Caring for acutely ill patients in the three critical care units at Georgetown certainly is challenging. Nurses will have an opportunity to work in the Medical-Surgical, Cardiothoracic, and Neurosurgical ICU'S.

Those selecting a fellowship in Critical Care will attend the Critical Care Course sponsored by the Greater Washington Area Chapter Consortium of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (GWAC/AACN). This course consists of 15 classroom days integrated with clinical experiences. During clinical, the fellow is precepted with an experienced critical care nurse. When fellows can competently care for critically ill patients independently, they continue to receive support from a mentor.

Critical Care fellows work and collaborate with CCRN-certified nurses, prominent physicians and surgeons in a fast-paced, high-tech setting. The fellows develop assessment and intervention skills vital to positive patient outcomes.

Patients in the Medical-Surgical Critical Care Unit are complex and often have multi-system failure. Surgical patients include complex orthopaedic; general surgery; ENT; kidney, pancreas and liver transplant cases. Recently, Georgetown successfully performed the first living-related liver transplant in the Greater Metropolitan Washington DC area.

Cardiothoracic and vascular surgery intensive care patients often are admitted directly from the operating room and fully recovered under the direction of an Anesthesia Intensivist. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery and the MAZE procedure have afforded the nurses an exciting and challenging opportunity for growth and development of new knowledge and expertise.