Three things:

• Remember you aren’t there to learn how to be an ICU Nurse. If you like the environment and choose to apply for ICU when you are a Registered nurse then education starts from the beginning. Take the pressure off as a student in ICU. It’s stressful enough…
• Learn as much about the pathophysiology of the patient as you can. This will help you in working out what is actually going on, goals of care, and how well the patient is responding. This will draw on ALL the knowledge you have ever covered at university.
• Practice assessment skills. Look, listen, feel. Become confident in listening to your patient’s chest sounds, feeling all pulses, looking at colours, pupils, etc. You can take your newfound confidence in your skills into any clinical area.

Enjoy!

This post originally appeared on Quora.