Specialty areas of practice
Critical care nursing
What is critical care nursing?
A career as a Critical Care nurse is particularly satisfying. Critical Care nurses are highly skilled and well regarded as clinical experts. Critical Care nursing has an emphasis on the acute phase of injury and disease, and Critical Care nurses assist patients and families to cope with what potentially may be the most traumatic period in their lives.
Critical Care nurses care for a range of patients, including patients recovering from trauma, cardiac surgery, neurological surgery, organ transplantation and many other conditions. Critical Care nursing involves a high interface with state of the art technology such as ventilators, monitors and dialysis, and incorporates a team approach to care delivery, as Critical Care nurses work closely with all health colleagues.
How do I become a critical care nurse?
Critical Care nurses must hold Victorian registration as a Division 1 Registered Nurse, and to have completed a Graduate Year Program is recommended. In order to be recognised as a Critical Care nurse you will be required to complete a Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Critical Care Nursing of at least 12 months duration. Before you undertake further study, experience in acute medical and surgical nursing is highly valued.
Courses are offered at various universities, and are affiliated with a number of hospitals throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. The courses comprise of both theoretical and clinical units, and clinical educators and clinical nurse specialists support students at the bedside.
Scholarships for the courses may also be available to eligible participants through the Government, both Commonwealth and State, through employing hospitals and through professional organisations.
What will my employment opportunities be?
Critical Care nurses are clinical experts, and as such there are a number of opportunities that are available to Critical Care nurses, including Clinical Nurse Consultant or Nurse Practitioner roles, or positions in education, management and research. Critical Care nurses work in a variety of adult and paediatric settings including general intensive care, emergency, coronary care, peri-operative, high dependency and cardiothoracics.
A Critical Care nurse can pursue employment in rural Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne and the Critical Care nurse qualification also allows opportunities to travel extensively with a set of unique skills that are highly in demand.