Nursing Aide/Unit Secretary?

[GradRN19]

Hello, I was wondering what exactly nursing aides do in the ICU? I've seen it pop up on a job search. I'm currently in Nursing school. I haven't done clinicals yet. I was wondering what this job entails and if it would be a good start. i dont have any medical background for jobs. I am also not certified to be a CNA. The only thing I have is an AAS Individual Health Science degree. I really wanna get in the field to start learning and gaining experience. advice? thank you :)

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

It should say job duties in the description.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

It varies. However, a lot of hospitals are getting rid of unit secretaries/ward clerks/unit clerks. Back in the day, unit clerks would assemble charts, page doctors, answer phones, and other duties as the unit saw fit. Now, more and more unit secretaries are nursing assistants and they rarely sit at the desk unless it is an ER. Some will train them to read basic EKG rhythms and label strips.

Nursing assistant in ICU will probably assist with bed baths, changing patients, positioning patients, and other duties seen fit. A lot of ICUs in my immediate area do not staff nursing assistants due to the low ratio and instead had unit clerks who may check blood sugars if asked.

[theseriousnurse2b]

As a nursing student who works as a tech in the ICU, I would say go for it! Personally, I think that you get to see a lot and once the nurses get to know you and how hard you work, they will delegate more to you and let you assist them with the non-delegatable stuff (so that you get to at least see it and they can teach you about how they do things).

My ICU is small, but we can have a CNA and a secretary at full census. They will float us if the census is low, so we do get experience on other floors (ED, tele, medsurge, etc.). In ICU, the CNA is there to really be a support to the staff (especially nurses). Instead of doing CNA level task, it is more like partenering with the nurse to go take care of the patient. You rarely bathe or turn a patient by yourself because they are so unstable and have a lot going on. I also am responsible for stocking supplies, communicating between different healthcare team memebers and assisting with admissions/discharges. Since I am the only CNA on the unit, I don't work with other techs, but the opportunity to team up the learn from nurses is great!