The Future
Before I say anything, I want to promote a new website I found today. It was actually mentioned by William on his blog. It’s called Nurse Linkup. I would compare it to myspace, but for nurses, and with a much cleaner interface. Check it out…it deserves our support!
I had a pretty casual day. I woke up at noon, even though I wanted to sleep until three or four in the afternoon. As a result I have been a little more tired today than usual. I still managed to get out for an evening of delightful consumerism. I bought an expensive hand held massager, some new clothes from Old Navy (which sadly has led to my discovery that I’m becoming a XXL rather than just an XL….ugh), and a smart cleanse kit from the health store.
We spent a good chunk of the evening giving each other massages. I must admit…it’s a good way to spend a couple hours!
I made the decision today to start taking the Advanced Studies in Critical Care Nursing Certificate from Mount Royal College. This is a highly regarded program that I can do at home and at my own pace. This means I can spend a couple years doing the theory courses while gaining experience working on my current unit. Then I can do the required practicum, and ease my way into critical care nursing.
To be honest, the ICU and ER are so short staffed that In a year or two I could apply and would probably get a job. However, I want a good solid basis in med/surg nursing and some critical care theory before moving on to the ER/ICU. In the mean time, I work on such an acute unit that the courses in advanced assessment etc. would be extremely beneficial.
The only decision left would be whether I wanted to focus on emergency nursing or ICU. It’s a tough choice. I went into nursing to become an emergency nurse, but in reality, I often wonder if working in the ICU would be more my style.
Or perhaps I would realize that I hate them both…ACK! I doubt it 
February 15th, 2007 at 00:57
ICU or ER… toss peds into that mix too and you would be reading my mind.
I have heard of a few hospitals where there are positions where you float between the two.
February 15th, 2007 at 01:01
I would only consider peds down the line…just to give myself a more well-rounded skill set. I certainly don’t have a passion for peds. Which also leads me to wonder if a nurse should work in an area they aren’t passionate about, soley for the experience.
hmmm….food for thought.
February 17th, 2007 at 21:24
My suggestion would be to ask if you can shadow a nurse for a shift. Call the hospital, as for the names and numbers for the managers of both ICU and ER, and call them and ask.
I cannot imagine where they wouldn’t be delighted to find a day where you can spend a day with one of their best nurses. What a great recruiting opportunity for them.
I’m in stepdown ICU now. And I do think there’s a difference between the ED and ICU. ICU is actually more predictable. Your patient can COR, your patient can freak out, anaphylaxis can happen, anything can happen. But it is more controlled and you have more resources in the ICU than in the ED.
A day in the ED can have five patients or 35. They may be broken bones or balls-to-the-wall, hangin-from-the-rafters-throwin-down-banana-peels.
You need to be tough in both places. But I love ICU and I wouldn’t do the ER. Just not my thing.
/jo
February 19th, 2007 at 00:29
The crazy chaos of the ER always attracted me. But, now that I have some experience under my belt, I must say that the 1:1 patient/nurse ratio and relative predictability are attractive to me. I figure, I will probably try both in my life