About This Career

Provides specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.

This career is part of the Health Science cluster Therapeutic Services pathway.

A person in this career:

• Evaluates patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
• Monitors patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institutes appropriate interventions.
• Administers medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.
• Monitors patients' fluid intake and output to detect emerging problems, such as fluid and electrolyte imbalances.
• Prioritizes nursing care for assigned critically ill patients, based on assessment data or identified needs.
• Compiles and analyzes data obtained from monitoring or diagnostic tests.
• Conducts pulmonary assessments to identify abnormal respiratory patterns or breathing sounds that indicate problems.
• Assesses patients' pain levels or sedation requirements.
• Collaborates with other health care professionals to develop and revise treatment plans, based on identified needs and assessment data.
• Documents patients' medical histories and assessment findings.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Rotating shift work
• Weekend work