In the Spotlight: ICU Nurses
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nursing, now more commonly referred to as critical care nursing, began in its earliest form more than forty years ago when nurses started to work in the newly developed intensive care units of hospitals. Critical care nursing deals specifically with the human response to life threatening problems. A critical care nurse focuses on providing the best care for critically ill patients and their families.
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) defines critically ill patients as "those patients who are at high risk for actual or potential life-threatening health problems. The more critically ill the patient, the more likely he or she is to be highly vulnerable, unstable and complex, thereby requiring intense and vigilant nursing care."
Critical care nursing is a specialty that can be especially challenging due to the nature of life-threatening health problems. Critical care nurses are responsible for a wide variety of tasks in what are often high-stress situations.
These tasks include:
- complex assessments
- high-intensity therapies and interventions
- continuous nursing vigilance
According to "The Registered Nurse Population" study completed in 1996, there are more than 270,000 nurses in the United States who care for critically ill patients. These nurses work in a variety of areas including intensive care units, pediatric neonatal ICUs, cardiac care units and telemetry units.
Critical Care and ICU nursing is experiencing an especially severe shortage of workers, according to AACN. Though specific figures are not available on the extent of the shortage, the association reports that the number of requests for temporary and traveling critical care nurses to fill staffing gaps has skyrocketed in every part of the country in the past year. These requests include increases of 45 percent for adult critical care units, 50 percent for pediatric ICUs/neonatal ICUs and 140 percent for emergency departments.
Nursing students who are interested in critical care can often get exposure to the specialty while in school, according to the AACN, but most nurses who would like to specialize in this field will get the bulk of their knowledge on the job. Certification is not required to be a critical care nurse, but some employers do prefer to hire nurses with special certifications because it means they have a high level of specific knowledge in critical care. The CCRN (Critical Care Registered Nurse) certification can be awarded after a nurse has had two years of experience in critical care practice and passes the 200-question CCRN exam.
Career Advancement Opportunities are Available
Inova Health System offers a variety of specialty education opportunities for
new graduates and experienced nurses. Click here
for more information on nursing education opportunities.
Job Opportunities at Inova Health System
Inova Health System has numerous specialty nursing opportunities in our
facilities. For more information or to apply online, click here.
For additional information about critical care nursing or for certification in this specialty, visit the Web site for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses at http://www.aacn.org
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