Intensive Care Unit Nursing: Is Being an ICU Travel Nurse in Demand?
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Is being an ICU Travel Nurse in Demand? Nurses, in general, are in pretty high demand all the time. As long as people get sick, get into an accident and give birth, nurses will never lose a job. ICE Nurses or Intensive Care Unit Nurses are the nurses that work beside the doctors and patients that are in the Intensive Care Unit.
ICU Travel Nurse job description:
ICU Travel nurses are those nurses who care for patients when they need you the most. This specialty provides an ideal opportunity to put their knowledge and skills into action to help the patients, their families, and medical professionals as well.
As an ICU nurse, you need to have the following:
- Superior critical thinking skills
- Remain calm under pressure
- Specialized knowledge
- Emotional Strength
- Resilience
- Composure
- Cope with the possibility of losing their patience
- Prepared to provide clear information
- Prepared to give moral support to the families
Day in a Life of an ICU Travel Nurse
There are many things you should know about ICU travel nursing job and the best way to know that is to check what happens on a daily basis. Since you are working in the ICU where patients who need immediate care are put, many of the patients are in critical condition when they arrive. ICU Nurses admit and stabilize patients once they have arrived, administer medications, monitor vital signs, and provide general daily care. They keep accurate records and report immediate changes to the physician.
How to Become a Travel ICU Nurse:
- You must graduate with either an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in nursing from a nursing school that is accredited.
- After graduating, you must pass your licensing exam so that you can become a registered nurse (RN).
- Have experience. Most facilities prefer nurses that have experience in the intensive or critical care unit, especially those who have a Critical Care Registered Nurses (CCRN) certificate. This certificate could be achieved after 2 years of experience in the CCU.
- Keep learning. Some ICU nurses have master’s or doctorate degrees, some even have certification in progressive care, cardiac medicine, cardiac surgery, or transport nursing. You have to keep expanding your knowledge.
Types of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurses:
- Pediatric ICU Nurses
These are the nurses that work in the pediatric intensive care unit and provide care to critically ill and injured children. Their annual salary is $72,409 annually making it the second-highest paying ICU travel nursing jobs there is at the moment.
- Emergency Room ICU Nurses
Emergency room Nurses (ER) are nurses who work with those patients who are in need of urgent treatment. These nurses are those who usually work long shifts- up to 40 hours a week. They make about $2,300-$2,800 a week, making more money than a permanent ER Nurse.
- Cardiothoracic ICU Nurses
Cardiothoracic ICU Nurses are those nurses that work with patients who are suffering from severe heart conditions. Since this job needs certain attention, they could only handle a maximum of 2 patients at a time.
- Cardiac Care Unit ICU Nurses
These kinds of nurses work with the critically ill patients. They need to have exceptional experience and education in the medical field in this field of Intensive Care Unit Travel Nursing.
- Postoperative care ICU Nurses
Postoperative care ICU Nurses are those nurses who work with the patients who are experiencing pain after their surgery. These types of nurses are extremely knowledgeable in the world of anesthesiology since they work with anesthesia a lot.
- Neonatal ICU Nurses
These kinds of nurses are those who work with the newborn babies who are facing life-threatening diseases and conditions.
- Neuro Nurses
Neuro Nurses are the nurses who travel and work with patients who are suffering from neuro problems like sleep, sexuality, and communication problems. They do not have as intense of a lifestyle like normal ICU nurses do, but they still work closely in that field.
- Flight Nurses
These nurses are those who work with critically ill patients who need to be evacuated by air for better treatment.
- Surgical ICU Nurses
These kinds of nurses are those nurses who work with patients who don’t have a prognosis immediately after their surgery.
Are you interested in becoming an ICU Travel Nurse where you could travel around and see the rest of the United States in a way that you would never expect to see it?
