Critical Care Coordinators play a key role in facilitating treatment, assessment and coordination of service to patients with serious, complex, and acute illnesses and injuries that need very close monitoring and treatment. Their responsibilities include addressing the urgent needs of the patients, conducting crisis screenings, co-coordinating with service providers, assisting physicians and surgeons in the emergency room, performing patient care after surgery, analyzing patients’ radiology and laboratory tests etc. They also help in administrative activities and supervision process as well as perform other duties assigned to them.
Critical Care Coordinators work in intensive care units in hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, offices of physicians etc. Since these professionals are required to be available round the clock, they have to work either in day or night shifts and may require to present on-call.
Educational Requirements
To become a Critical Care Coordinator, the aspiring candidates need to complete Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. The students can gain experience in health care settings with urgent and intense circumstances.
The course work of Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program include anatomy, epidemiology, biology, microbiology, pathophysiology, physical assessment and diagnostic reasoning, advanced pharmacology etc.
Certification and Licensure
Since the Critical Care Coordinators require to be licensed in most of the states in USA, the job aspirants need to pass the National Council Licensure Examination, administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The candidates can also obtain required certification from professional associations in the field of critical care.
Skill Set
Apart from clinical knowledge, Critical Care Coordinators possess varieties of skills such as a great deal of understandings in life support skills, high level of attention to detail, ability to make a diagnosis based on observations and data interpretation, effective verbal and written communication skills, proficient in computer operations etc.
Job Outlook and Salary
The job outlook for a Critical Care Coordinator remains excellent across the USA. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth rate for job opportunities in this profession may rise 19% during 2012-2022 faster than the average for all occupations. The average annual salary of a Critical Care Coordinator was $65,470 in 2012.