No one chooses to be in a car crash or succumb to a serious illness. But when and if we do, we want someone who knows their stuff to be at our side. Critical care nurses, as their name suggests, are the experts who take care of the most critical (serious) cases at a hospital. Because their jobs are so important, they often take care of just a few patients at a time, providing them with round-the-clock care and supervision. They must also work skillfully with frightened loved ones to make sure that the hospital staff understands their patients' medical histories, comes up with the right treatment plans, and sends patients and caretakers home with the right training to keep patients' recoveries on track. So if you're the kind of person who keeps cool in a crisis and loves to help others, even in the most serious situations, this might be your calling.
The Details
When people suffer critical injuries or illnesses, seconds count, and critical care nurses are on the front line in emergency rooms, saving lives every day.
Nowadays, nearly 90% of nurses are women, but before the 1800s, it was unheard-of for a woman to take this kind of job. Florence Nightingale changed all this: After leaving home to treat soldiers on the front lines of the Crimean War, she dedicated her life to fighting serious illnesses and training other female nurses to do the same, inspiring many other heroic women to follow in her footsteps.
