clinical expectations

I was assigned to the ICU at American Fork Hospital.  I didn't go with a ton of expectations primarily due to the fact that I have worked at the American for Hospital for 5 years and have dealt with the ICU many times.  What I didnt realize is how differently they were set up in regards to patient flow, paperwork etc.  When I went to do my clinicals, all I really wanted to get out of the clinical was an experience that I could hopefully use one day when I applied to an ICU.  Other than the Emergency department, The ICU is the only other department that I have been interested in.  I love the atmosphere in the ICU due to the similarity of the Emergency Department.  I have that need I guess for the adrenaline.  I really just enjoy that fact that I feel that I am having to be more of a critical thinker due to the accuity of the patients.  What I did know that would be different is the amount of patients each nurse has, not only that but the difference in the types of interventions performed between the two different departments.  Following a charge nurse made me nervous for the fact that I thought I would be sitting around all day.  THe charge nurses in the emergency department are there to control the flow of the ED, at night they try to not take any patients in order to be available to help where there is help needed.  What I found out is that is what the charge nurse did in the ICU along with schedule, staffing, and they did have at least one patient. My expectations were met overall, I followed a fantastic charge nurse who taught me a great deal, and overall I enjoyed my experience.
I realized that I want to be a charge nurse sooner than later for the fact that I know that I could be good at this position.  Of course it would have to be in the ED due to my knowledge of this department.  I also learned from my clinical that I would need to gain some more base knowledge in order to help other staff with needs such as medications or running a code etc.  Though I have been the primary nurse on many codes, the charge nurse is such a resource due to their expertise.