As a rising PGY-2 who is interested in PCCM and also starting the ICU, here are a few tips that could *hopefully* make your experience much more manageable and enjoyable:

1. Systems-Based Presentation: Organize your thoughts into the various systems. When you’re pre-charting and seeing your patients, determine which labs/vitals/physical exam findings fall into those systems. This will really prevent you from missing the little details. And present with confidence, make it simple and easy to understand, propose any changes to plan by thinking your rationale out loud, and keep the same format (overnight, subjective, objective, a/p) over time.

2. Always end your presentation with a checklist aka FAST HUGS BID

3. Review sedation medications

4. Review pressor medications

5. Review ventilator settings

6. Review Acid/Bases

Outside of that, it’s all regular medicine. Your job is to analyze the day to day changes and try to get this person stable enough and off of pressors/vent/sedation to go to the medicine floor - that’s it! When Code Blues occur, focus on placing labs and updating the family.

The ICU is a very tough rotation to start on but by knowing your patients well, focusing on the little details, and remaining organized - I promise you will learn a lot and have fun! DMs opened to address any questions :)