ICU nurses or critical care nurses are highly specialized and trained healthcare personnel who provide nursing care to patients with life-threatening illnesses or conditions. They provide specialized experience, knowledge, and skills that patients need to survive or de-escalate care.
Where Do ICU Nurses Work?
Due to the nature of the work that they do, and that they need specialized equipment and resources to care for their patients, it’s common for hospital networks to share resources, locating an ICU unit (and its nurses) at larger hospitals, centralized hospitals, and teaching facilities in order to maximize the resources that patients might require. Hospitals without critical care facilities have transfer agreements with the nearest intensive care unit.
What Does an ICU Nurse Do?
A critical care nurse works in the intensive care unit of a hospital with either pediatric, neonatal, or adult populations. They may specialize, depending on the needs of the patient demographic and the size of the hospital in which they work.
ICU nurses work at high ratios with patients who already have, or have a high likelihood of developing, a life threatening complication, and trauma or disease process as ICU patients require intensive and frequent nursing care, assessments and monitoring.
How to Become An ICU Nurse In South Africa
What Are the Education Requirements for an ICU Nurse?
With good undergraduate marks and nursing licensure, any nursing student who is interested in ICU nursing should seek a Nursing Student Externship.
Usually available to senior nursing students in the final year of their program, the externship allows students to assist RNs in the ICU, benefiting greatly from the nurses’ experience and mentorship.
Formal externship programs are often posted online by hospitals; your college or university will often have these opportunities posted for nursing students as well. Many Nurse Externs transition into an RN New Graduate Internship program once they pass the NCLEX.
For experienced RNs, making the transition into the ICU requires applying to an ICU position and usually engaging in a training program either before applying or concurrently with the application.
These positions and criteria are hospital-specific but often include a didactic and mentorship portion, working under the guidance of a senior ICU nurse until success criteria and leadership in the role have been achieved.
Any Certifications or Credentials Needed?
At present, RN licensure requires either an ADN or a BSN degree; many hospitals prefer to hire BSN candidates, or those who finish their degree concurrently with employment.
The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) offers many certifications. For adult ICU nurses, the CCRN is a certification for acute/critical care nurses. Additional modules focused on pediatrics and neo-natals are offered too.
Contact hours are required to renew the CCRN. Options are to renew by retaking the exam or by completing Synergy CERPs in the required areas, paying the fee of up to $200, and maintaining an unencumbered RN license.
What Are the Roles & Duties of an ICU Nurse?
Work with the interdisciplinary team to develop a plan of care to stabilize patients
Adept at communicating, critical thinking, leadership and patient advocacy – both on behalf of the patient and the medical team
Utilize highly developed physical assessment skills
Make quick decisions while multitasking
Administer a variety of lifesaving treatments efficiently and effectively
Closely monitor one or several patients
Prioritizes patient care plan based on patient needs and care resources
Identifies patient and family learning needs; educates appropriately
Closely documents patient care, protocols and unit procedures
Is culturally aware
Demonstrates understanding and ethics surrounding patient confidentiality and risk management
Move patients to comfort care for end of life
What Specialties Exist for ICU Nurses?
Neurological ICU Nurse
Neurological ICU nurses work with patients that have experienced a traumatic brain injury and/or spinal cord injury of some type. The work includes:
Frequent neurological assessments
Intracranial devices are common
Extensive knowledge of spinal cord and brain injuries
Use of medications to lower intracranial pressure and control blood pressure are common
Cardiac ICU Nurse
Cardiac ICU nurses are involved with patients who have had or who need cardiac surgery or a cardiac catheterization procedure, are experiencing a non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and need medical management. Cardiac ICU nurses regularly perform the following duties:
Frequent hemodynamic and telemetry monitoring
Use of intracardiac devices including Swan-Ganz (pulmonary artery) catheters and intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP)
Use of medications to control heart rate, rhythm, cardiac output, and blood pressure are common
Medical ICU Nurse
Medical ICU care for patients with sepsis, pneumonia, withdrawal from a substance such as alcohol or drugs, stroke, myocardial infarction, active gastrointestinal bleeding, or other complications. Medical ICU nursing procedures can include:
Frequent hemodynamic monitoring
Use of ventilators and hypothermia equipment common
Use of medications and fluids for fluid resuscitation, hemodynamic instability, and infections are common
Trauma ICU Nurse
Trauma ICU nurses work with patients who have sustained injuries due to a motor vehicle crash, fall, attempted homicide, attempted suicide, drowning, or similar events. Trauma ICU nursing may include:
Rapid assessment and detection of complications from trauma
Broad knowledge of brain, spine, chest, orthopedic, and abdominal injuries
Close monitoring for small changes which may require emergent interventions
How many years does it take to become an ICU nurse In South Africa?
A critical care nursing program can take two to five years to complete, depending on whether you are in an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s program. You will also need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, and gain at least two years of work experience in clinical patient care.
What certifications do you need to be an ICU nurse In South Africa?
Clinical Hours Minimum
875 of these must be in the preceding year to application. Five-year plan – Over the last five years, the applying RN or APRN must have accrued at least 2,000 hours in direct care of critical condition patients. 144 hours must have been in the preceding year to application.
What degree do you need to work in ICU In South Africa?
Steps to Becoming a Critical Care Nurse
Becoming a critical care nurse starts with earning either an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree. Prospective nurses must then pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).
Is being an ICU nurse hard In South Africa?
The life of a critical care nurse, or intensive care unit (ICU) nurse, can be incredibly challenging. ICU nursing jobs require both emotional and physical stamina, and the ability to juggle different variables as they relate to the condition of critically ill patients.
Can you work in the ICU as a RN In South Africa?
Yes, a new nurse can work in the ICU but this will vary based on the healthcare system. Ideally, most ICUs will only hire nurses either from another ICU or with several years of medical-surgical experience. But don’t be discouraged if you are a new nurse.
Why do I want to be an ICU nurse In South Africa?
When asked why work in ICU, intensive care staff say they appreciate being part of a team. They also like the fact that they are always learning because each patient experience is different and the skills they learn while working in the ICU are transferable to many other departments.
How stressful is ICU nursing?
Results: The overall prevalence of stress among ICU staff (doctors and nurses) was 52.43%. Prevalence of stress among ICU doctors was 36.58% and nurses was 68.29%. According to the DASS (for stress only), 19.51% doctors were mildly stressed, 14.63% were moderately stressed, and 2.44% were severely stressed.
Does ICU hiring new grads?
Is it possible for a new nurse to work in the ICU? Yes, but it is the exception and not the rule. I want to encourage all new nurses and nurse grads – if your goal is to work in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), that it might be possible right away, but it’s not easy and not for everyone.
What qualities make a good ICU nurse In South Africa?
7 Must-Have ICU Nursing Skills Needed to Succeed
Technical ICU Nursing Skills.
Ability to Work on a Team.
Fantastic Organizational Skills.
Tenacity in the Face of Difficult Situations.
Ability to Evaluate Ever-Changing Situations.
Plan for Self-Care.
What do you think are the biggest challenges that nurses are facing today?
Here are five big issues facing nurses:
Staffing. Short-staffing in hospital settings is a top concern for nurses.
Long working hours. To help make up for staffing shortages, nurses are often required to work long shifts.
Workplace hazards.
Workplace violence.
Bullying and harassment.
Why is there a shortage of nurses?
The cause of the current shortage is actually three-fold: an aging population, an aging workforce, and a limited supply of new nurses. In other words, there are only so many new nurses entering the workforce each year and it’s not enough to cover the deficit created by those who will soon retire.