Starting with ICU!!

[canukmd]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Haven't cracked a book in over 5 months and I just found out today that I'll be starting my intern year in the ICU (just praying that I'm not on call the 1st day)...the ICU is basically intern-run during the evening when the senior resident goes home - so it's just the one intern and the on-call (in-house) intensivist.

What should I read from now until my 1st day?
What pocket books, if any, do you think would be most helpful to have on hand? Is MGH Pocket Med sufficient?

Man...so wish I was starting on floors first to get my feet wet

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[cchoukal]

Tarascon's Critical Care handbook is nice and small with lots of useful information. Not sure how "I" your ICU is, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Two tips:

1) As an intern, the ICU nurses know a heck of a lot more than you do, so pay attention.

2) don't leave home without your brown scrubs.

 

[Idiopathic]

Yeah, i second the whole "listen to the ICU nurses" thing. People get burned when they dont take them seriously. My first month (I started in the SICU) I pretty much asked them what they would do. A) I felt like I learned alot about being in the trenches from them, and B) we bonded because not a lot of interns would do that, especially later in the year.

 

[elwademd]

as an intern, those icu nurses know a whole hell of a lot. hell, as a resident, they still do! some of these nurses have been here for 30 years... i.e. longer than i've been alive!

as cchoukal said, tarascon's is good.

the icu book is also good, but might be too in depth, and is definitely too large to carry around with you in the icu or on the wards.

 

[souljah1]

UptoDate "critical care" and read all the links that come up over the course of your first week or two. Little pocket manuals are good to refer to, but take advantage of your hospitals printer and get some good reads for the commute, the treadmill, the toilet, whatever....

 

[bla_3x]

I feel ya. After a short orientation stint in the ED (em resident) I go to Trauma Surg for my first rotation! Yikes!

I never got to take trauma call or anything during my surgery as a third year

 

[Doctortobee]

Yup...get ICU AND call on July 1st

 

[canukmd]

Thanks for the response folks...and the suggested reading materials.

I did a little surfing on the net and found a somewhat concise ICU pocket reference - less detailed than Marino but more than Tarascon. It's about 60 pages but it's mostly charts, tables and graphs. Here's the link:

http://docmd.com/files/pocket4.pdf

Hope is helps those of you in the same situation as me.

Just found out I'll be on call on July 1st - just me and the intensivist over night...just hope he/she doesn't feel like sleeping that night

Good luck to y'all.

 

[notherenorthere]

Hello!

ICU nurse here, just looking through the forums
I work at Mass. Gen. Hospital. Listen, do not worry about it. Everyone in the ICU is fully prepared for the fact that it is July and you're a brand new MD!! This includes the nursing staff, the attendings, and the sr. residents and fellows!

I am pleasantly surprised to see responses indicating to listen to the ICU nurses. that makes me proud. However, some ICU nurses are new, too. Always check and double check everything.

If it makes you feel any better, I always look through admission orders written by interns in July and August and make sure all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted...however, usually, the interns do a great job.

You'll do better than you think. And if it isn't too boorish of me to say, I think you're better off starting off in ICU - the nursing staff does tend to be a little more knowledgable than floor staff.

Good Luck!!

 

[notherenorthere]

Oh one other thing - I do not know where you are going - but at Mass. General, they tend to schedule only the strongest junior and senior residents to be in ICU in July and August. The ones who are really smart, ultra-competent and good teachers - all to help the intern transition. Not sure if this is common practice or even spoken about - but I know it's true!!

 

[DeLaughterDO]

Hello!

ICU nurse here, just looking through the forums
I work at Mass. Gen. Hospital. Listen, do not worry about it. Everyone in the ICU is fully prepared for the fact that it is July and you're a brand new MD!! This includes the nursing staff, the attendings, and the sr. residents and fellows!

I am pleasantly surprised to see responses indicating to listen to the ICU nurses. that makes me proud. However, some ICU nurses are new, too. Always check and double check everything.

If it makes you feel any better, I always look through admission orders written by interns in July and August and make sure all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted...however, usually, the interns do a great job.

You'll do better than you think. And if it isn't too boorish of me to say, I think you're better off starting off in ICU - the nursing staff does tend to be a little more knowledgable than floor staff.

Good Luck!!

Agree with this.

You're lucky to be starting in the ICU - if you can hack it there, the rest of the year will be a breeze.

enjoy the unit!