What do ICU nurses do?

Specialties Critical

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Hi. Pardon my ignorance. I'm interested in ICU and would like to learn more about what exactly nurses do in the ICU. What are some basic skills/ advanced skills required to become a successful ICU RN ? What responsibilities do you have? Thanks for you input everyone!

It must be because it is late. I was thinking why in the hell would someone make a website named that...mistaking the "q" for a g...got a good laugh out of it though.

my thoughts excatly - but I could laugh in the clinic with the diversty around

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ICU nurses are responsible for providing care to patients who have life-threatening conditions. Patients typically cared for in a critical care unit include patients that have had major invasive surgery, accident and trauma patients, or patients with multiple organ failure.They tend to be medically unstable, requiring constant cardiac and respiratory monitoring and continual adjustment of treatments, such as the titration and dosing of multiple intravenous medications and changes in ventilatory support.

A nurse working in the ICU must be able to preform a through assessment, in order to identify subtle changes in a patient's condition. You also are confronted with end-of-life issues and ethical dilemmas. Therefore, you must ensure that the patient and family are well informed about patient care, and that the patient and family receive the necessary information to make informed and highly personal decisions about the patient's care.

An ICU nurse is expected to interpret labs, work with pacemakers, blind suction, care for a perhipheral IV, NG tube insertion and care, foley, ICP monitoring, PA lines, read EKG's, and be able to handle bedside emergencies.

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Specializes in ICU.
ICU nurses are responsible for providing care to patients who have life-threatening conditions. Patients typically cared for in a critical care unit include patients that have had major invasive surgery, accident and trauma patients, or patients with multiple organ failure.They tend to be medically unstable, requiring constant cardiac and respiratory monitoring and continual adjustment of treatments, such as the titration and dosing of multiple intravenous medications and changes in ventilatory support.

"Changes in ventilatory support". Yup. Such as having yahoos reintubated who pull their ET tubes out right at the end of what had been a good shift.:cool:

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Thanks everyone!! This is very helpful

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ICU nurses are responsible for providing care to patients who have life-threatening conditions. Patients typically cared for in a critical care unit include patients that have had major invasive surgery, accident and trauma patients, or patients with multiple organ failure.They tend to be medically unstable, requiring constant cardiac and respiratory monitoring and continual adjustment of treatments, such as the titration and dosing of multiple intravenous medications and changes in ventilatory support.

A nurse working in the ICU must be able to preform a through assessment, in order to identify subtle changes in a patient's condition. You also are confronted with end-of-life issues and ethical dilemmas. Therefore, you must ensure that the patient and family are well informed about patient care, and that the patient and family receive the necessary information to make informed and highly personal decisions about the patient's care.

An ICU nurse is expected to interpret labs, work with pacemakers, blind suction, care for a perhipheral IV, NG tube insertion and care, foley, ICP monitoring, PA lines, read EKG's, and be able to handle bedside emergencies.

Makes you kind of wonder why, when ICU nurse possess these advanced skills (that we spend ALOT OF TIME LEARING), we are paid at the same pay scale as med surg nurses, who cannot get their patients to ICU fast enough, when they are crashing, JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

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Specializes in neurotrauma ICU.

Makes you kind of wonder why, when ICU nurse possess these advanced skills (that we spend ALOT OF TIME LEARING), we are paid at the same pay scale as med surg nurses, who cannot get their patients to ICU fast enough, when they are crashing, JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

LOL!!!

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Specializes in Med-Surge.

Every nurse is constantly learning, even if its refining already learned skills. Med Surge nurses need to get their patients to ICU because of the close monitoring environment that ICU provides. They simply do not have the technology to care for a deteriorating patient on a unit where the med surge nurse has 8 patients to care for. When patients take a turn for the worse, they need close monitoring and advanced care that the ICU provides. If your in nursing simply for the money, then I wouldn't want to transfer my patient to your care anyway.

Love and Light to all.

