Icu Nurse Vs Floor Nurse

Icu nurses feel they have the toughest job because the patient acuity is higher.

Icu nurse vs floor nurse.

Icu nurses on the other hand typically operate like well oiled machines and wouldn t have it any other way. I know they are all registered nurses and everything but what is the difference between them. The differences in working environment for an icu vs an er nurse. Icu nurses appreciate shifts that are structured organized and allow them to perform their work without hiccups.

Every now and then i have a shift where my patients are stable and relatively easy but those are few and far between in my unit. Organization or lack thereof i have never met an icu nurse who wasn t meticulously organized and borderline ocd. Do you choose to be a floor nurse or icu nurse or er nurse or do you have to work in the er or icu on different days. First er nurses work in the main entry point of a hospital or major health care facility while icu nurses work on a separate floor that is generally far quieter and calmer than the bustling emergency room is.

Because of the high number of patients on the med surg floor the nurse here must usually spend a larger amount of time than the icu nurse does in educating patients and family members and answering their questions. I d love to hear from some of the nurses that have done both. I was a new graduate nurse in the emergency department ed for about two years before i switched to the micu medical intensive care unit in march 2016. What are each of their responsibilities and duties.

Running to an emergency is just as vital as it is anywhere in the hospital probably more so for icu nurses. When did you decide to change specialty and why. While the icu may only have a few patients and often only one real icu level patient they are also usually the resource nurses for the floor and often only have themselves and another nurse on the floor with no in house provider. I much prefer the icu craziness over a floor.

One critically ill patient can keep you running nonstop for hours. Icu nursing can be as hectic as floor nursing but in a different way. The problem is catching up with those q2h assessments giving all iv push medications adjusting feeding tubes watching the vent and drawing blood from a central line. While the med surg nurse must juggle less acute concerns for multiple patients the icu nurse usually juggles far more serious issues for only one or two patients at a time.