Critical Care Nurses

social interests patient data emotional support equipment intervention administer blood treatment device

Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), ICU Nurse (Intensive Care Unit Nurse), Staff Nurse

What they do:
Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
On the job, you would:
  • Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
  • Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
  • Administer medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.

Knowledge

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Business

  • customer service

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Math and Science

  • psychology

Skills

Basic Skills

  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • looking for ways to help people
  • understanding people's reactions

Abilities

Verbal

  • listen and understand what people say
  • communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Visual Understanding

  • see hidden patterns
  • quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Dependability
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Concern for Others
  • Cooperation

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Medical software

  • eClinicalWorks EHR software Hot Technology
  • Epic Systems Hot Technology

Cloud-based data access and sharing software

  • Google Drive
  • Microsoft SharePoint Hot Technology

Information retrieval or search software

  • American Association of Critical Care Nurses AACN Medicopeia
  • PEPID RN Critical Care RNCC

Education

Education: (rated 4 of 5)
bachelor's degree or
associate's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about critical care nurses.