Description
Deliver advanced nursing care to patients with acute, critical, or rapidly changing conditions. Provide pre- and post-operative management, perform or assist with invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, and coordinate multidisciplinary care to stabilize and optimize outcomes.
- • Analyze indications, contraindications, risks, complications, and cost-benefit tradeoffs of therapeutic interventions.
- • Diagnose acute or chronic conditions that could result in rapid physiological deterioration or life-threatening instability.
- • Distinguish between normal and abnormal developmental and age-related physiological and behavioral changes in acute, critical, and chronic illness.
- • Manage a patient's pain and sedation with pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions; monitor responses and adjust plans.
- • Interpret information from electrocardiograms (EKGs) and radiographs (x-rays).
- • Perform emergency procedures, including BLS, ACLS, and other stabilizing interventions.
- • Assess urgent and emergent conditions using physiologic and technology-derived data.
- • Adjust settings on assistive devices, such as temporary pacemakers.
- • Assess the impact of illness or injury on a patient's health, function, growth, development, nutrition, sleep, rest, quality of life, and family, social, and educational relationships.
- • Collaborate with multidisciplinary team members to plan, manage, and evaluate treatments.
- • Discuss illnesses and treatments with the patient and family.
- • Document assessments, interventions, medications, responses, and treatment changes.
- • Treat wounds and superficial lacerations.
- • Set up, operate, and monitor invasive equipment and devices, including colostomy or tracheotomy equipment, mechanical ventilators, catheters, gastrointestinal tubes, and central lines.
- • Obtain specimens for laboratory testing.
- • Order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests and screening procedures based on assessment findings, differential diagnoses, and patient factors.
- • Participate in patient care meetings and conferences.
- • Refer patients for specialty consultations or treatments.
- • Administer blood and blood product transfusions and intravenous infusions; monitor for adverse reactions.
- • Assist patients in navigating and coordinating their health care services.
- • Assess the needs of family members or caregivers.
- • Collaborate with patients to plan for future care needs and coordinate transitions and referrals.
- • Stay current in acute care by reviewing literature, consulting colleagues, and participating in professional organizations or conferences.
- • Contribute to the development and implementation of practice protocols.
- • Perform administrative duties related to admission, transfer, and discharge.
- • Provide formal and informal education to staff members.
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Healthcare & Human Services
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