Nick

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And sometimes you just can't stand to keep someone alive that is NOT going to get better or will have such a low quality of life if they do live. Then you have to do what the doctors barely ever have the balls to do.......discuss making the patient DNR with the family. That's some heavy duty patient advocating.

No Joke. It always seems like I have to have the DNR discussion and not the physician.

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Every nurse is constantly learning, even if its refining already learned skills. Med Surge nurses need to get their patients to ICU because of the close monitoring environment that ICU provides. They simply do not have the technology to care for a deteriorating patient on a unit where the med surge nurse has 8 patients to care for. When patients take a turn for the worse, they need close monitoring and advanced care that the ICU provides. If your in nursing simply for the money, then I wouldn't want to transfer my patient to your care anyway.

Love and Light to all.

Nick

I am well aware of the limitations that med surg nurses face in their daily wordays. My point is, that I have worked very hard to be a successful ICU nurse. Doctors also work hard to learn their specialties. The difference is that doctors have the power and political support to charge a fee that reflects the extra traing, education, and expertise that they have aquired to practice their specialty. They make sure that they are financialy rewarded for their efforts. They also have the option the only be family prectitioners in general practice and earn less money.

The main difference is that GPs don't posture and complain about the cardiac surgeon who charges and earns several times what they do. they recognize that the cardiac surgeons has earned the higher fees that they charge with their additional training that they did. They do not place obstacles in the way of cardiologists and neurologists when they charge these fees. They do not try to justify that they should earn the same $$ that others earn who have pushed themselves to excell at a higher level of practice and care with the additional education and training.

I did not go into nursing for the money. But neither did the cardiologist or the neurologist. But they earn more than the GPs. Why don't you complain about them going into medicine because they expected and demand the higher salary, and earn more than GPs.?

Why don't you demand that the cardiologist lower his fees to what a GP earns? Because you would get laughed out of the room. Why don't nurses charge higher fees to reflect the higher level of care that they provide, the higher level of expertise that we possess, and the higher level of risk to our licenses?

I pay a higher fee for because the insurnace industry recognizes that risk. So do OB nurses.

I resent the attitude of med surg nurses who feel that they should earn the dame as ICU nurses Do you do begrudge the cardiologist for charging more money than their GP does? I wish that I had a nickel for every time a doctor has told me that they cannot transfer a patient to the floor because they cannot take care of them the way ICU nurses do. I realize that the staffing has alot to do with this, but it also has to do with the knowledge and expertise that med surg nurses just do not have. . Yes, I shoud be paid more like the cardiogist is . Period.

JMHO and my NY $0.02.

LIndarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

:o

Happy Holidays. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

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Specializes in ICU.

I personally like that I have two patients to pay very close attention to. Many of the places I work do not have CNA's in the ICU so the RN gets to do all the bathing, grooming, feeding (if possible), etc. We get to make the patient look as "pretty" as we can. Most ICU nurses I work with are territorial which is not said in a bad way. For example, I don't want other staff members messing in my patient's room because I like my room to be clean and in order, paying close attention to detail.

It is entirely possible to have the same assignment two nights in a row and have two very different nights at work. You might assess, give the meds, bathe and turn your patient the first night and everything goes smoothly and you have 4-5 hours of free time and leave on time at the end of your shift.

The next night your vitals can be completely unstable, maybe a trip or two to CT, the other patient gets loose from a restraint and rips out his arterial line, you're rapid infusing blood products or fluid, a graft pops on a fresh heart causing the patient to tamponade so the surgeon comes to the bedside and opens up the chest in the room while the other patient's sister has called the unit for the 8th time that shift asking "how is he doing?" and you have to try not to yell and instead say calmly "nothing has changed in the last 45 minutes." You then have to stay for an extra hour or two to finish charting and your own family is calling asking "when will you be done, we had plans tonight?!"

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ICU Nurses are exactly what the name impliess. Intensive Care. enough said

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