How to Build Critical Care Skills

Nurses specializing in acute care are in great demand today. As medicine addresses more serious conditions and extends the life span, many health care professionals are working in intensive care units, as traveling nurses and in-home health-care situations with little supervision. As a result, these individuals must add critical care skills to their existing knowledge and experience to properly treat patients in these crucial situations.

Instructions

• 1

  Cardiac nurses need specific skills.

  Determine which critical care skills are the most essential. For example, cardiac intensive care units will require substantially different skills from those of a visiting nurse in a tropical area where patients suffer from malaria and snake bites.

• 2

  Home study can be a good starting point.

  Online and computer education offer opportunities for nurses and other health care professionals to learn critical care methods and information. Although hands-on experience is essential, companies like Ed4Nurses (see resources) allow a convenient way to learn at home.

• 3

  Emergency room oxygen unit

  A transition program is a quick, focused way to gain critical care skills needed for your profession. For example, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in N.H. (see resources) offers courses for future emergency room nurses. Through a four-month critical care course, participants learn to start intravenous medications, read cardiac monitors and evaluate a patient's mental state.

• 4

  An acute-care nurse

  Weekend courses can also jump start or maintain critical care skills. The Critical Points company offers three-day intensive conferences for nurses who care for dying patients. Through hands-on simulations, the program helps health care professionals gain not only the skills, but also the confidence needed to treat acute conditions.