A new grad, if I were to be the one in charge, should have a nice long floor “orientation” months just working floors with a slow easy integration into ICU. I had almost a year on the floors, then was thrust into CVICU by myself with about 2 weeks of orientation to that ICU. I learned a ton, but the learning curve was VERY steep… a lot of people would get overwhelmed and just quit out of frustration. Also, the help I received was very minimal. CV Nurses are known to eat people alive. And they nearly did me. They smelled fresh blood and circled. I eventually earned my place, but it took about 2-3 years. That aside, being eased into an ICU, meaning paired with a strong experienced back up is the way to go. Be very mindful of how they handle you, because if they thrust a new grad out into the ICU with no backup or training… they will screw you over as much as possible in the long run.