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Not really any books to read, but learn the instruments and be focused. Anticipate the needs of the team.

Be super familiar with running a balloon pump. Try to be the expert of that machine.

Learn from the anesthesiologists about vasoactive drips, purpose, normal dose ranges.
Know what the invasive line numbers mean and where they are.

Be interested in more than just positioning, prepping, counting, and closing.

I work as a CVICU RN and scrubbed CV for several years. Its a super fun area to work in. You can be the best on the team with a strong knowledge base. When you gain that knowledge share it!!! See one, do one, teach one. Dont be a know it all, just look for opportunities to learn and opportunities to share knowledge.

I can recommend one book to you. Its intended to learn critical care basics, but it touches nicely on balloon pump, hemodynamics, invasive monitoring, and Swan Ganz. It will help you understand what you are dealing with. The surgeons and anesthesiologists will eventually be impressed by your interest in learning and you will be very successful. Plus you will be the BOMB at giving report to the ICU nurse!
Critical Care Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! (Incredibly Easy! Series®) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496306937/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_6y.CDbC649HT3

WOOHOOOO!!! That’s so exciting!! Congrats!!

Gomella’s “Neonatology” is a classic—I got my copy when I first transferred to NICU, and it’s been a great resource to me. It helps that neonatal nurse practitioners study it, too, so you can basically be using the same reference a new NNP would be. (Neonatology 7th Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071768017/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Co2ZCbQBS0318).

Another textbook I’ve used quite a bit over the years is AWHONN’s Core Curriculum for Neonatal Nursing (https://www.amazon.com/dp/032322590X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Nq2ZCb2CHG39R). I originally bought it about a year into my NICU practice to study for the RNC-NIC specialty certification exam; it was great for that as well as topics I’ve needed to study or teach about since.

Those two are my top picks! Again, very happy for you. I hope this is the beginning of a long, rewarding career for you 🖤

A few of my suggestions have been said but I will go through my routine-
During work, I take a Vitamin B Complex about halfway through my shift (I decided that’s the time it worked best for me- doing 12’s wears on my mental capacity).
Sunglasses on the way home, make no stops on your way home unless you NEED something.
Get home, strip, take a melatonin, shower, my routine is to fill the bath tub with an inch or two of hot water and and a few drops of lavender oil, sometimes epsom salt (depending on the night of course), immediately brush my teeth and lay down ASAP. I used to have blackout curtains but it was almost too much- we have a dark tan sheet doubled over the window. It lets in some light so on the days it bothers me, I use an eye mask .
I enjoy white noise, I have an app for it on my phone, but I also keep earplugs nearby.

If you didn’t notice, I really like essential oils so I also have a diffuser going with something calming.

Jut try to shut your eyes ASAP. Don’t underestimate melatonin, it is your friend. Benadryl makes me feel groggy the next day.

So sorry for the novel, but I have my routine down to a science. 😂

Edit: during the winter I use my heated blanket to help warm up and drift off to sleep. 💤

My nursing graduation gift from my parents was a name tag for my steth. The local medical equipment shop that sells medical books/scrubs/stethoscopes/etc was able to make one in like 15 minutes. Turned a generic work item into a personalized tool that I nearly turned into Liam Neeson in Taken when I let a doctor borrow it for a code blue and didn't give it back. I'm willing to shank a MF over that stethoscope.

Edit: You have me reminiscing now. The second best gift I got was from my wife (then girlfriend) was First Year Nurse (don't tell my wife that I said this, but I nearly cried when I saw MrGigglesWorth, RN). It's a small book with a lot of wisdom from nurses who've been in the game for decades. The transition to student nurse to professional nurse is a tough one, and I would dive into this book to look for advice on how to handle the pressures of being a nurse. Love this book, and actually buy it for each nursing student and new grad that I precept.

First Year Nurse: Wisdom, Warnings, and What I Wish I'd Known My First 100 Days on the Job https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1607140640/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6IHZCbPC5M46Z

Im not sure if this is as good as the Saunders NCLEX review booklet (its literally like my bible at this point) but I found this on amazon https://www.amazon.com/LPN-Notes-Nurses-Clinical-Pocket/dp/080365796X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=LPN&qid=1563508093&s=gateway&sr=8-2 . Maybe try getting a book like this to refresh the things you aren't confident in!

Edit: Found this one as well https://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-PN®-Examination-Nclex-Pn/dp/0323484883/ref=zg_bs_689811011_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PYSDVTJS77C71MCQ74YP :)

Shoes: I wear my Doc Martens. I have 3 pairs that I rotate through so they have time to breathe and reduce foot funk. Each pair has gel inserts (Dr Scholl's I think?).

