ICU rotation

This past week, I had a rotation in the ICU. I was assigned to a primary RN and assisted her with one of her patients. The patient I had was a post-op patient who's vitals rapidly decreased and was tranferred to the ICU. He was a contact isolation patient, meaning I had to gown and glove each time upon entering his room. In the ICU, he was diagnosed with sepsis, with respiratory acidosis as a complication. During the shift, he had 6 liters of NS 0.9% infused with only 200ml of urine output. He also had 5 other IV’s with other medications infusing with the NS. The physician inserted a CVP line to monitor his venous pressure. It was so interesting being in the ICU. I couldn't believe how much work and time one patient took. I love the fact that nurses only do paper charting, as compared to computer charting on other floors. I loved every minute of it. This is definitely an area that I am interested in and maybe the ICU might be in my future.