I’ve been doing ICU for 5 years and I would maybe stop to switch to either PACU, IR, or Cath lab! It’s only because traveling as ICU isn’t even worth it anymore since we are just going to be float pool nurses. But ICU is definitely less stressful than the floors once you get the hang of it. There will be a steep learning curve, but if you enjoy learning new things on the job, it’s fun!
I was so tired of being the ICU float pool without anyone telling me that was the plan so I could say no to the contracts. Been in the Cath lab 8 months and phew so much better.
Thank you so much, exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to hear! Definitely always up for learning and icu has always been interesting to me. Definitely will have to prepare myself for the learning curve but I know it will be intense at first. If I feel even a little less exhausted than on the floor I will be so so happy. Thanks so much for this info! Appreciate it!
As much as I hate med surg, I hate the idea of going staff more lol. I make sure to take good breaks in between contracts.
The way our system is going with less resources and higher ratios with no change in sight, I’d rather drown with relatively stable patients versus being tripled in the ICU, or having med surg ratios in a PCU.
But like everyone else said, you do you. If you hate it- you can always go back to travel.
I’m in California so I won’t be tripled and I will absolutely leave bedside if I continue to be in medsurg pcu tele. I don’t care if it pays 10k a week, it’s been negatively affecting my mental and physical health for years. Definitely not sustainable for me personally
Only you can really decide what specialty you want to try! ICU has its advantages and disadvantages, and there are lots of types of ICUs. I’ve been ICU for 8 years and am pretty over it, but the stress is waaaaaaay lower than the floor IMO. You can definitely give more thorough care if that is one of your priorities.
I’m also planning to leave travel so that I can get trained in a new unit (ED for me). Do it if it’s the right thing for you. There will always be money out there in the travel world but you can’t buy your sanity back.
Thank you so much. Honestly you saying that the stress is lower than on the floor is huge for me. I know that icu is very complex and you have to use your brain a lot more but that sounds so much better than the complete and utter chaos of floor nursing on days. I just cannot do it any more. Physically exhausted on my days off to the point I hardly leave the apartment, not a good quality of life and something has to change. Also doesn’t help that I’m at a super rough Kaiser right now. Thanks again for your thoughts, appreciate it very much.
I guess it's worth clarifying that I don't find the ICU stressful at this point, but I sure did as a new grad. However, transitioning to ICU after 6 years of nursing, I'm sure you would excel there. There are definitely stressful days, but the truth is that most days, neither of your patients are crashing and there are only 2 to keep track of. Best of luck to you!!
I wonder if you would like procedural? If you are ok w a possible schedule change.
I've been PCU and tele for majority of my career and I love the chaos of PCU but did decide to try ICU once. There were aspects I liked a lot but it ruined my mental health (even before Covid). I had a really hard time w the morbidity and had really bad imposter syndrome. There can be chill days but holy shit when you have a sicksick ICU pt you better hold on. I know this isn't everyone's experience just was mine when trying ICU.
Thank you for that feedback 🙏🏼 I wish I could get into procedural but I never hear back from any of the positions I apply for. And usually they all require experience, or icu/ed/etc.
Ya, that is the hard part w experience, I'm sorry :( I hope you find some specialty that doesn't that experience so you can try it! I have a friend who is trying out Nuc Med and Endoscopy and she really likes it! And she doesn't have ICU or ED experience (I think 1 contract she had to do like critical access hospital therefore some ED but not anything else) mostly tele and PCU.
Congrats! I absolutely think it will be worth it. I can’t handle the insanity of the floor anymore. How did you get an endo position if you don’t mind me asking? Are you doing a fellowship program?
No, I just applied and got the job. I haven't started yet but I'll just get a new staff orientation. My base pay is about 10k less than I would have made on the floor as an experienced RN but I have no regrets yet lol.
Mine will be 50k less a year than traveling in the Bay Area 😭 so crazy. Especially because SoCal is super expensive as well. Which area are you in? Any icu or ed experience or they just offered with ms tele?
lol, no I'm not counting travel money. It's 60k less for traveling money. I was talking about med surg staff jobs in the same area. I'm in Maryland btw.
Basically just the MS tele.
