What does an intensive care unit nurse do?
An Intensive Care Unit Nurse is specialized in providing care in intensive care units of hospitals. They assist in the treatment of acutely ill patients with life-threatening conditions.
Intensive care unit nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real intensive care unit nurse resumes:
- Manage pre- and post-surgical care, specifically for GI disorders.
- Manage patients who suffer respiratory/cardiac arrest per ACLS protocol.
- Manage patients requiring blood transfusions, iv antibiotic therapy, complications from chemotherapy and radiation.
- Care for cardiac patients in CCU.
- Incorporate ACLS and BLS algorithms on a frequent basis.
- Provide care to ventilator dependent patients, tracheal care, and ICP monitoring.
- Care of patients on ventilators, use of Swan-Ganz and central venous catheter lines.
- Provide exceptional care to critically ill MICU, SICU and Cardio-Thoracic ICU cancer patients.
- Interpret and monitor patients on telemetry.
- Work involving ICP monitoring of neuro-compromise patients.
- Care for patients with myocardial infarctions along with cardiac rehabilitation
- Cross-Train to PICU and CICU.
- Overflow area for the SICU patients.
- Administer sedation in accordance with ACLS guidelines.
- Function as a BLS instructor to hospital staff.
Intensive care unit nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Intensive Care Unit Nurses are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Acls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Intensive Care Unit Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 22%
Counseled and educated patients and their families regarding DSM-IV diagnoses, psychotropic medications, therapeutic alternatives and relapse prevention.
- BLS, 18%
Obtained and maintained ACLS, BLS, and PALS certifications through the American Heart Association.
- Acls, 13%
Provide assessment and intervention of emergency situations, including cardiac and respiratory arrest following ACLS and PALS protocols.
- Diagnostic Tests, 6%
Administered medications, assess IV sites and assists health care providers in administering treatment and diagnostic tests to patients.
- Catheter, 5%
Employed assessment skills to care for catheter and IV insertion and management.
- Compassion, 5%
Provided care and compassion to patients and their families.
Common skills that an intensive care unit nurse uses to do their job include "patients," "bls," and "acls." You can find details on the most important intensive care unit nurse responsibilities below.
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an intensive care unit nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, an intensive care unit nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "frequent and result oriented communication with physicians to meet constantly changing needs of critically ill patients. "
Compassion. Many intensive care unit nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so an intensive care unit nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways intensive care unit nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "delivered responsive and compassionate care to the critically ill pediatric patient population in a ten-bed intensive care unit. "
Detail oriented. intensive care unit nurses are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to intensive care unit nurse responsibilities, because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." An intensive care unit nurse resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "worked with many disciplines to coordinate patient care.performed detailed daily turnover for continuation of care"
Emotional stability. For certain intensive care unit nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "emotional stability." The day-to-day duties of an intensive care unit nurse rely on this skill, as "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what intensive care unit nurses do: "skilled in bedside monitoring, 12-lead cardiac, swan-ganz, cvp monitoring, maintaining hemodynamic stability utilizing vasoactive drips. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for intensive care unit nurse responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of intensive care unit nurses all the time, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." An excerpt from a real intensive care unit nurse resume shows how this skill is central to what an intensive care unit nurse does: "demonstrate the necessary organizational skills to care for high acuity neonatal patients. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to intensive care unit nurse responsibilities. Much of what an intensive care unit nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of intensive care unit nurses: "perform accurate multi-system assessments, including biophysical, psychosocial, environmental, self-care, education and discharge planning needs. "
The three companies that hire the most intensive care unit nurses are:
- Trusted Health Plans4,125 intensive care unit nurses jobs
- Aya Healthcare688 intensive care unit nurses jobs
- American Mobile Healthcare274 intensive care unit nurses jobs
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Compare different intensive care unit nurses
Intensive care unit nurse vs. Nurse clinician
A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between intensive care unit nurses and nurse clinician. For instance, intensive care unit nurse responsibilities require skills such as "bls," "diagnostic tests," "ccu," and "nicu." Whereas a nurse clinician is skilled in "patient outcomes," "educational programs," "medication administration," and "surgery." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Nurse clinicians really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $73,633. Comparatively, intensive care unit nurses tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $68,718.On average, nurse clinicians reach similar levels of education than intensive care unit nurses. Nurse clinicians are 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Intensive care unit nurse vs. Nurse
Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, intensive care unit nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ccu," "nicu," "life support," and "picu." Meanwhile, a nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "acute care," "infection control," "triage," and "surgery." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, nurses earn a lower salary than intensive care unit nurses. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurses earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $63,263. Whereas intensive care unit nurses have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $68,718.nurses earn similar levels of education than intensive care unit nurses in general. They're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for intensive care unit nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Alicia Cardona
Nursing instructor, Morton College
Intensive care unit nurse vs. Advanced registered nurse practitioner
An advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) is responsible for patient care. An ARNP may practice independently or work with other healthcare professionals such as physicians. Your duties typically include examining patients and determining diagnosis by physical examination, patient history, and other medical assessments, admitting, managing, and discharging patients to and from medical facilities, and managing health care by developing, implementing, and evaluating treatment and care plans for patients. You will also be responsible for referring patients to other health care service providers or facilities.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, intensive care unit nurses are more likely to have skills like "bls," "acls," "catheter," and "ccu." But a advanced registered nurse practitioner is more likely to have skills like "arnp," "diagnosis," "health problems," and "discharge summaries."
Advanced registered nurse practitioners make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $103,277. On the other hand, intensive care unit nurses are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $68,718.advanced registered nurse practitioners typically earn higher educational levels compared to intensive care unit nurses. Specifically, they're 43.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Intensive care unit nurse vs. Operating room nurse
An Operating Room Nurse assists surgeons during operations and keeps the operating room sterile at all times. They ensure that patients are ready for transport to the recovery room.
Types of intensive care unit nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