Scrubs: I swear by my dickies for bottoms and tops. I've tried various brands, these are the ones I like best.

Stethoscope: I haven't needed more than the disposable ones on the unit in 5 years of behavioral health. Been in the ER for 6 months, think I've needed a good stethoscope 3 times (2 asthmatics, 3rd time for bowel sounds on an obstruction).

Edit: clarified statement to reflect needing more than disposable stethoscope

Salomon xa pro

Salomon XA Pro 3D Trail Running Shoes - SS19-11 Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N3WSNPW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_Wq8zCb84FCH99

Great trail running shoe are great for being on your feet all day

Come in many funky colours but i just like the Black

I have these Crocs Bistro Clogs. Pretty inexpensive, easy to clean, and some of the most comfortable shoes I’ve worn. I can wear them all day and my feet don’t hurt!

💖

17 years ago a friend, colleague, mentor and veteran passed. And I cried.

Lynda Van Devanter Buckley

May 27, 1947 – November 15, 2002

https://youtu.be/2kgqlSqosNw

https://www.amazon.com/Home-before-Morning-Story-Vietnam/dp/1558492984

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/23/us/lynda-van-devanter-nurse-who-became-chronicler-of-her-wartime-pain-dies-at-55.html

Anywear Women's Exact-W, Black, 5 M US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A51YULO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Vr0zCb7TADF7G

I have had these for a couple of years, best shoes I’ve had.

Not a shoe recommendation but don’t forget compression socks. I can totally tell the difference in fatigue when I don’t wear a good pair. I like Sockwell 20-30 graduated compression socks. A bit pricey ($26) but if you don’t put them in the dryer, they last a long time.
Sockwell Women's Elevation Firm Graduated Compression Socks, Black Multi, Small/Me... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00832SZ7W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_HM3zCbVH0HMKH

And if you are interested in critical care, start learning your pharmacology, start learning how to monitor patients and recognize their pathophysiology. Learn about shock states and interventions. Take ACLS and really absorb the material, learn the drugs (and maybe your hospital will pay for the class). Use your resources.

https://litfl.com/

https://www.aacn.org/education/publications/ajcc

https://www.aacn.org/education/publications/ccn

https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Care-Nursing-Made-Incredibly/dp/1496306937/ref=zg_bs_689795011_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0607QMDKFN47CT1WW80V

https://www.amazon.com/Hemodynamic-Monitoring-Made-Incredibly-Visual/dp/1496306996/ref=zg_bs_689795011_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0607QMDKFN47CT1WW80V

https://www.aacn.org/store/books/400820/aacn-commonly-used-iv-cardiac-medications-for-adults-pocket-reference-card

Do you think that the book you recommended for me:

https://www.amazon.com/Cardiac-Surgery-Essentials-Critical-Nursing/dp/0763757624

would be outdated because it was published almost 8 years ago? Or do you think it would be still relevant?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998111422/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can Amazon prime this book. It's a book with tips/pearls on transitioning from nursing school to a new grad RN.

What kind of ICU are you looking to get into? When I first started, I got into a cvicu and got this as my first reference book. I really liked their chapter on cardiac meds and hemodynamics.

https://www.amazon.com/Cardiac-Surgery-Essentials-Critical-Nursing/dp/0763757624

I did get a separate hemodynamics book though. That's still one of my weaknesses.

This one has ice packs built into it.

I hate that fellow nursing students are catty instead of working as a team. One day they might find themselves on the same team or at the same hospital as those that they trampled over in school.

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This is my study routine.

Once our powerpoints are posted, I make an outline that I print off. In class, I take notes. After class, I take the lecture notes and rewrite them on the outline that I printed. I star/highlight things that the professor stressed. The outline helps me visualize what content areas have the most info (more info = most likely on exam). I will go through and read the Saunders NCLEX book and the HESI review book. I will add any additional info to my outline to supplement the lecture notes. Then, I will make notecards online. I try to rewrite my notes and make note cards within 24 hours of the lecture. It seems to be more effective for me and is more manageable that way. It is easy to pull these up and "quiz" myself when I have small amounts of time. If I am still confused about a topic, I will look it up in the book that was assigned for the course. Other than that, I only use those books for clinical paperwork.

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Once we have covered a topic or a few days before the exam, I will use the Saunders NCLEX book and the HESI review book in study mode and work on practice questions and READ THE RATIONALES. I bookmark questions that I get wrong and will review those again making sure I understand the rationale.

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https://www.amazon.com/0323358519-9780323358514-Saunders-Comprehensive-Examination/dp/B07MN1WLX4

https://www.amazon.com/HESI-Comprehensive-Review-NCLEX-RN-Examination/dp/0323394620