How does one obtain a job in ICU?

[Kelly_mcandrew]

Hi there,

I am a 2nd semester nursing student with a rampant ambition to become a nurse anesthetist.

I know that I first need experience in ICU with invasive monitoring equiptment. My nurse lecturer said she went straight into ICU when she graduated nursing school, and that it is possible to find hospitals that will take new grads into ICU.

However, every ICU job I see posted ALWAYS requires at least 1 years experience, and other nurses I have talked to say you have to work your way up to ICU jobs via a med>surg>telemetry>ICU route or similar.

I really want to go straight into ICU if at all possible. Can anyone give me advice on how to go about this?

Thank you!

[AmandaWIRN]

Contact the nursing recruiters at your local hospitals- they may have a new grad program for orienting new grads to the ICU.