yes or no

WindwardOahuRN, RN · Nov 11, 2009

You want the quick and dirty or you want the neat and nice?

Quick and dirty? NO. Just...no.

Neat and nice? NO. Just....no.

Yes, YEARS later, new grads "have done well" in ICU. But honestly, no holds barred? They are a massive burden to experienced nurses who feel obligated to save them and, not incidentally, their patients.

Those of us who have any conscience at all can not look the other way while these very-well-meaning newbies screw up left and right. It's tremendously draining but dammit, we do it, time and time again.

No offense meant to the new grads who mean well and are trying their very hardest to do right. But you have to start with the basics and ICU is NOT the basics.

You simply have no idea what you do NOT know. Trust me on this one. I was there once, with years of med-surg and other experience behind me. I was humbled and humiliated, appropriately so. Absolutely no sense of entitlement, no cockiness. Scared poopless. Those who had knowledge vastly superior to mine took me under their wings and taught me. Had I shown the very faintest bit of cockiness they would have shot me on sight. Gotta love the NY county hospital ICU environment, LOL.

Get your basics down pat and then venture into critical care. Lives depend on it. Truth be told? I don't want you taking care of me or anyone I love. I've seen way too many mistakes made to trust a newbie with my loved ones.

Yes, once again I suppose the folks who went into critical care as new grads will declare that they did amazingly well yada yada yada.

And once again we will see a dearth of posts from experienced nurses who beg to differ.

So sorry if I failed to contribute to the usual support group atmosphere.

PMFB-RN, RN · Nov 11, 2009

You simply have no idea what you do NOT know. Trust me on this one. I was there once, with years of med-surg and other experience behind me. I was humbled and humiliated, appropriately so. Absolutely no sense of entitlement, no cockiness. Scared poopless. .

*** Our hospital has a 7 month long nurse residency program for new grads going into the ICU. It includes two months of three 12 hour shifts a week on one of the med-surg floors with a preceptor to gain time management and prioritization skills before they come up to start their clinicals in the ICU. I regularly serve as a preceptor to these new grads and they are great. I much prefer them to the stream of experienced med surg nurses I used to train. I find them easier to train, less "ya I already know that" attitude. In my view the biggest hindrance some of the med surg nurses have is their instinct to call a doctor or somebody else with an emergent problem rather that heading strait to the bedside to intervene RIGHT NOW. Usually our patients don't have time to wait while a doctor calls you back. We have protocols and standing order for nurses to interviene immediately without first seeking medical direction. It can be a big leap for some of them.

We stopped recruiting med-surg nurses. They are still considered on a case by case basis if they seek us out and apply.

jnw8606 · Nov 11, 2009

thanks again for posting.....Ive taken everyone opinions into consideration and I decided to apply for the Burn/trauma stepdown unit. As long as I am working with burns I am okay.