An ICU Nurse is responsible for continuous monitoring of patients in critical situations whose condition could get severe if not attended to timely and properly. The intensive Care Unit is a very important unit of any hospital. The ICU Nurse has to be very cautious and quick when it comes to attending to ICU patients.
In This Article
ICU Nurse Salary
The average salary or an ICU nurse is in 2014 $71,000 according to the site indeed.com
Duties of an ICU Nurse
- Discussing with the doctors about the health related proprieties of the patients.
- Counseling the patients on the administered medical procedures.
- To ensure the clinical usefulness of the operation room.
- Making sure that the medical instruments and equipments are available and fit for use.
- The Nurse has to monitor the condition of the patients at frequent intervals.
- The nurse should be technically aware of the treatment to be given to the patient.
- Should have a hands record of the medical past of the patient.
- Has to carefully understand the case of every patient she has been entrusted.
- Maintaining the records of the patients and taking care of other documentation procedures involved.
How to Become an ICU Nurse
Schooling Needed
A registered ICU Nurse should have a Bachelor’s degree in nursing or any similar degree of the same level in nursing as the Associate degree in nursing. The bachelor’s degree is a four-year-long program vis-à-vis the other that takes a much shorter period than that.
After the study part, the next step is to obtain a certificate of a Critical Care Nurse given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. This certification becomes necessary because of the severity of the cases involved in ICU care.
Skills needed
An ICU Nurse must be patients personified. An ideal ICU Nurse must possess the following abilities.
- Patience and dignity, self- confidence
- Mental and physical tolerance
- Ability to handle liabilities and responsibilities very calmly.
- Dedication and Initiative
- Good quarrel management ability
- Should be a good Team worker
- Good administrative skills
- Good communication ability
- Empathetic
- Must be secretive to maintain confidentiality of important issues.
This is the perfect composition constituent of an ideal ICU Nurse.
Career Progression Path
The job of a Nurse is full of stressful hours and demanding duties but the sense of satisfaction given by its pursuance is matchless. The ICU Nurses are able to draw handsome salaries, especially in big towns and cities.
The ICU nurses can think of more employment generation for them in the forthcoming times. They can find employment at hospitals, Multispecialty clinics, and Trauma Centers. The Nurses who are in possession of the rightful qualifications and skills may think of a very well-paying and growing career. With experience, the nurses can widen their chances to get promoted to senior administrative nursing positions.
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