Critical Care Nurses
Also called: 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.
- Set up and monitor medical equipment and devices such as cardiac monitors, mechanical ventilators and alarms, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, or pressure lines.
Knowledge
Health
- medicine and dentistry
- therapy and counseling
Math and Science
- psychology
- biology
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Business
- customer service
Skills
Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
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
- communicate by speaking
- listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- notice when problems happen
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:
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Stress Tolerance
- Concern for Others
- Self Control
- Integrity
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Medical software
- Epic Systems
- MEDITECH software
Information retrieval or search software
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses AACN Medicopeia
- PEPID RN Critical Care RNCC
Office suite software
- Google Drive
- Microsoft Office
Education
associate's degree or
bachelor's degree
usually needed
bachelor's degree
usually needed
Job Outlook
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
$73,300
$52,080
$111,220
Explore More
- Acute Care Nurses
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School
- Physical Therapist Assistants
- Registered Nurses
- Respiratory Therapists
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