Critical care nursing represents a vitally important component to any emergency care facility or situation. These individuals provide support and care to individuals who face life threatening illnesses and injuries. Working with emergency physicians and other medical professionals, critical care nurses help save lives and prevent more serious injuries and complications.
A critical care nurse is a professional, registered nurse who has special training and experience in caring for critically ill patients and helping treat life threatening situations. Critically ill patients need vigilant nursing and more intense care than regular patients. Critical care nurses need to be able to adapt quickly to changing situations and think clearly in highly stressful situations.
In 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that there were over 400,000 critical care nurses. Roughly half of those individuals worked in intensive care (ICU) settings. Others worked in transition or step-down settings, emergency units, and in recovery settings for post-operative care.
The same study found that over half of all nurses work in the hospital setting with critical care nurses taking care of those who have the most serious and life threatening illnesses. Some common places that these nurses are found in the hospital include intensive care units, cardiac care departments, emergency units, pediatric and neonatal ICUs, and recovery areas. More and more critical nurses have been choosing alternative settings such as home healthcare, outpatient surgery units, and managed care settings instead of working in traditional hospital settings.
The American Association of Critical Care Nurses states that the primary role of the nurse is to act as a patient advocate for individuals in critical conditions. In doing so, the nurse supports the patient and family by providing information so that these individuals can make informed decisions about treatment and, if needed, life support. Nurses also provide immediate support and care for those individuals who cannot speak for themselves because of injury or illness during life threatening situations.
Many who work in critical care nursing situations choose to become certified for this area. In many cases, employers seeking to fill a critical care position will look for a nurse who has this certification and prior experience. With growing shortages in critical care nurses, job opportunities tend to be available in most areas.
Critical care nursing represents an important part of patient care. Although medical advances are keeping more individuals out of the hospital, those who do enter are often suffering from acute and life threatening situations that require critical care. Nurses who work in this area help save many lives each day in hospitals around the world.
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