RN - ICU

Critical Care Registered Nurse

The Registered Professional Nurse is responsible and accountable for prescribing, delegating, and coordinating all nursing care as defined by the Nursing Practice Act. Comprehensive Critical Care nursing focuses on assisting the critically ill patient in achieving optimal health potential within the framework of the nursing process. Activities are carried out in collaboration with care providers and other members of the healthcare team in response to patient and family needs. The Critical Care Registered Nurse is responsible for care delivery and rendering services to ICU and/or telemetry patients aged 18 years and older.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide nursing care to all critical care/telemetry patients with medical and surgical diagnoses in accordance with professional nursing standards and practices.
• Respond to code blue and medical alerts as assigned.
• Assessment: Assess patient's physical, social, behavioral, and mental status through direct observation, interview, and medical record review. Include assessment from history and data collection as obtained from the patient and/or care providers. Determine mobility, sensory deficits, prostheses use, and skin condition; adjust the plan of care as appropriate. Document a nursing assessment that includes psychosocial, environmental factors, educational level, and needs. Obtain and review available database and any data collected by other members of the health team. Identify medical problems resulting from psychological or mental illness and use of medications. Communicate findings with other members of the health team.
• Planning: Identify and address needs for admission based on acute medical/surgical diagnoses and presenting physical/psychological symptoms. Identify and address patient level of education and learning needs. Make appropriate referrals to other disciplines and document the same.
• Intervention/Implementation: Manage clinical skills in the provision of nursing care and management of the patient. Identify symptoms and manage the disease entity. Administer medications and intervene appropriately in medical/surgical and critical emergencies. Utilize critical thinking in the assessment of patients and in interventions. Apply infection control procedures and protocols. Provide for the psychosocial needs of all critically ill patients. Deliver health teaching and medication instructions to patients and next of kin. Ensure that all procedures are performed based on established standards of care. Demonstrate competency in performing all procedures within the scope of practice. Investigate and communicate all required information regarding unusual occurrences and patient care incidents. Act as a patient advocate.
• Evaluation: Revise the patient's plan of care based on evaluation of interventions and expected outcomes in collaboration with other members of the healthcare team.

Physical Demands: The role involves standing, walking, sitting, talking, hearing, and bending. It may include some repetitive motions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position without compromising patient care.