What Do Critical Care Nurses Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

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Job Description, Daily Responsibilities, and Work Life

Critical Care Nurses

Critical Care Nurses provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.

Salary
$80010
Becoming One
Medium
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality



Job Description

Job Description

Critical Care Nurses provide advanced nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units. They also evaluate patients’ vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.

Other tasks include:

  • 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.
  • Administer medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.
  • Assess patients’ pain levels or sedation requirements.
  • Conduct pulmonary assessments to identify abnormal respiratory patterns or breathing sounds that indicate problems.
  • Monitor patients’ fluid intake and output to detect emerging problems, such as fluid and electrolyte imbalances.

We asked Critical Care Nurses how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

Job satisfaction

74%

How meaningful is this job

82%


74% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.



Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Critical Care Nurses identify patients’ age-specific needs and alter care plans as necessary to meet those needs. They evaluate patients’ vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.

A typical day for a Critical Care Nurse will also include:

  • Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
  • Identify patients at risk of complications due to nutritional status.
  • Assess patients’ pain levels or sedation requirements.
  • Conduct pulmonary assessments to identify abnormal respiratory patterns or breathing sounds that indicate problems.
  • Assess family adaptation levels and coping skills to determine whether intervention is needed.

We asked some Critical Care Nurses a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job? 100% said yes
How important is it to work in a team in this job? 75% said very important
Do you have group discussions everyday in this job? 95% said yes
Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job? 50% said yes
Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job? 20% said yes
Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job? 65% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Critical Care Nurses also participate in professional organizations and continuing education to improve practice knowledge and skills. They may also administer blood and blood products, monitoring patients for signs and symptoms related to transfusion reactions.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Critical Care Nurses Assist physicians with procedures such as bronchoscopy, endoscopy, endotracheal intubation, or elective cardioversion. They might also Provide post-mortem care.

In addition, they Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, interdisciplinary health care team members, or community members.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Coordinate patient care conferences.

To some Critical Care Nurses, it is also their responsibility to Participate in the development, review, or evaluation of nursing practice protocols.


Working life

Working hours

Standard 40 hour work week

Working schedule

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Critical Care Nurse, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Do Critical Care Nurses work in an office-style work environment?

Every day
85%


Never
5%


Do Critical Care Nurses work outdoors?

Never
95%


Once a year
5%



Is this right for me

Best personality for this career

The Helpers and The Thinkers

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.



Learn more about Critical Care Nurses

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Related to Critical Care Nurses Job Description

Critical Care Nurses job description, what do Critical Care Nurses do, typical day for Critical Care Nurses, what is it like to work as a Critical Care Nurse, how many hours do Critical Care Nurses work, day to day work of a Critical Care Nurse

Additional resources

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
http://www.nursingworld.org/
http://www.asrn.org/
https://www.discovernursing.com/


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