U

University of Southern California

Research university in Los Angeles, CA

Registered Nurse ICU

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$45.76 - $98.80/hr
Junior
Bachelor's
Los Angeles, CA, USA
In Person
Medical, Clinical & VeterinaryNursing & Frontline Patient Care

About the job

Requirements
  • A Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN) is required; employees hired before December 2019 are grandfathered from the BSN requirement.
  • At least one year of acute inpatient hospital experience as a registered nurse is required.
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to speak, read, and write English proficiently, are required.
  • Knowledge of medical procedures and conditions and the ability to understand, follow, and successfully perform duties, including whole blood collection and apheresis procedures, in accordance with administrative and clinical policies, regulations, and procedures are required.
  • Commitment to excellence in patient care and customer service is required.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal direction and supervision is required.
  • An active Registered Nurse credential from the California Board of Registered Nursing is required.
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) Healthcare Provider certification from the American Heart Association is required.
  • Fire Life Safety Training (Los Angeles City) is required; if the applicant does not have a card upon hire, it must be obtained within 30 days of hire and maintained through renewal before expiration. This is required for Los Angeles City only.
  • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Healthcare Provider certification from the American Heart Association is required for Intensive Care, Step-down, and Telemetry departments. Registered Nurses without prior telemetry or critical care experience must obtain ACLS within 180 days or by the end of orientation, whichever is sooner.
Responsibilities
  • Follow policies and procedures and demonstrate the ability to access online manuals.
  • Apply learned scientific knowledge through the nursing process.
  • Complete nursing assessments upon admission, at each shift, and when a patient’s condition changes; complete patient acuity assessments by 0200/1400 daily.
  • Interpret assessment information and formulate nursing diagnoses.
  • Develop individualized plans of care, document expected or projected patient outcomes, and review, revise, and update plans daily based on evaluation and interpretation of outcomes.
  • Administer medication and intravenous therapy at prescribed intervals and complete patient care procedures correctly according to policy and prescribed intervals.
  • Delegate tasks based on others’ scope of practice and competency, act as a patient advocate, and manage restraint use according to policy, attempting alternative non-restraint measures first.
  • Ensure required physician orders and assessments, patient monitoring, and completion of the restraint audit form each shift.
  • Complete and accurately maintain flow sheets and chart forms, including admission assessments, pain assessments and reassessments, daily and restraint flow sheets, diabetes and educational flow sheets, Kardex, care plans, risk assessments and reassessments, fall documentation, medication administration records, equipment and supplies records, intra- and inter-facility transfer forms, and belonging tracking forms.
  • Ensure orders are transcribed and signed off before the end of the shift and complete 12-hour/24-hour chart checks.
  • Provide patient and family education as needed, including room/unit orientation and plan-of-care information; identify knowledge deficits related to diagnoses and care and use and provide Micromedex information.
  • Collaborate with the case manager and/or physician regarding discharge planning, complete transfer paperwork, and ensure patient belongings are sent with the patient.
  • Use patient-care equipment safely and appropriately according to manufacturer guidelines, including IV pumps, feeding pumps, PCA pumps, epidural pumps, sequential compression devices, wound VACs, and heating pads/pumps.
  • Communicate effectively with the healthcare team, patients, and families through shift-to-shift reports, physician rounds, patient/family interactions, MDP rounds, hand-off reports, facility email, and interactions with students and new or contract employees.
  • Manage time effectively, organize and prioritize responsibilities, take meal breaks without incurring overtime, and complete shifts on time.
  • Observe regulatory agency requirements, including National Patient Safety Goals, patient identifiers, approved abbreviations, Universal Protocol/procedural time-outs, hand-offs, medication reconciliation, clinical alarms, hazardous and biohazardous waste management, medication and sharps safety, HIPAA and OSHA requirements, JCAHO survey readiness, critical-value read-back and follow-up, and proper telephone-order documentation.
  • Maintain safe work practices, including correct body mechanics, electrical safety, infection-control procedures, and hand washing.
  • Manage medical-surgical patients, including patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, and spinal surgery; patients with cystic fibrosis requiring isolation precautions and respiratory and nutrition care; abdominal organ transplant patients requiring medication management and protective isolation; and patients with hepatic encephalopathy requiring safety precautions and skin care.
  • Manage complex critically ill intensive care patients, including neurosurgery, thoracic-foregut, gastric bypass, orthopedic, liver/kidney/pancreas transplant, hepatobiliary, open-heart, and heart/lung transplant patients, and use advanced modalities including hemodynamic monitoring, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT/CVVHD), ventriculostomy, intracranial pressure monitoring, ventricular assist devices, and balloon pumps.
  • Manage high-acuity step-down/telemetry patients requiring specialized monitoring and care, including patients after open-heart surgery, heart or lung transplant, liver/kidney transplant, orthopedic, hepatobiliary, general surgery, thoracic-foregut, gastric bypass, neurology, or neurosurgery; use advanced modalities including ventilator care, arterial/CVP lines, ventricular assist devices, and lumbar drains.
  • Initiate, perform, and terminate dialysis treatments according to policy and standards of care; review orders and laboratory results before treatment; inform patients of treatment plans; complete dialysis treatment records; perform pre-treatment safety checks and machine maintenance; check charts for dialysis orders before arriving on the unit with equipment; contact physicians early when orders lack treatment instructions; and complete med-surg dialysis treatments on 3S when more than two such patients are scheduled.
  • Provide care to psychiatric patients through therapeutic interactions and maintenance of a therapeutic milieu; assess and monitor safety, including contraband assessments; initiate and participate in treatment planning; monitor unit doors; log visitors and assess for contraband; follow patients’ legal status each shift and communicate with the Department of Mental Health and other agencies as required; administer psychotropic medications only after proper consent and documentation; and submit the Fire Arms Reporting Form.
  • Use de-escalation techniques to prevent behavioral restraint or seclusion when possible; apply restraint or seclusion when appropriate; continuously monitor patient safety or delegate monitoring appropriately; ensure physician assessment within one hour of application and at least every eight hours thereafter; obtain physician orders according to policy; notify the manager of behavioral restraint incidents; contact significant others as permitted; and conduct a debriefing with the patient when appropriate.
  • Accurately identify patients who meet Core Measure criteria and complete Core Measure documentation.
  • Identify and participate in data collection and process improvements related to Nurse Sensitive Quality Indicators.
  • Participate in professional hospital and nursing activities, including relief charge nurse duties, nursing committees/councils, hospital teams, unit-based projects, and research; publish a peer-reviewed article.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.
Desired Qualifications
  • ICU and Telemetry experience in surgical units is preferred.
  • Specialty certification is preferred.

About the company

U

University of Southern California

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The University of Southern California is a private research university with academic programs across the arts, sciences, business, engineering, law, health, and other professional fields.

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