In the ICU

Last week I had some great opportunities in my clinicals for various rotations. The first was in the ICU. I took two patients. The first had multiple diagnoses and her labs were constantly changing, so I had to keep a good eye on her. Other than the Acute Renal Failure, Acute Arthritis, new onset diabetes, anemia, low neutrophil count (which she had to be in isolation), she was pretty much independent. Come to find out, that she had a coronary stent in place and was taking Plavix to keep her arteries clear, that it was having an adverse reaction. The Plavix was decreasing her red blood cells and white blood cells. She had 2 units of blood transfused and after a few days in isolation she perked back up. It was a very interesting case & patient to give care for.
The other patient was pretty cool. She came in with cellulitis of the leg, and during her stay, she went into septic shock. Not cool. While treating her septic shock, she developed Acute Respiratory Distress Sydnrome (ARDS). That is when the alveoli in the lungs fill up with thick fluid-like secretions and is unable to do the CO2 & O2 exchange (that sustains breathing). The x-ray showed a lot of infiltrates in her lungs. She was intubated and then mechanically ventilated. I saw her the week prior and she was in really bad condition. When I had her, she was somewhat alert and able to nod her head yes & no to questions. I got to learn a lot about mechanically vented pts and the intense care that is given. I helped provide full care for this patient alongside a RN. I was able to get a lot of hands-on experience with her and learn so much.
I really enjoyed the ICU, but I don't think I am at a point in my nursing career/profession that I am able to critically think as quick as the RN's do. I know that will come in time, but The pts in the ICU require so much care and monitoring it is quite overwhelming, partly because I don't have ICU training. I think I will continue in my search of the perfect avenue of nursing to pursue.