I spent a month seeing heart attacks and cardiac ischemia everyday, and you get really good really fast at the management, inpatient care, and the type of preventive care you start in the hospital. It's a great way to learn when to hold/start heparin, who to cath, etc. I was lucky to work with some really great cardiology fellows and attendings who taught me how to read complex EKGs, a critical skill in medicine and surgery.
The ICU will be scary for anyone starting it, but you learn how to think in terms of systems. Divide and conquer, really. The ICU is a great place to learn about ventilator settings, and it will really hammer home how important it is to use the minimum amount of vascular access for the shortest amount of time possible due to the likelihood of IV site infections and sepsis. It's also a great place to learn about the nutrition of critically ill patients, management of pressors, and getting "comfortable" with life-threatening arrhythmias and asystole. Be assertive and learn as much as you can in the ICU, because soon it'll be you running a code, maybe even on your first day as a doctor.
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