Becoming a critical care nurse is not something to take lightly. Critical care nurses work hard and although they might only have 1-3 patients, they have a lot of responsibilities. One patient can have the nurse running all day or night, without even a minute to use the bathroom. But critical care nurses love what they do and they do it with pride and never expect anything back. Once in a while they get rewarded with a sign of respect from one of the doctors or maybe a thank you note from the patient or family member. That is more than enough sometimes to make it all worth the hard work.
On this blog, we will begin to have learning opportunities for those nurses that want to become critical care nurses or are new critical care nurses.
Hope everything enjoys and participates.
ccrn nurse
Very interesting topic Frances and I am looking forward to learning here. Though I do not work in critical care myself, I do hope to gain tips I can share with others who have an interest in this area. I have heard it said that some nurses prefer to work in this area, because they prefer to deal with patients who for the most part do not talk back to them, have you heard this?
ReplyDeleteHi Pauline,
DeleteThank you for your comment and to answer your question, I have heard nurses say that about the patients not talking back. To be honest, I have said that joking around, but the truth is that I really began to feel respected as a professional when I started working in the ICU. The doctors, family members and even the patients themselves truly have a different respect for ICU nurses. I can compare because my first three years as a nurse was on a very busy medical/surgical unit, where I worked very hard, but often felt as if the doctors didn't really care what I had to say about my patients.
While working in the ICU, the doctors came to me for information and feedback and I felt like a real part of the medical team caring for my patients.
I love critical care because I can help a patient through a very difficult time in their life, provide comfort and care to them and their family, or help them leave this Earth peacefully and not alone.
So although, many times our critical patients are not talking, they still get all the attention they deserve and need in order to get better.
Frances
Thank you for being a critical care nurse! Without you I would not have any patients to Rehab! I think the idea that nurses can find an area of nursing that fits their interests is the beauty of our profession. I also feel that nurses should give themselves permission to change their nursing interest when they need to. Thank you again for taking care of the patients that don't talk. I can assure you that the families do remember the names of their nurses in the ICU because they share that information with us in acute physical rehab. They talk about "My Nurse" with a fondness in their hearts.
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