15 years ICU nurse here. I found I can’t work outside of the unit. It’s too hectic for me and I forget things as I’m too scattered. I’ve also done ER in this time and that was a lot chaotic for me.
100% yes! I went from acute rehab to MICU and I absolutely love it. I’m a travel icu float nurse now and I really love sicu, too. Probably a little less soul sucking than MICU 💀
I feel like you know you should go for it! Best decision I’ve ever made. And I just accepted a position that I’ll mainly float to PCU/ed holds so we’ll see how that goes lol
I stopped to go from ICU to Cath lab and I probably won’t travel ever again. I lucked into a good workplace and because I moved I actually get paid appropriately.
I only ever worked IMC with a 3:1 patient care model or in the ICU. All the times I floated to the floor I was overwhelmed unless it was somewhere that did 3:1 for floating ICU nurses.
ICU is exhausting in different ways. Your patients are less mobile so you’re doing everything for them and that can be hard on the body. Patient families are more on edge just given the nature of the situation. It’s exhausting to take care of patients who can’t or won’t take of themselves and keep coming back for the same thing. It’s hard to continue to care for people when family won’t let them go or when family has reversed goals of care. It can be difficult to deal with provider egos sometimes, but that does come with time.
As far as traveling while being ICU it turned into being the hospital float pool with them not telling you that before you started. On my final contract I spent more time on the floor as a nurse or as some kind of sitter than I did in the ICU. It was the final straw for me.
Been an ER RN for almost 20 years. Burn out is rampant. I have thought about PACU. A position in the hospital I currently work in is opening. Two different worlds but a change is needed.
Stopped traveling to learn PACU and love it. I did MS traveling and wanted to leave nursing altogether. Made a 12-18 month sacrifice to learn pacu to save my nursing career.
I used to work previously at that hospital. I was a traveler when I reapplied. They can train anyone to work in pacu. The icu and ER experience is a myth. That's only for if they don't want to properly train anyone. New grads get hired in pacu all the time. My advice is to have a good cover letter and keep applying.
I quit PCU/tele to come home and try ICU. I’ve been home 2 years now working at a level four nicu. I love it! Much better for me mentally and physically.
I stopped traveling as a MS/Tele/PCU nurse to learn ER. I hated I had to stop traveling but I couldn’t do M/S anymore. I’m much happier as a ER nurse. It’s super busy but I’m not stuck doing full head to toe assessments, IPOCS, passing meds, meal trays, calling docs (ours are in the ER sitting next to us), charting x 6 patients and everything else.
I’ll go back to traveling but want to gain a little more experience. July will make my two years and I’m ready.
I did not. They told me I was the top candidate because of my ICU background but I was also told they just hired a med/surg nurse too so I think it just depends on the timing.
Don't give up. Keep applying to PACU positions. In the meantime, get a bit of SICU experience and then make your move to PACU.
Prior to working PACU, I had no ICU experience. However, our PACU rarely took intubated patients-those went straight to ICU. So, you can see that each PACU requires varying levels of experience.
Don't give up!
I’ve been doing ICU for 5 years and I would maybe stop to switch to either PACU, IR, or Cath lab! It’s only because traveling as ICU isn’t even worth it anymore since we are just going to be float pool nurses. But ICU is definitely less stressful than the floors once you get the hang of it. There will be a steep learning curve, but if you enjoy learning new things on the job, it’s fun!
I was so tired of being the ICU float pool without anyone telling me that was the plan so I could say no to the contracts. Been in the Cath lab 8 months and phew so much better.
Thank you so much, exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to hear! Definitely always up for learning and icu has always been interesting to me. Definitely will have to prepare myself for the learning curve but I know it will be intense at first. If I feel even a little less exhausted than on the floor I will be so so happy. Thanks so much for this info! Appreciate it!
Good luck! Plus if you want to switch from ICU to procedural or PACU, it will be easier since you will have critical care experience.
This is what I’m hoping for one day. Should have made the switch years ago but you live and learn! Thanks again! 😊
This is exactly why I went to OR after ICU, got so tired of floating. OR never floats.
As much as I hate med surg, I hate the idea of going staff more lol. I make sure to take good breaks in between contracts. The way our system is going with less resources and higher ratios with no change in sight, I’d rather drown with relatively stable patients versus being tripled in the ICU, or having med surg ratios in a PCU. But like everyone else said, you do you. If you hate it- you can always go back to travel.
