Excellent critical care nurse skills tips and tricks by Tene Kishan? Critical care nurses or ICU nurses must be physically, mentally, and emotionally strong to work with seriously ill patients and their loved ones. Most patients in a critical care unit are physically and mentally unstable and they require respiratory and heart monitoring as well as treatment adjustments. ICU staff RNs are responsible for managing medication doses, anesthesia, and ventilator support. Critical care nurses or ICU nurses must be proficient in a wide variety of high-level nursing skills. ICU nurses need to be a specialist in evaluating intensive care patients, recognizing complications, administering care, and coordinating with other members of the critical care team. Successful critical care nurses also excel at interpersonal communication, leadership, strategic planning, critical thinking, and decision-making.

Tene Kishan has a background in health care and public administration. She earned 3 college degrees and has a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in political science, a Bachelor’s of Science in nursing and a Master’s Degree in public administration. Tene Kishan is Registered Nurse with a background in ICU/Critical Care and owns a non-profit organization that’s provides services and puts on community events for youth in need of housing services in the area of Los Angeles County.

Tene Kishan on ICU nurse careers: The first step to becoming an ICU nurse is to be a registered nurse (RN). Before you become a registered nurse, you have to graduate with a BSN or an ADN from an accredited nursing program. Afterward, you must pass the NCLEX examination. There are bridge programs that allow you to advance your education level in less time. One example is the ADN to BSN program. To become a more attractive candidate you may consider obtaining an advanced degree like an MSN. There are bridge programs to help cut down on time on school. There are programs such as the BSN to MSN and RN to MSN (if you are already a licensed RN). You will need at least two years of nursing experience in a position specializing in intensive care nursing to become an ICU nurse.

It is crucial to gather accurate data on physiological parameters – such as oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate and fluid balance – at the bedside of the patient who is critically ill. Typically, each patient will have their own monitor that will display a range of clinical factors (Box 1) and provide real-time feedback to help evaluate critical care interventions, and detect any deterioration or emergency situations promptly. The interventions most commonly used include mechanical ventilators, infusion devices and renal replacement therapy. Table 2 outlines the interventions used for different physiological systems. Read even more details at Tene Kishan.