Question: Dear Donna, I have recently transferred from a cardiac cath lab to an ICU. My ultimate goal is to get my CRNA license. ICU is not my passion, but it is a required stepping stone to apply to schools. I am still in my orientation phase and have run into a slight set back. It is embarrassing, yet I have no control over it. Sometimes I pass out during dressing changes or when I am charting. It doesn’t happen often, but it has been an occurrence throughout my life.

I can’t pinpoint what exactly what triggers it. Is it a smart idea to continue and push my way through, or should I choose a different career path?

A Well Known But Sometimes Embarrassing Occurrences

Melissa Dear Donna replies: Dear Melissa, Your “set back” isn’t embarrassing as much as it is serious cause for concern. Is this something you’ve been medically worked up for? Do you have a driver’s license? Before making any type of career plans, you need to see your primary care provider and have this looked into. It could be related to cardiac issues, blood chemistry, electrical activity in your brain, a sleep disorder such as narcolepsy, or a whole host of other possible things.

Don’t try to self-diagnose or make light of the situation. It is not normal to “pass out” periodically — I don’t care how long it has been going on. As a licensed healthcare provider working in an ICU, you have an obligation to get medical help and advice to protect yourself and your patients.

What if you were to pass out during a code? You could put other’s lives at risk. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. And as a human being with family and friends, you have an obligation to tend to your own health and quality of life. Get the help you need now, and don’t put yourself or others at risk any longer.

My best wishes, Donna Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum’s “Dear Donna” and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna.

Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.