Description
Provide advanced critical care nursing to acutely ill patients across diverse ICU settings on short-term travel assignments. Deliver high-acuity monitoring, ventilator and hemodynamic management, emergency response, and complex therapies while rapidly adapting to different hospitals, protocols, teams, and EHRs.
- • Analyze indications, contraindications, risks, and benefits of ICU interventions, escalating to intensivists as needed.
- • Prioritize and manage acute conditions at risk for rapid deterioration using unit protocols.
- • Differentiate normal versus abnormal findings across the adult lifespan in critical illness.
- • Titrate analgesia, sedation, and neuromuscular blockade; evaluate responses and adjust per orders and protocols.
- • Interpret cardiac rhythms, hemodynamic waveforms, and radiographs.
- • Perform and assist with emergency response, including BLS, ACLS, defibrillation, and code/rapid response participation.
- • Conduct ongoing comprehensive assessments using bedside monitoring, ventilators, and laboratory and imaging data.
- • Manage and troubleshoot invasive lines and devices, including central and arterial lines, temporary pacemakers, chest tubes, and CRRT circuits.
- • Operate, adjust, and wean mechanical ventilation and noninvasive ventilation; perform proning per protocol.
- • Implement sepsis, stroke, and cardiac care bundles and coordinate time-sensitive treatments.
- • Administer blood products and titratable infusions (e.g., vasopressors, insulin) and monitor for adverse reactions.
- • Obtain and process specimens while adhering to isolation and infection prevention practices.
- • Perform wound, drain, and tracheostomy care.
- • Collaborate with intensivists, hospitalists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and ancillary teams to plan and evaluate care.
- • Educate patients and families about conditions, treatments, and post-ICU transitions.
- • Document assessments, interventions, and responses in various EHRs per facility and regulatory standards.
- • Participate in bedside rounds, care conferences, and structured handoffs (e.g., SBAR).
- • Coordinate diagnostics and specialty consultations per provider orders and relay critical results promptly.
- • Prepare patients for procedures and transport; provide continuous monitoring during intra-facility transport.
- • Adjust and troubleshoot feeding tubes, urinary catheters, and GI decompression devices.
- • Assess psychosocial needs of patients and caregivers and support coping and decision-making.
- • Coordinate transfers between levels of care and discharge planning with case management and social work.
- • Adapt quickly to new units, workflows, equipment, and EHRs; complete rapid orientations and comply with agency and facility policies.
- • Maintain active licensure and required certifications (BLS/ACLS; CCRN preferred) and complete ongoing competencies and continuing education.
- • Contribute to quality and safety initiatives, incident reporting, adherence to unit protocols, and informal peer education.
- • Float to related critical care or step-down units as needed while maintaining ICU standards of care.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
