Adult Critical Care
Nurses in adult critical care tend to patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses,
injuries, or medical conditions. Nurses should be able to work quickly and under stress,
yet stay alert and ready to manage patients needing acute care.
Adult Critical Care
Nurses in adult critical care tend to patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses,
injuries, or medical conditions. Nurses should be able to work quickly and under stress,
yet stay alert and ready to manage patients needing acute care.
Overview
Nursing teams at Augusta University Health are diverse and experienced in all aspects
of critical care. More than a dozen of our nurses have between 20- and 35-years of
experience, and a comparable portion are within their first 2 years out of school.
Augusta University Medical Center is the only public academic medical center in Georgia
and the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region. Nurses work in these critical care specialty areas:
- Acute care surgery
- Transplant surgery
- Cardiothoracic surgery
- High-risk obstetrics
- Minimally invasive surgery (MIS)
- Orthopaedics and spine surgery
- Urology
- Vascular
- Surgical oncology
- Trauma plastic and reconstructive surgery
Growth opportunities
At AU Health, there are many opportunities for educational training and growth in
the critical care arena, you will be able to participate in any of the following:
- AACN Critical Care Course
- Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS)
- Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)
- Medical Reserve Corps: FEMA training and disaster event planning (and volunteering) on the state level.
AUMC is the county representative for aiding with shelters for hurricanes and other
major events.
Requirements
To work in adult critical care, nurses must have the following:
- BSN or advanced nursing degree
- A current registered nurse license (Georgia)
- Current basic life support (BLS) training
- Organization and communication skills (must effectively speak, read and write English)
- 5+ years of experience required to qualify for Senior Staff Nurse.
Commitments
- Shifts: 12 hours shifts and a maximum of every other weekend. Nurses rotate 24 hour on-call
shifts, which equals approximately 1 call shift every 6 weeks.
- Schedules: Scheduling is done 6 weeks at a time and is posted 4 weeks before the start of the
schedule period. Nurses currently have set schedules, which allow you to always know
when you will be working. We have several PRN nurses on staff, which allow for schedule
flexibility/swapping when needed.
- Holidays: Adult ED uses a ranking scale to determine scheduling annually, and the pediatric
ED has holiday teams that rotate.
- Rounds: Multidisciplinary rounds are conducted every day during morning rounds. These rounds
focus on the patient’s plan of care and discharge planning. There is an assigned social
worker and case manager to the unit.
Critical Care Units
6 West Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)
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AU Health's brand new, state-of-the-art CVICU has the only cardiovascular program
in Georgia accredited by the American College of Cardiology for cardiac catheterization,
electrophysiology, and Chest Pain Center.
- ICD implantation
- Implantation of pacemaker (temporary and permanent)
- Invasive procedure and complications
- Invasive lines and drips
- Invasive hemodynamic monitoring
- Mechanical ventilation
- Cardiac monitoring
- Mechanical circulatory support
- Hemodialysis
- Continuous renal replacement therapy
Electrophysiology studies
- Treatment post cardiac procedures and surgeries
- Therapeutic Temperature Management
- Infusion and titration of complex life support mediations and treatments
Beds: 18
Ratio: 2 patients: 1 nurse, 1:1 if necessary.
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Emergency Department (ED)
4 Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)
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Closed unit overseen by pulmonary/critical care specialist physicians. Patients in
the MICU require ventilatory and hemodynamic support as well as continuous renal replacement
therapy.
- Nursing process (ongoing multi-system physical and psychosocial assessment, planning,
intervention, education, and evaluation)
- Invasive hemodynamic monitoring
- Mechanical Ventilation
- Cardiac Monitoring
- Hemodialysis
- Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy
- IV Therapy
- Intensive Fluid and electrolyte balance and replacement
- Blood and blood component administration
- Airway management
- Skin and respiratory care
- Pain Management, Patient Controlled Analgesia, Epidural Analgesia
- Administration of Inotropes and Vasoactive Agents
- Emergency resuscitation procedures
- Management of post-operative drains and wound care
- Safety management
- Infection Control
- Chemotherapy
- Hypothermia Protocol
- BIS Monitoring
- Sedation Vacation
- Psychosocial care
- Intra-Abdominal Monitoring
- Plasmapheresis
- Tracheostomy care
- Nutritional care – TPN / Enteral Feeds
- Bedside bronchoscopy/endoscopy
- Bedside Percutaneous Tracheostomy
- Spiritual care
- ICP / EVD monitoring
- Patient / significant other education
- Critical assessment of patient needs
- Rapid Response/Code Blue Team
Beds: 24
Staffing: 11 nurses
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3 West - Neuro ICU
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We are a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center. Neuro ICU provides care to critically ill neurology and neurosurgical adult patients.
We work closely with the neurocritical care team that consist of neuro-intensivist
and nurse practitioners. As an academic medical center we also work with neurosurgical
and neurology residents.
3W Neuro ICU offers a full array of acute care services including but are not limited
to the following:
- Critical assessment of patient needs
- External Ventricular Drain (EVD) placement and monitoring
- Monitoring of intracranial pressures (ICP) via EVD or parenchymal microsensor catheter
placement
- Patient with invasive procedures and complications
- Intravenous administration of continuous vasoactive, sedation, and paralytic medications
- Heparin and Insulin drips
- Patient with video/EEG monitoring, treatment post Neurosurgical procedures, infusion
and titration of complex life support medication
- Ventilator patients
- Treatment of increased ICP or severe vasospasm with hypothermia
Beds: 20
Ratio: 2 patients: 1 nurse and if needed 1:1.
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3 Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)
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Septic patients, end stage renal disease, respiratory distress/failure, neurological
disorders, and multi organ failure patients, and transplant patients.
- Critical assessment of patient needs
- Rapid Response/Code Blue Team
Diagnosis and treatment of:
- AICD implantation
- Implantation of pacemaker (temporary and permanent)
- Patient with invasive procedures and complications. Invasive lines, chest tubes, and
drips
- Patient with electrophysiology studies Treatment post cardiothoracic procedures (i.e.
CABG, valves)
- Infusion and titration of complex life support medication
Beds: 12
Ratio: 4 patients: 1 nurse
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3 Shock Trauma Unit (STICU)
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Patients that require isolation are admitted to this area. The population of this
unit includes but is not limited to the following: Septic patients, blunt and penetrating
trauma, end stage renal disease, respiratory distress/failure, neurological disorders,
and multi organ failure patients, and transplant patients.
Nurses care for:
- Multi-system injured patient
- Implantation of pacemaker (temporary and permanent)
- Patient with invasive procedures and complications. Invasive lines, chest tubes, and
drips
- Patient with hypovolemic shock
- Treatment post cardiology procedures (i.e. PTCA, stents)
- Infusion and titration of complex life support medication
Beds: 12
Staffing: 4 nurses
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We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee
or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability
or any other federal, state or local protected class.
