stressful but at the same time infinitely rewarding. I have learned to embrace stress and crave it as I am an adrenaline junkie and it allows me to exercise my mind! I am very passionate about the work that I do and, as a grunt (bedside RN), I couldn't see myself happily doing anything else! :yes:

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I have not yet been one yet, but it is my goal to be one by 2019. It would be a great achievement to work with the sickest of the sick and be good at it.

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I wanted to take care of SICK people. people that HAD to be in the hospital and that NEEDED help. I also like all the lines, drains, tubes, etc.

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Specializes in CRNA.

Started as a Paramedic and knew that I wanted to be a CRNA when I enrolled in nursing school. Spent almost a year working on a step down unit before I got into ICU. I still miss the truck but don't miss the BS calls. Still get enough of that crap with some of our patients that have no business on an ICU.

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I have always wanted to be a critical care nurse. I want to be able to help in crisis situations and I feel that critical care nurses are best equipped to handle those situations. I have also always wanted to eventually become a CRNA and ICU experience is required for that career path.

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Specializes in Intensive Care.

I fell into it honestly. As a new grad out of a four year bachelorette program in nursing science, I was recruited into a critical care internship pilot program at a 5 time magnet hospital in my home state. I now work in 9 bed community ICU, and I tend to see a lot of the same pts who seem to have 9 lives after near death...Although we are prone to burnout, we wouldn't trade anything for it. The satisfaction of giving the spouse a hug after a night of fighting, advocating, and literally driving the show at 0230 with an inexperienced hospitalist, and having their loved one not only live but recover and do well. Figuratively, pulling a person out of the grave, and literally watching them come back to live...words cannot explain the satisfaction. Not only is my job amazing, but my nurses and respiratory therapist are amazing. They are the ones who are in the trenches with me when the s**t hits the fan, and those are the people I both love and trust and am so thankful to know and work with.

Out of my four year BSN program, I never had a clinical in an ICU before. I thought I wanted a career as an L&D nurse, helping families bring babies into the world. But, I now bring people back from near death, back into the world....cool, huh? #Blessed

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Specializes in CVICU, CCRN.

Why? I wanted to be a CRNA. LOL

So I took the mandatory ICU experience requirement ? I recently got accepted into a CRNA program. I'm very excited to start my journey. But I don't regret going into ICU. I have learned so much. I have developed so much competence and confidence.

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Specializes in Ortho, Med/Surg, ED, CCU- Agency.

I have been nursing for a while, every couple of years I moved onto another specialty to explore my options and find my calling. I started out in Inpatient Pall care then Med/Surg, then transitioned to community/subacute for a bit then came back, tried Emergency, Cathlab then CCU looking after patient post MIs, arrthymia, heart failures..etc.. I liked them all, but never fully satisfied because I thought there could be more, I didn't like not knowing.

So I thought, what would be the hardest, the most "elite" area of nursing. Thats right, Intensive Care. So I did, there are bad days there are good days, but the satisfaction that comes from being able to care for the sickest of sick, is second to none.

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I've done ICU for 5 years now. Switched to Cath Lab last year. I work both departments now. I really don't care much for ICU anymore. Cath Lab is way. better in my opinion. However I do appreciate that working in ICU still keeps many of my skills current. But overall perks in CL are way better.

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On 3/3/2020 at 11:39 PM, ICUman said:

I've done ICU for 5 years now. Switched to Cath Lab last year. I work both departments now. I really don't care much for ICU anymore. Cath Lab is way. better in my opinion. However I do appreciate that working in ICU still keeps many of my skills current. But overall perks in CL are way better.

Could you describe more, I'm curious about that! I work in a CVICU now and thinking of doing per diem Cath lab next year maybe (though I'm assuming I wouldn't have the "full" experience there as a per diem), so curious to know how it compares to ICU, and the "perks". Thanks

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Specializes in Critical Care, ER, Cath lab.
On 3/3/2020 at 10:39 PM, ICUman said:

I've done ICU for 5 years now. Switched to Cath Lab last year. I work both departments now. I really don't care much for ICU anymore. Cath Lab is way. better in my opinion. However I do appreciate that working in ICU still keeps many of my skills current. But overall perks in CL are way better.

I did the same this time last year. Life is immensely better now and I got a nice pay raise along with the change. About a month ago I started picking up in the ER on my day off just to get a little extra OT.

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On 3/5/2020 at 5:53 AM, CVVH said:

Could you describe more, I'm curious about that! I work in a CVICU now and thinking of doing per diem Cath lab next year maybe (though I'm assuming I wouldn't have the "full" experience there as a per diem), so curious to know how it compares to ICU, and the "perks". Thanks

Sure. Although it may be difficult for you to find a PD gig without existing Cath Lab experience.

Perks: No cleaning up poop. No dealing with annoying family members telling me I need to refill their water and complaining that the doctor is taking too long to get there. Not stuck with the same patients all day. They come into the lab for an hour or two and then we drop them back off on the floor. Being able to become well versed in cardiac anatomy, conscious sedation, time and a half pay after 15:30 (at my facility), working with a tight knit fun crew, small team, closer relationships with Cardiologists, not having to work a 12 hour shift, yet making as much $ or more at the same time. I’ll never go back to ICU full time

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