Nursing Trends
What Is An IMCU Nurse?
This blog post will discuss what an IMCU nurse is? What are the differences between ICU and IMCU nursing. To understand the difference, lets us first look at what they both do. An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive care medicine unit or critical care unit, is a department of a hospital that provides Intensive Care to patients, typically those who have life-threatening injuries or illnesses requiring highly specialized and intense nursing and medical support.
The goal is to provide the most appropriate clinical outcome to ensure the best quality of life for those patients. An intensive care nurse (ICN) is a registered nurse who works in an intensive care unit (ICU), providing highly specialized and intense nursing and medical support to critically ill or severely injured patients over extended periods of time, which could be overnight, weekends and even months at times.
These nurses have extensive knowledge of the biological and physical sciences as well as an understanding of critical illness and injury, a broad range of specialized equipment, and complex therapeutic modalities. Intensive care nurses manage multiple problems simultaneously for their patients, who typically have life-threatening injuries or severe acute illnesses requiring invasive arterial line monitoring, intravenous therapy, mechanical ventilation, and continuous cardiac monitoring.
What’s The Difference Between ICU And Imcu?
As such, IMCU nursing is definitely very different from ICU nursing as it requires a much more highly specialized and highly trained nurse with extensive knowledge of the biological and physical sciences. The training to become an IMCU nurse takes up two years post-diploma to gain the experience needed for this intensive role, whereas becoming an IMCU nurse is not necessary for ICU nurses.
Just like how ICU and IMCU nursing are different, the Intensive care medicine (ICM) and Intensive care unit (ICU) are also two different things entirely. The former is a medical specialty, while the latter is an area within a hospital or even another institution such as a nursing home or military unit which houses patients that require intensive medical or surgical treatment and monitoring.
So, in summary, an IMCU nurse is different from an ICU nurse because the former specializes in critical care of acutely ill patients (medical specialty) while the latter provides necessary care to critically ill patients (acute patient care). The two areas do, however, require different qualifications and training, with the latter requiring less intensive skills and knowledge than the former.
Qualifications and training required for Intensive Care Nurses
There are different qualifications to be considered before entering training for intensive care nursing. You must have first completed the pre-requisite courses, which include biology, chemistry, physics, and other related subjects, to provide you with adequate foundation knowledge in science.
With this foundation covered, you will be able to enter an accredited bachelor’s degree program in nursing to gain entry into a master’s degree program. There are many intensive care units that require nurses to have a master’s degree in nursing, which entails two years of study after you’ve completed your bachelor’s degree.
Upon completion of this master’s degree, you will be required to successfully complete a national board exam and a state/provincial licensing exam. After you have completed all of this training, you will be eligible to apply for the intensive care nursing certification offered by the AACN Certification Corporation, which is valid for three years after your application.
Qualification and training to become an IMCU nurse are more intense than becoming just an ICU nurse
An IMCU nurse is an intensive care nurse who has the added qualification of experience providing care in a MICU. This acronym stands for medical-intensive care units and includes such units as cardiac surgery or neurosurgery units where highly technologically advanced treatments are provided to patients.
An IMCU nurse needs a bachelor’s degree in nursing and must have completed graduate-level coursework in critical care, pharmacology, and advanced cardiac life support. After meeting these qualifications, an IMCU nurse must pass a national certification examination to be recognized as qualified in the specialty of intensive care nursing.
The ICU or ICN is more easily attainable for Registered Nurses, who then are able to specialize in critical care with additional training. The ICN has a broad range of skills beyond the triage, resuscitation, and treatment of critical care patients. After initial training in adult, pediatric or intensive care nursing, they can gain experience to become an expert in areas such as neuro-intensive care and cardiac surgery.
Work experience required for IMCU Nurse
As mentioned earlier in this article, becoming an IMCU nurse requires extensive clinical experience under the guidance of an experienced ICU nurse. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the best place to begin your search for reputable training institutions and programs.
There are also many other organizations that provide intensive care nursing certification, so you should research them as well if you want to be fully prepared.
Positives and negatives of a career In IMCU nursing
There are many benefits of becoming an IMCU nurse, such as having an extremely rewarding job that provides satisfaction on a daily basis. The experience and knowledge gained while working in this field is also invaluable and can be used in other areas of nursing.
The main disadvantage of intensive care nursing is the emotional stress it can have on a person, with many looking for a change after a few years in the field. Becoming an IMCU nurse is a lot of work and may require you to relocate, but if you are up for the challenge, it will be extremely rewarding. Make sure to thoroughly research your options before making your final decision.
Positives and negatives of a career in ICU nursing
The ICU offers direct patient care in a hospital setting, but you may find yourself with more responsibility and accountability in the ED. You also need to ask yourself how much you want to be hands-on with your patients, which varies among the different specialties.
The bad side of this type of nursing is that it can be emotionally draining, especially when there are few nurses available to support an extremely large number of patients. The stress of trying to provide the best care in a high-pressure environment can be difficult.
It is not for everyone, so if you feel like it may be too much for you, try choosing another specialty within nursing and becoming an ICU nurse later in your career.
Summary
Understanding the differences between ICU and IMCU nurses allows us to know more about what each of them does. While ICU nurses are highly trained professionals, IMCU nursing requires specialized knowledge that is not required for ICU nurses.
This difference is because of the types of patients that are treated by the two nurses. The former provides acute care for patients who are acutely ill, while the latter provides intensive care, which is not necessary for ICU nurses.
