Nurses General Nursing
Published Mar 7, 2003
nrselisa
258 Posts
What exactly is an intermediate care unit. What type of patients do you usually see there? How is it different from a regular med-surg floor?
Thank you! Lisa:)
Elenaster
244 Posts
I think you are referring to a step-down unit which is a unit that accepts patients that are coming out of critical care, but may need more nursing care than a regular med-surg floor. In my experience, the patients are usually chronic cardiac or pulmonary patients and are often infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria (e.g., MRSA or VRE). Typically, the nurses have more patients than in the ICU, but fewer than the floor. I hope this helps answer your question.
Katnip, RN
2,904 Posts
What Elenaster said. And it's not stupid.
Thanks! I saw it in a job listing & was wondering what it was. :)
Lisa :)