Description
Deliver high-acuity, evidence-based nursing care to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit, including continuous assessment, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, ventilator management, medication titration, and coordination of interdisciplinary care.
- • Assess age- and condition-specific needs and adapt ICU plans of care accordingly.
- • Provide post-mortem care and support families during end-of-life care.
- • Continuously evaluate vital signs, hemodynamics, and labs to identify need for emergent interventions.
- • Perform ICU-approved therapeutic and diagnostic procedures based on clinical status.
- • Administer blood and blood products and monitor for transfusion reactions.
- • Administer medications via IV, enteral tubes, or other routes and titrate vasoactive, sedative, and analgesic infusions per protocol.
- • Advocate for patients and families and provide emotional support in high-stress situations.
- • Set up, manage, and monitor equipment such as cardiac monitors, mechanical ventilators, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, and pressure lines.
- • Monitor fluid balance and electrolytes and coordinate diuresis or CRRT as ordered.
- • Detect and respond to signs of sepsis, shock, or deterioration and initiate appropriate protocols.
- • Assess pain, agitation, and sedation and manage to ordered targets (e.g., RASS, CPOT).
- • Assess psychosocial status, sleep, anxiety, grief, and support systems and screen for delirium.
- • Collaborate with physicians, respiratory therapists, and the care team to develop and revise ICU treatment plans.
- • Collect blood, urine, sputum, and line draws for laboratory testing using aseptic technique.
- • Trend and interpret monitoring and diagnostic data to guide interventions.
- • Perform comprehensive pulmonary assessments and evaluate readiness for ventilator weaning.
- • Document histories, assessments, and shift events accurately in the electronic health record.
- • Document plans of care, interventions, patient responses, and revisions in ICU flowsheets.
- • Identify nutrition risks and coordinate enteral or parenteral nutrition with dietitians.
- • Prioritize care for multiple critically ill patients based on acuity and changing conditions.
- • Assist with bedside procedures such as intubation, bronchoscopy, line insertion, chest tube placement, and cardioversion.
- • Maintain, troubleshoot, and store equipment and devices properly after use.
- • Identify and report malfunctioning equipment and collaborate with biomedical services.
- • Assess family coping and adaptation and involve social work or chaplaincy when needed.
- • Coordinate family meetings and multidisciplinary care conferences for complex cases.
- • Engage in continuing education and professional organizations to maintain ICU competencies and certifications.
- • Contribute to development and evaluation of ICU protocols and evidence-based practice initiatives.
- • Educate and precept staff, students, and team members on ICU policies, equipment, and care standards.
- • Provide leadership by supervising, mentoring, and monitoring unit nursing staff as assigned.
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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
