Help! I'm New to Working in the PICU. What Type of Questions Should I Ask My Trainer?

On my YouTube channel, a viewer who will be working as a unit secretary in the PICU asked me what kind of questions she should ask her trainer. 

In the video, I responded to her question with five answers:

1. Have the trainer walk her through a typical day in the PICU. 

2. Will she be required to work in the NICU, Mother-Baby, or Labor & Delivery?

3. Will she be expected to work in other ICUs in the hospital, like PCU or CVICU?

4. Will she expected to interact with the patients?

5. Is she expected to go off the floor to run errands for the nurses?

What is Therapeutic Hypothermia? Inside the ICU when a Patient Suffers Cardiac Arrest (Video)

The rapper DMX had a heart attack after suffering a drug overdose. Some reports say that he is in critical condition on life support, some say he is breathing independently, and some are saying that he is brain dead. 

In the video above, I will tell you what I would see as a Unit Secretary when a person who suffered a heart attack arrived on the unit. 

What Is It Like Working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as a Unit Secretary?

 

What is it like working in an ICU? There are different types of ICUs: the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit), the CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit), and the regular ICU (Intensive Care Unit). 

What type of patients will you see?

• Patients who had Heart Attacks.
• Patients who have had surgery (not all; most can return to a regular unit after recovery). 
• Patients who had an organ transplant.
• Patients who have died and their bodies are kept alive to allow their organs to be used for donation. 
• Patients who have drowned.
• Patients in comas (intubated).
• Patients who have internal bleeding, whether it's GI (gastrointestinal) related or a possible aneurysm. 
• And more...

However, no matter what type of ICU it is, the patients are all in the same boat. They are in critical condition, and they need more medical attention.

    You will see hospice representatives more, as a patient in the ICU is likelier to go to Hospice than a patient in the Med/Surg (Medical/Surgical) unit. 

    You will see the EEG tech more as they perform tests to see what brain activity a patient may have (this would not be for all patients, only those where the brain activity may be called into question).  

  You will see the Case Manager or Social Worker more often as they are involved in arranging home health care, rehabilitation, ordering Durable Medical Equipment, etc. 

    Watch the video above to find out what else to expect in the ICU.