Sitting- Frequent. The RN is required, at times, to sit at various desks for charting and other tasks such as in-services and filing.
- Bending- Frequent. Bending is required in most job activities in patient care. Employee should be able to maneuver in small areas, such as plugging in electrical equipment in emergency situations.
- Climbing/Reaching- Occasional. Employee should be able to climb small ladders or step stools when placing supplies on storage shelves, using bedside cardiac monitors, etc.
- Push/Pull- Frequent. The nurse often performs push/pull motion when transporting patients and moving equipment on various floor surfaces.
- Handling/Lifting- 0 to 24 pounds: Frequent; 25-100 pounds: Occasional. Employee may need to lift and help handle objects from 1-300 pounds. Assistance in moving patients and use of push/pull activity is frequently done.
- Manual Dexterity
HANDS – Simple Grasp – Continuous
Firm Grasp – Frequent
Fine Manipulation – Frequent
FEET – Standing and walking continuous and/or frequent
Both find and gross motor skills are needed in areas such as venous punctures, physical examinations, writing, and adjustments of machinery. Foot controls are used with some equipment.
- Speaking/Hearing/Seeing – Continuous
SPEAKING – Able to communicate verbally with co-workers, patients, and visitors
HEARING – Functional with or without correction
SEEING – Functional with or without correction
Patient Population
The patient population for ICU ranges from 3 days old to 90+. Specific age broken down is as follows:
0-10 years < 1 % 51-70 years – 33%
11-20 years – 9% 71- 90 years – 34%
21- 50 years - %22 90 + years – 1%
Lengths of stay range from hours to weeks. The average length of stay is 2 days. Patient census ranges from 0-6 patients; the average is 2.5 – 3.5 patients per day.
