Registered Nurse - Intensive Care Unit

Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse

Help build a rewarding critical care career while making a meaningful difference for Veterans at the Sioux Falls VA Health Care System. As an Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse, you will practice in a fast-paced environment where clinical expertise, sound judgment, teamwork, and compassion directly influence patient recovery. You will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team, use advanced monitoring and life-support technologies, lead emergency responses, and support Veterans and their families through complex and often vulnerable moments. This position offers opportunities to strengthen specialized critical care skills, contribute to quality improvement, and help deliver coordinated, Veteran-centered care across the continuum.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Deliver comprehensive nursing care to critically ill Veterans experiencing acute injuries, complex illnesses, chronic condition exacerbations, or surgical recovery.
• Assess rapidly changing patient conditions and initiate appropriate intensive care protocols based on clinical findings, symptoms, and treatment needs.
• Manage advanced critical care interventions, including mechanical ventilation, airway support, cardiac monitoring, hemodynamic monitoring, acute pain management, and wound care.
• Identify cardiac arrhythmias and initiate timely interventions consistent with Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support standards.
• Administer medications and complex treatments while monitoring therapeutic response and promptly addressing adverse reactions or changes in condition.
• Operate and manage specialized clinical equipment, including intravenous pumps, feeding pumps, chest tubes, patient lifts, and remote intensive care technologies.
• Lead and respond to facility-wide emergencies, including rapid response events, cardiac arrests, and suspected strokes.
• Coordinate interdisciplinary care, patient transfers, discharge planning, family education, and continuity of care with internal teams and outside facilities.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards

Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory

Work Schedule: Day Shift Six (6) shifts, followed by one (1) shift from either 7:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. - 11:15 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. every six weeks. Night Shift Six (6) shifts, followed by one (1)shift from either 7:15 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. or 11:15pm - 7:15am every two weeks Weekends and rotating holidays

Compressed/Flexible: Available

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. The EDRP Coordinator(s) can be reached at View email address on click.appcast.io.

The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.