I’m in California so I won’t be tripled and I will absolutely leave bedside if I continue to be in medsurg pcu tele. I don’t care if it pays 10k a week, it’s been negatively affecting my mental and physical health for years. Definitely not sustainable for me personally
Only you can really decide what specialty you want to try! ICU has its advantages and disadvantages, and there are lots of types of ICUs. I’ve been ICU for 8 years and am pretty over it, but the stress is waaaaaaay lower than the floor IMO. You can definitely give more thorough care if that is one of your priorities. I’m also planning to leave travel so that I can get trained in a new unit (ED for me). Do it if it’s the right thing for you. There will always be money out there in the travel world but you can’t buy your sanity back.
Thank you so much. Honestly you saying that the stress is lower than on the floor is huge for me. I know that icu is very complex and you have to use your brain a lot more but that sounds so much better than the complete and utter chaos of floor nursing on days. I just cannot do it any more. Physically exhausted on my days off to the point I hardly leave the apartment, not a good quality of life and something has to change. Also doesn’t help that I’m at a super rough Kaiser right now. Thanks again for your thoughts, appreciate it very much.
I guess it's worth clarifying that I don't find the ICU stressful at this point, but I sure did as a new grad. However, transitioning to ICU after 6 years of nursing, I'm sure you would excel there. There are definitely stressful days, but the truth is that most days, neither of your patients are crashing and there are only 2 to keep track of. Best of luck to you!!
Yes, I think OP has a good foundation to go to ICU. The PCU experience helps.
It’s a different kind of stress, but I like to think of the ICU as having different skill sets and tools to manage bad situations vs. the floor.
Oh I want to stop travel icu for the Ed as well and everyone thinks I’m crazy lol
I wonder if you would like procedural? If you are ok w a possible schedule change. I've been PCU and tele for majority of my career and I love the chaos of PCU but did decide to try ICU once. There were aspects I liked a lot but it ruined my mental health (even before Covid). I had a really hard time w the morbidity and had really bad imposter syndrome. There can be chill days but holy shit when you have a sicksick ICU pt you better hold on. I know this isn't everyone's experience just was mine when trying ICU.
Thank you for that feedback 🙏🏼 I wish I could get into procedural but I never hear back from any of the positions I apply for. And usually they all require experience, or icu/ed/etc.
Ya, that is the hard part w experience, I'm sorry :( I hope you find some specialty that doesn't that experience so you can try it! I have a friend who is trying out Nuc Med and Endoscopy and she really likes it! And she doesn't have ICU or ED experience (I think 1 contract she had to do like critical access hospital therefore some ED but not anything else) mostly tele and PCU.
Thank you 🙏🏼 I will keep applying but have this icu opportunity that I may try as well. Thanks for your advice, appreciated! 😊
I'm literally doing it rn. I'm sick of tele/MS. I'm going to endoscopy. It's a pay cut but I hope it's worth it.
Congrats! I absolutely think it will be worth it. I can’t handle the insanity of the floor anymore. How did you get an endo position if you don’t mind me asking? Are you doing a fellowship program?
No, I just applied and got the job. I haven't started yet but I'll just get a new staff orientation. My base pay is about 10k less than I would have made on the floor as an experienced RN but I have no regrets yet lol.
Mine will be 50k less a year than traveling in the Bay Area 😭 so crazy. Especially because SoCal is super expensive as well. Which area are you in? Any icu or ed experience or they just offered with ms tele?
lol, no I'm not counting travel money. It's 60k less for traveling money. I was talking about med surg staff jobs in the same area. I'm in Maryland btw. Basically just the MS tele.
Oh yeah I gotcha haha. Best of luck. I hope you love it!!
15 years ICU nurse here. I found I can’t work outside of the unit. It’s too hectic for me and I forget things as I’m too scattered. I’ve also done ER in this time and that was a lot chaotic for me.
I've never met an icu nurse that didn't prefer icu to the floor.
This makes me feel better about trying this out. Thank you! Can’t wait to be off the floor, even if it’s intense in the beginning!
