Acute Care Nurses

Also called : Cardiac Interventional Care Nurse, Charge Nurse, Preceptor, 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, one would

Assess urgent and emergent health conditions, using both physiologically and technologically derived data.

Assess the impact of illnesses or injuries on patients' health, function, growth, development, nutrition, sleep, rest, quality of life, or family, social and educational relationships.

Interpret information obtained from electrocardiograms (EKGs) or radiographs (x-rays).

Obtain specimens or samples for laboratory work.

Collaborate with patients to plan for future health care needs or to coordinate transitions and referrals.

KNOWLEDGE

Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

SKILLS

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.

ABILITIES

Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

PERSONALITY

People interested in this work, will do well at jobs that need;

Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.

Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Concern for Others
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Social Orientation
Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Related Occupations

Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians

Registered Nurses

Athletic Trainers

First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers

Respiratory Therapists

Critical Care Nurses

Physical Therapist Assistants

TECHNOLOGY

Data base user interface and query software

Electronic mail software

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Medical software

Office suite software

Presentation software

Spreadsheet software

Word processing software

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Preparation
Medium Preparation Needed
Education
Training in vocational schools or an Associate deg
Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
Jobtraining
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.