Nursing

Now that you’ve probably figured it out anyways, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it, I’m a new grad in a medical ICU. Did I ever think I would be here? Absolutely not. Do I think God lead me here? Absolutely I do. Like I told you before, I did my senior practicum in the same unit I was hired into. I always thought I would wind up in the ED. Mostly because I had worked there for 3 years and loved the fast pace and quick thinking it required. What I know now is how wrong I was, how miserable I would have been to be in the ED as a nurse.

Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not an ICU nurse that looks down on ED in anyway. If anything, my experience as a tech provided me the insight of understanding the nature of the beast and I don’t have that ICU vs ED mentality that others seem to have. I have the utmost respect for ED, I just know myself, and I know I’m a lot happier with the controlled chaos, the autonomy, and the organization that comes with working in an ICU.

Would I say I belong here? I’m still trying to figure that one out. the imposter syndrome is real here folks. Coming into a unit that is full of people with an insane amount of knowledge, all of the certifications and initials behind their names, working with intensivist who expect you to know your shit…is overwhelming and anxiety provoking. It’s a steep learning curve, and it can only get better from day 1 right?

Not that you asked for it, but you are reading my blog so here is my opinion on new grads in the ICU. Is it fucking hard? Yes. But is it doable? Also yes. Now I do think that management should be selective as to what kind of new grads they hire. I think it should be someone with prior experience. What do I mean by that? I mean someone with healthcare experience, and more than just “I got my CNA license because it was required by my nursing program.” Now when I got hired, I think it was a special situation because of the panini we were currently going through. That in mind, I think the unit was under some stress to bring on more staff. All that being said, do I think I was a good candidate? Yes, I do. I had the experience, I was able to do my practicum here and they were able to see how I would do previous to actually working here. Now what I don’t think is a good idea is them hiring a new grad with no previous experience, and who d/t the panini didn’t get clinical hours. There was 2 individuals in that situation who got hired the same time as me who struggled, painfully.