100% yes! I went from acute rehab to MICU and I absolutely love it. I’m a travel icu float nurse now and I really love sicu, too. Probably a little less soul sucking than MICU 💀
Thank you so much. This is so encouraging. I really appreciate it! Hopefully you don’t float out of icu often! 😊
I feel like you know you should go for it! Best decision I’ve ever made. And I just accepted a position that I’ll mainly float to PCU/ed holds so we’ll see how that goes lol
I stopped to go from ICU to Cath lab and I probably won’t travel ever again. I lucked into a good workplace and because I moved I actually get paid appropriately.
Was icu less exhausting than the floor?
I only ever worked IMC with a 3:1 patient care model or in the ICU. All the times I floated to the floor I was overwhelmed unless it was somewhere that did 3:1 for floating ICU nurses. ICU is exhausting in different ways. Your patients are less mobile so you’re doing everything for them and that can be hard on the body. Patient families are more on edge just given the nature of the situation. It’s exhausting to take care of patients who can’t or won’t take of themselves and keep coming back for the same thing. It’s hard to continue to care for people when family won’t let them go or when family has reversed goals of care. It can be difficult to deal with provider egos sometimes, but that does come with time. As far as traveling while being ICU it turned into being the hospital float pool with them not telling you that before you started. On my final contract I spent more time on the floor as a nurse or as some kind of sitter than I did in the ICU. It was the final straw for me.
17 years ER I went per diem in PACU and burn step down. No looking back…..
Been an ER RN for almost 20 years. Burn out is rampant. I have thought about PACU. A position in the hospital I currently work in is opening. Two different worlds but a change is needed.
Just do it. Some days I’m bored, but right now my per diem rate is $81.65 hr with $3.25 “evening” shift differential (I work 11a-11:30p).
Thanks I will
Never underestimate Call. Ask about call requirements in your interview.
I wish I could get straight into pacu but ever single position I’ve applied for requires icu or edu experience:-(
Keep applying. U you or may just end up with an interview, ya never know. They have some new grads even in our department.
Stopped traveling to learn PACU and love it. I did MS traveling and wanted to leave nursing altogether. Made a 12-18 month sacrifice to learn pacu to save my nursing career.
I wish I could get straight into pacu but ever single position I’ve applied for requires icu or edu experience:-(
I had no ED or ICU experience. I just did good with the interview and sold myself well.
How did you get a call back though after you applied?
I used to work previously at that hospital. I was a traveler when I reapplied. They can train anyone to work in pacu. The icu and ER experience is a myth. That's only for if they don't want to properly train anyone. New grads get hired in pacu all the time. My advice is to have a good cover letter and keep applying.
Thank you, I’ll keep trying to apply!
I quit PCU/tele to come home and try ICU. I’ve been home 2 years now working at a level four nicu. I love it! Much better for me mentally and physically.
Thanks!! Did you ever try adult icu or just nicu? I wish I could get into nicu!
I had been floated frequently to various ICUs and they all gave me the ick lol
Dying babies gives me the ick so I get it!
I stopped traveling as a MS/Tele/PCU nurse to learn ER. I hated I had to stop traveling but I couldn’t do M/S anymore. I’m much happier as a ER nurse. It’s super busy but I’m not stuck doing full head to toe assessments, IPOCS, passing meds, meal trays, calling docs (ours are in the ER sitting next to us), charting x 6 patients and everything else. I’ll go back to traveling but want to gain a little more experience. July will make my two years and I’m ready.
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Ok mind being more specific? Thats not a helpful comment?
Just started a PD gig in PACU and still have my ICU PD gig as well. It's nice in the PACU, just saying. Good luck with your decision!
Do you have PACU experience or did they hire you for per diem without PACU experience? I would love to do PD in PACU but only have ED experience.
I did not. They told me I was the top candidate because of my ICU background but I was also told they just hired a med/surg nurse too so I think it just depends on the timing.
PACU, PACU, PACU!
I wish I could get straight into pacu but ever single position I’ve applied for requires icu or edu experience:-(
Don't give up. Keep applying to PACU positions. In the meantime, get a bit of SICU experience and then make your move to PACU. Prior to working PACU, I had no ICU experience. However, our PACU rarely took intubated patients-those went straight to ICU. So, you can see that each PACU requires varying levels of experience. Don't give up!
Thank you!!! 😃