A critical care nurse is another term for an ICU nurse. These are registered nurses (RNs) with additional education, internships, or training. They primarily work in intensive care units (ICUs), where they provide the intensive care that patients in these units require. These nurses may have a lot of hands-on work, and they may also be the first point of contact for family members, assisting them in dealing with a loved one’s serious illness.
The education required to work as an ICU nurse varies. Some people get jobs in this unit of a hospital right after completing RN training. More is needed in many hospitals. They might offer a multi-year internship in critical care nursing, or they might look for nurses who have already worked on surgical or medical wards for a number of years. Job requirements may be higher, and some hospitals will only hire someone who is certified as a critical care RN or has a master’s degree in critical care. This advanced degree is offered some nursing schools.
An ICU nurse usually specializes in either infant/pediatric or adult care, and some may have additional training in areas such as cardiology or oncology. Some of these RNs’ responsibilities may be determined their job type and area of specialization. An ICU nurse in a neonatal unit, for example, might be responsible for everything from diaper changes to wound care, cleaning, and dressing.
Nurses in intensive care units must be extremely vigilant. They evaluate and record monitor readings, making sure to alert physicians to any significant changes. They also assess patients on a regular basis to see if things like pain control are adequate and to look for any signs of deterioration. The gravity of the patient’s condition, unlike in other areas of the hospital, allows for less direct nurse/patient communication, so the nurse’s assessment is critical in determining patient needs.
In addition to maintaining vigilance, the ICU nurse must frequently communicate with family members. They may inform the family of developments explaining the patient’s monitors, tubes, and wires, or they may educate them on protocol for handling or dealing with the patient’s current condition. Many of these nurses have a deep compassion for family members’ worries and fears and end up providing them with exceptional care, but the patient always comes first and receives the nurse’s full attention.
Depending on the type of ICU, the ICU nurse may be responsible for only one patient or must manage the needs of multiple patients at the same time. Patients may be transferred to step-down units as they begin to recover slightly, and ICU nurses are typically the primary nurses in these settings. Due to the severity of the illness, recovery is not always possible in ICUs, and these nurses must deal with the loss of patients on a regular basis, implying a need for strong emotional resiliency and maturity.