What do ICU nurses do?

sethmctenn · Dec 22, 2009

This website has great info http://www.icufaqs.org/

fiveofpeep · Dec 22, 2009

you can also peruse this board here on all nurses:

https://allnurses.com/critical-care-nursing/

it's how I started to learn that critical care was for me

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Dec 22, 2009

Critical care nurses keep people from dying. Period lol

fiveofpeep · Dec 22, 2009

Critical care nurses keep people from dying. Period lol

haha yeah my critical care instructor said...

"these patients have one foot on death's door step and the other foot is slipping on a banana peel. we dont let them slip"

PMFB-RN, RN · Dec 22, 2009

Depends on where you work. For example in a small hospital ICU you may just take core of relatively stable patients, the very sick having been transferred to a larger hospital. In larger hospitals ICU nurses take care of the sickest of the sick. Good attention to detail, superior assessment skills, the ability of remain calm and THINK in emergency situations, and great communications skills are all needed. In some hospitals, like where I work, the ICU nurses are also the trauma nurses. They respond to all level I & II traumas in the ER trauma bay and are the primary nurse. Our nurses are also part of the code team, responding to all codes in the hospital, and the rapid response team. We also recover surgical patients like open heart surgery and use all kinds of technology like intra aortic balloon pumps, renal dialysis machines, vents, etc. A excellent understanding of hemodynamic principals and vaso active drips is required, but don't worry you can and will learn them in the unit.

netglow, ASN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

More respect for you and more expected of you as an ICU RN. What you speak with the intensivist/surgeon/other specialty about will be heard and respected. What you request to be done will be done in many cases -- you better know what you want and why. You better be right.

I say this stuff fresh out of my ICU intensive.

If you are a pathophysiology geek, like to tool around with the technical stuff, and like that the buck stops with you, and you have a little bit of an edge to ya... :smokin:

If you have two patients going real bad at the same time, you don't send them anywhere else. You're it baby! :eek:

SpaceCoastRN · Dec 23, 2009

This website has great info http://www.icufaqs.org/

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.

meandragonbrett · Dec 23, 2009

We keep people alive for 12 hours and then hand them off.....Literally keep them alive for 12 hours doing everything that is orthodox and unorthodox.

Tait, MSN, RN · Dec 23, 2009

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.

It's 4am and I am so excited it's my last night and so bored at the same time (precepting a very strong new grad) that this was the same thing I got out of that post >.

LOL

:bugeyes:

Tait

Hoozdo, ADN · Dec 23, 2009

We keep people alive for 12 hours and then hand them off.....Literally keep them alive for 12 hours doing everything that is orthodox and unorthodox.

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.

tewdles, RN · Dec 23, 2009

I so glad hoozdo added the last comment...