ICU Orientation Weeks 1-3
It’s hard to believe it, but I’ve already made it through week 3 of orientation. I feel as if I’ve learned a lot, but at the same time I feel like it’s my first day every day (it’s really just a lack of confidence). I’m catching on quickly and I feel as is I can use background in surgery to connect a lot of the dots. My preceptor has been great, she’s been supportive, encouraging, and has answered all of my questions without complaint. She also says that my surgical knowledge has taught her a few things! On my 3rd day in ICU, our patient needed transferred to another facility for a higher level of care due to a significant cardiac history. The weather wasn’t perfect, so no flying. Transfer by ambulance was the only option, and they needed an RN for the trip. So we got to go. It was a pretty cool experience and luckily an uneventful trip, plus it made the day fly by.
On week 2, there was a patient who had multiple GSWs requiring emergency surgery and my preceptor and I were the ones to receive the patient once finished with the procedure. It was right before shift change, so we truly did only accept the patient and get everything settled. It was really neat to get to see things from the ICU side, as I’ve (unfortunately) seen it many times from the OR side.
I’ve learned that orders are like the bible, which is a major shift from surgery. The only thing we had orders for in surgery is a Foley insertion. You didn’t need an order for medications, unless it came straight from pharmacy which was not common, Botox and chemo drugs are about all I can think of to be honest. Almost everything in the ICU is done based on an order— it feels like it takes away some of the autonomy of nursing, but I’m sure I’ve still got a ton to learn and will realize there is still plenty of autonomy.
After working in surgery, I’ve done my fair share of Foley insertions. To my surprise, there are not a lot of Foleys placed in ICU, they are usually already there. So, I’ve been called on each time a Foley needs placed since I’ve been in the unit.
I’m learning so much and seeing a lot of new things, which is exciting. I do miss surgery pretty bad. Especially when a post-operative patient comes up, it feels a little like I missed out. Surgery will always be my ‘home’, but I intend to make the most of ICU while I’m here!
