Got offered a PACU spot after 4 years in CVICU. Day shift, no weekends, but there's call. Two call shifts a month plus a holiday rotation. The base is about the same as what I make now without my night diff, so it's technically a pay cut unless I get called in a lot.
Part of me is so ready to stop titrating drips at 3am. Part of me is worried I'll get bored and my skills will just slowly leak out of my brain.
For the PACU people, how often do you actually get called in? And did anyone regret leaving ICU, or is that just something I'm telling myself so I don't have to make a decision.
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Post replyThe skills leaking out thing is real but it goes both ways. I've been in CVICU six years and I couldn't tell you the last time I did anything that wasn't the same five drips and a fresh heart. Meanwhile management keeps adding admin charting on top of it. At least in PACU you'd be tired from actual work.
Is the call in-house or from home, and what's the response time? 30 minutes from home is a totally different life than having to sleep there.
Gonna be the other voice here. I went ICU to PACU and came back after 14 months. It wasn't the skills thing, it was that I missed knowing my patients longer than 90 minutes. Some people love the turnover, I just didn't. Not saying don't do it, just know what actually keeps you going at work.
Did it two years ago. Zero regrets. My skin cleared up and I stopped crying in my car.
Former CVICU, PACU for 3 years now. Call frequency depends entirely on the hospital. At my place it's maybe 1 in 3 call shifts where I actually get called, but my friend across town gets called basically every time because they run a trauma center. Ask them straight up during the interview what the average callback rate is and how late cases usually run.