what are daily icu nurse duties

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Hi all! :)

Im an aussie RN student and im close to graduating this year. Im trying to decide wether ED or ICU would be the place for me.

Im currently doing an ED placement and absolutely love it except the downtimes. But ICU seems to call to me haha.

What is an example of a day in the life of an ICU nurse?

Thank you for your help :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Your thread has been moved to our Critical Care Nursing forum with the goal of attracting responses from ICU nurses who can answer your questions. Good luck.

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Specializes in Cardiac/Transplant ICU, Critical Care.

First thing you do is get report from day shift. Together come up with goals for the shift. Take a look at labs, vitals trends, any tests for the day, and also things to look out for (soft maps while sound asleep, low u/o, bucking the vent with inadequate sedation, bleeding issues, lab issues.

Assess your patient/patients. If there are any immediate issues or questionable conditions, make sure they are addressed. Order labs if needed as to followup with any medications (Furosemide) or blood products given (PRBC, Platelets, Cryo, FFP).Make sure all emergency equipment is in the room and stocked (suction, ambu bag, extra trach and a size smaller if they are trached, O2 tank). Get all scheduled meds for the day ready and contact pharmacy to make sure they have critical meds sent on schedule. Take a look and make sure all IV drips are at the rates and doses they are supposed to be at. Take a look at O2 settings on Flow Meter, Vent, High Flow etc. Once you and your patient/s are squared away its time to help your mates.

Take a walk around the unit and assess the acuity of the unit. Offer help to your coworkers and get all new admits and fresh from OR patients landed and caught up. Assess who has the sickest patient, so if you hear the overhead code alarm, you will have a good idea of which direction to go. Continue to help your mates, make sure to eat and snack throughout the shift, give meds, reassess your patients, draw morning labs, get your xrays done, bath, and have your patient/s ready for the next shift!

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That's a very detailed reply thank you for taking the time to write that :) that sounds right up my alley. Thank you!

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Specializes in Cardiac/Transplant ICU, Critical Care.
That's a very detailed reply thank you for taking the time to write that :) that sounds right up my alley. Thank you!

Cheers! Being on The Units is a beautiful thing, at times it can feel impossibly challenging, but it can also be violently fulfilling especially when you hit a home run and your actions are what saves a patient. It is not for everyone, but if you have even the slightest inkling of interest, which it definitely sounds like you do, go for it! ;)

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Pretty good description from MYSTICCOOKIEBEAR! We also spend a lot of time on the Nursing 101 stuff -- repositioning, bathing, getting pts up to the chair if not too unstable, and oral care for VAP prevention. If the pt needs to leave the unit for CTs/MRIs we go with them; if pt going to the OR we come along to give a handoff to the CRNA. On my unit, the RN leads the daily interdisciplinary team (MDs/NP, RN clinical coordinator, PharmD, RD, RRT, PT/OT, SLP etc) rounds. Lots of teaching happens with the family so they know what the heck is going on! Assessments are more frequent than on the floors/wards -- can be neuro assessments every 15 min if the pt just got tPA. Most of our trachs and PEGs are placed at the bedside, and the RN administers all of the drugs and watches the VS and BIS numbers closely and records them.

ED has its share of TV-worthy moments, but also a lot of people coming in with very non-emergent stuff. For that reason it's never really appealed to me. That's just me though. :)

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