Travel ICU Registered Nurse
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital

ICU Nurse Travel Opportunity - Bakersfield, California

Position Overview

• Experienced ICU nurse needed for a travel contract.
• Minimum 3 full years of ICU experience required.
• Must have active California nursing license.
• Required certifications: BLS, ACLS, NIHSS.
• Travel experience mandatory; no first-time travelers or duo assignments.

Contract Length

• 13 weeks

Unit Details

• Unit: ICU and ICU-CV Recovery
• Beds: 24 (expandable to 32)
• Nurse-to-patient ratios: 1:1 and 1:2
• Intensivist coverage: On-site 7 AM - 5 PM, on-call after hours
• EMR system: Cerner
• Monitoring: Spacelabs Telemetry with 24/7 monitor tech support; nurses responsible for tele strip interpretation
• Ventilators maintained by Respiratory Therapy (RT)
• RT available 24/7
• Pharmacy available 24/7 with dedicated pharmacist coverage (12 hours M-F, 6 hours weekends)
• Omnicell medication system in use

Orientation & Training

• Orientation includes 2 shifts on ICU unit plus orientation to East and West towers (floats to MedSurg/Tele units)
• Basic EKG interpretation test during orientation; critical care nurses have additional testing (STEMI, Procedural Sedation)
• Floating required to MedSurg/Tele units (4E, 4W, 5E, 5W, 6E)
• Travelers float first

Work Schedule & Environment

• 12-hour shifts
• Breaks: One 30-minute clocked break plus three 15-minute breaks per shift (per California law)
• Weekend schedule: Every other weekend or equivalent (4 weekend shifts in 4 weeks)
• Scrub color: Navy blue (including jackets and undershirts—navy, white, or black)
• Charge nurse role present; rarely takes patients but responds to rapid responses
• No nurse aides on unit
• “Free Resource Nurse” may take patients if staffing requires

Patient Population & Care

• Types of patients: Respiratory failure, sepsis, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), ARDS, GI bleed, CABG (fresh hearts), TAVR, Impella, vascular surgeries, neurosurgeries, CVAs
• Neuro ICU experience is a plus; multidisciplinary rounds participation required
• Medications: Cardiac and vasoactive drips, conscious sedation, etc.

Additional Notes

• Certifications such as IABP, CRRT, ICP are not required but considered a plus
• Pagers linked to call light system and internal communication phones used
• No IV team support; nurses manage their own IVs