Acute Care Nurses

patient social interests cardiac support treatment condition diagnose administer blood transfusions information data

Cardiac Interventional Care Nurse, Charge Nurse, Progressive Care Unit RN (Progressive Care Unit Registered Nurse), Staff Nurse

What they do:
Provide advanced nursing care for patients with acute conditions such as heart attacks, respiratory distress syndrome, or shock. May care for pre- and post-operative patients or perform advanced, invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
On the job, you would:
  • Perform emergency medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and other condition-stabilizing interventions.
  • Manage patients' pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, monitoring patients' responses, and changing care plans accordingly.
  • Document data related to patients' care, including assessment results, interventions, medications, patient responses, or treatment changes.

Knowledge

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Business

  • customer service

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Skills

Basic Skills

  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • looking for ways to help people
  • understanding people's reactions

Abilities

Verbal

  • listen and understand what people say
  • communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted
  • do two or more things at the same time

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Integrity
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Concern for Others

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Medical software

  • eClinicalWorks EHR software Hot Technology
  • GE Healthcare Centricity EMR

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint Hot Technology

Electronic mail software

  • IBM Lotus Notes
  • Microsoft Outlook Hot Technology In Demand

Education

Education: (rated 3 of 5)
associate's degree or
bachelor's degree
usually needed

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Job Outlook

Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about acute care nurses.