Critical Care Registered Nurse

Critical Care Registered Nurse

The Critical Care Registered Nurse provides direct patient care functioning as a primary care nurse for a 1-3 patient assignment. The nurse collaborates with nursing staff, physicians, and other interdisciplinary team members responsible for patient care as assigned. The nurse provides care and counseling of persons or in the promotion and maintenance of health and prevention of illness and injury based upon the nursing process which includes systematic data gathering, assessment, appropriate nursing judgment, and evaluation of human responses to actual or potential health problems through such services as case finding, health teaching, health counseling; provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and well-being; and executing medical regimens including administering medications and treatments. The nurse's primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community (American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses). This area serves critically ill adult and elderly Veterans. Patients often present with multiple chronic medical conditions, which may include psychiatric components. Patients may need advanced life support including mechanical ventilation. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) serves as a Surgical Post Anesthesia Recovery Room and Post-Operative Care area for critically ill patients. Recovery is also provided for surgical patients including general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and urology.

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities successfully.
• Manage complex patient situations and acts as an expert in the area of ICU or Clinical Decision Unit (CDU).
• Assesses care provided by team members. Provides constructive criticism and praise to team member.
• Demonstration of accurate and timely documentation of patient care according to the Standards for ICU, Step-Down, Observation, and Acute patients.
• Ability to demonstrate understanding of and compliance with patient safety guidelines, accrediting body guidelines, VHA Directives and Facility Center Memorandums that pertain to ICU and CDU and direct patient care.
• Provide safe direct patient care with the ability to manage complex patient situations.
• Consistently demonstrates effective communication skills and professional behaviors that promote cooperation and teamwork with internal and external customers, team members, and supervisors.
• Active participation with care planning team to ensure patients are placed in appropriate level of care.
• Active participation in patient discharge planning and education.
• Evaluates current standards of care and identifies areas of practice that are not evidence-based.
• Implements change based on findings through current policies and procedures.
• Additional duties as assigned.