What Does a Critical Care Nurse Do?
Critical care nurses possess the same skills as a registered nurse and may undergo additional training to care for acute or critical illnesses. An average workday includes monitoring critical medical support equipment and tending to patients with life-threatening injuries. Critical care nurses require clear communication to interact with other nurses and interdisciplinary teams to stabilize emergency situations. Nurses also work with healthcare providers to administer medical treatments, and keep the patient's family informed.
Key Skills
- Ability to access and treat patients swiftly and accurately
- Critical thinker in a fast-paced environment
- Good communicator between patients and families
- Physically fit for long, intensive shifts
Where Do Critical Care Nurses Work?
Critical care nurses apply their advanced training and expertise to various healthcare settings.
They typically work in intensive care units (ICU) but provide care in other healthcare facilities related to emergency injuries or long-term illness. Step-down units look after patients who don't need as much immediate care as a patient in the ICU but aren't stable enough to be sent to a medical floor or home. Some critical care nurses can even work from home by supporting other nurses from a teleICU.
ICU
- Stabilize patients' health by assessing their condition, administering medicine, and monitoring life support machines
- Adapt and stay calm under high-stress situations where critical thinking is crucial
- Coordinate with the interdisciplinary team and the patient's family on the best course of action for the patient
Step-down Units
- Help lower the number of patients in the ICU by providing an intermediate place for more stable patients to go
- Provide care for patients who have just gone through major surgery or continue to need medical support
- Comfort patients and families
- Quickly be able to respond to any changes in a patient's condition
TeleICU
- Create a treatment plan for a patient with other nurses and specialists through videoconferencing
- Have an open mind to new ideas and ways to treat patients with teleICUs being a new development in healthcare
- Technologically capable
- Analytically minded
Why Become a Critical Care Nurse?
Critical care nurses bear high-risk, high-reward careers because of the incredible amount of responsibility they carry when caring for patients in life-threatening situations. Nurses have to assume the job of advocate for unconscious patients and form bonds with the patient's family throughout the patient's admission. These situations add emotional weight to nurses' professional lives and can take a toll on their mental health.
Although they carry this heavy burden, there are many benefits to critical care nursing. When working at an ICU or other healthcare facilities, the critical care nurses have access to the most up-to-date medical equipment and get to work alongside veteran professionals. A critical care nurse also has many opportunities to specialize and gain a higher salary or seek higher-level positions.
Advantages to Becoming a Critical Care Nurse
Disadvantages to Becoming a Critical Care Nurse
How to Become a Critical Care Nurse
How Much Do Critical Care Nurses Make?
A critical care nurse's salary varies from geographical location, but they receive a national annual median pay of $94,610. San Francisco, California boasts the highest salaries for critical care nurses, with nurses earning more than 18% above the national average.
The BLS projects that all registered nurses positions, including critical care nurse jobs, will grow by 5% from 2024 to 2034.
Resources for Critical Care Nurses
Frequently Asked Questions
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