Intensive Care Nursing

Critical Care Nursing

Job Opportunities

Kristine Provencher

There are very few jobs that are specifically advertised for this specialty in Vermont, but I did find many job listing on www.nurse.com and searched critical care nursing. Many job openings were available in the Boston, MA area and Texas has many job openings for CCRN's.

Critical Care Nursing

Critical care nurses practice in settings where patients require complex assessment, intense therapies and interventions. Critical care nurses rely upon a specialized body of knowledge, skills and experience to provide care to patients and families and create environments that are healing, humane and caring.

Salary

Critical Care

Education

The median salary for a critical care nurse is about $68,000 a year. This of course varies where you are working and what kind of a need there is for critical care nurses.

Critical care or sometimes referred to as the I.C.U (intensive care unit) is a unit in a hospital where patients go whose health is to unstable to stay on a regular medical surgical floor and must have 24 hour medical supervision.

All critical care nurses must be a Registered Nurse for at least a year in order to sit for there certification test. Most hospitals will hire R.N will an associates degree, but a bachelors is preferred. Nurses who work in the I.C.U must be able to work in high stress situations and have some kind of background in emergency type medicine.

Sub-specialties

There are different types of critical care nursing just like in hospital there are different specialties for age, or parts of the body. Most of these are still all handled in the same unit but there are some differences.

Adult critical care

Pediatric critical care

Cardiac critical care

Neuro critical care

Certification

Responsibilities

The AACN (association for accredited certified nurses) puts out a specific test for nurses who wish to specialize in critical care nursing called the CCRN (Critical Care Registered Nurse).

Respect and support the right of the patient or the patient's designated surrogate to autonomous informed decision making.

Intervene when the best interest of the patient is in question.

Help the patient obtain necessary care.

Respect the values, beliefs and rights of the patient.

Provide education and support to help the patient or the patient's designated surrogate make decisions.

Represent the patient in accordance with the patient's choices.

Support the decisions of the patient or designated surrogate, or transfer care to an equally qualified critical care nurse.

Intercede for patients who cannot speak for themselves in situations that require immediate action.

Monitor and safeguard the quality of care the patient receives.

Act as a liaison between the patient, the patient's family and other healthcare professionals.