Critical Care ICU Nurse
Boise, Idaho
St. Luke's Boise Medical Center

Critical Care Unit Nurse - Boise, Idaho

Unit Details

• Department: Critical Care / Intensive Care Unit (ICU) - Floor 3
• Beds:

  • SICU (Neuro ICU patients included) - 16 beds
  • MICU - 16 beds
    (Staffed as a combined unit)
• Nurse-to-Patient Ratios: 1:1 and 1:2
• Nurse Aids: Yes, ratio approximately 1:8; 2 CNAs per unit on days, 1-1.5 per unit on nights
• Hospitalists/Intensivists: In-house coverage
• Respiratory Therapists: 24/7 coverage, minimum 2 per ICU
• RT Equipment: Ventilators, BiPAP, CPAP
• Telemetry/Monitor Techs: No; RNs monitor and read their own cardiac strips (Spacelabs system)

Patient Population & Common Diagnoses

• CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft)
• CVA (Stroke)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Intracerebral brain hemorrhage
• GI bleeds
• DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis)
• STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction)
• Septic shock
• Overdose
• Respiratory failure
• Neurosurgery patients
• Open heart surgery patients
  Note: Trauma, burns, and transplant patients are not typically seen here.

Required Experience & Skills

• Minimum 2 years ICU experience required
• Preferred experience in similar or larger ICU/hospital settings
• RNs are required to titrate drips
• Common titratable/set rate drips include: Dopamine, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Cardene, Nitro, Neo, Vasopressin, Diltiazem, Insulin, Esmolol
• Travelers do not need experience with CRRT, ECMO, or balloon pump (these are not assigned to travelers)

Certifications Required

• BLS (Basic Life Support)
• ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support)
• NIHSS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale)

Scheduling & Shifts

• Shift length: 12 hours (7:00 PM - 7:30 AM)
• Weekend requirement: Every other weekend or half of the weekends
• Holiday requirement: Yes, with attempts to accommodate requests
• No call or standby requirement
• Self-scheduling encouraged; efforts made to group night shifts
• Floating: May float to other ICUs in the region (Meridian Medical Center and Nampa Medical Center) and may float outside ICU to be a 1:1 sitter

Orientation & Dress Code

• Unit-specific orientation: 1-2 shifts
• No scrub color or dress code requirement

Contract Length

• 13 weeks

This position is ideal for ICU nurses with solid critical care experience looking to work in a well-staffed, high-acuity neuro and medical ICU setting with a variety of complex patients.