Hey all-
I’m gonna be real because I’m genuinely stuck.
I’ve been an ER nurse for 2.5 years in a high acuity and well known hospital system in NYC. The ED is busy (roughly 50–70 patients/day), and I’ve been trying to get into the ICU since last August. I’ve applied to more positions than I can count at this point, and I’m either getting rejected outright or not hearing back at all.
I’ve taken care of vented patients, titrated drips, handled codes, and I’m comfortable in high pressure situations. I know that the ICU is a different mindset, and that’s exactly why I want to transition into a different specialty. I want to think deeper and really understand what’s going on with my patients beyond the initial stabilization phase and assisting patients with more complicated needs (also just enjoyed working with patients and sad to see them leave the ER when they go upstairs to their units).
At this point, I feel like I’m missing something fundamental. Is it because I’m coming from ER and not step-down and/or ICU? Just the current job market being brutal in NYC? Or having no internal referrals?
I’m open to honest feedback.. even if it’s blunt. I’d rather know what I need to fix than keep applying into a void.
******Also, if anyone works in an ICU that’s open to training ER nurses or has advice on how to actually get a foot in the door (or is willing to connect and refer me), I’d seriously appreciate it. Feel free to DM me.
TIA!
Edit: for context on volume, our ED often has ~50-70 patients on the board at once with around 20-30 admits holding but the winter season will consistently have the 70s on the board and triage roughly 150–200 patients daily, so it’s pretty constant turnover.
Edit: Every unit I've applied to, I've also emailed their managers saying that I was interested in their unit (no responses unfortunately). I also reached out to talent acquisition on feedback to make my application better, but they just told me, "Oh we will contact you if they want to move forward with you," or no replies.