Got a call today from an in-house recruiter at the heart hospital across town about a cath lab RN position. I've done CVICU for six years. I know post-cath patients and I'm comfortable with drips and sheath pulls, but I've never actually been in the lab. She said they'd train me and the base is about $4 more an hour than I make now, plus call pay.
The call part is what's making me hesitate. She was vague about how often. Something like 'it depends on the team.' Which usually means a lot.
Anyone made the jump from ICU to cath lab? How bad is call really, and did you feel like your ICU background actually carried over or did you feel brand new again? I don't want to trade one kind of tired for another and not realize it until I'm six months in.
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Post replyNobody warns you about the lead. Wearing an apron for 10 hours a day wrecked my lower back within a year. Get fitted for a good one early and don't settle for whatever is hanging on the rack.
Is the $4 just base or is that with the call stipend? Some places pay a few bucks an hour to carry the phone and then time and a half once you're actually called in, which changes the math a lot.
Honestly the $4 gets eaten pretty fast once you factor in getting pulled out of bed for a STEMI and still working your scheduled shift the next morning. Not saying don't do it, but I'd want a lot more than that to give up guaranteed sleep.
Made the jump after 5 years CVICU. Your hemodynamics knowledge carries over and the docs will love that you don't panic when someone crashes on the table. But scrubbing, learning every wire and catheter, and running the monitoring station had me feeling like a new grad for a solid 4 months. Call was about 1 in 5 weeknights plus one weekend a month. Some weeks quiet, some weeks I got called in at 2am three nights straight.
Ask them point blank how many call shifts per month and what the response time is. If she can't give you a number, ask to talk to the charge nurse in the lab. Most places I've seen want you there within 30 minutes, so if you live across town that alone might decide it for you.