Intensive Care Nurse
Also known as: ICU Nurse · Critical Care Nurse
Monitors and treats critically ill patients in intensive care, operates complex monitoring and ventilation equipment and acts immediately on acute changes.
The ICU nurse deals with several life threatening signals at once and must continuously set priorities. She has completed a specialist follow up course in addition to the base nursing degree. Recruitment often focuses on that follow up course, while the work in practice mainly demands setting priorities under high time pressure, a skill that the certificate itself does not show.
Competencies to measure
These are the behavioural and ability constructs in this profile. Each one shows which hrmforce questionnaire measures it.
| Competencies to measure | Target level | hrmforce instrument | Assessment method | Behavioural anchor at target level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| interpersonal sensitivity Competency (50-framework): Sensitivity Knockout | N5 | Big Fifty, 360 Feedback, Colour Profile (Jung) | Personality questionnaire | Trains others in recognising social signals and uses that insight when designing sensitive change processes across the organisation. |
| Stress tolerance Competency (50-framework): Stress resilience Knockout | N5 | Big Fifty, 15PF, Mental Resilience (4C) | Personality questionnaire | Keeps the organisation workable in crises, takes decisions under high uncertainty and sets the standard for composed action under pressure. |
| Decisiveness Competency (50-framework): Decision-making ability Knockout | N5 | Big Fifty, 360 Feedback | Situational Judgement Test | Decides on irreversible matters with major consequences, records the trade off and sets which decisions others may take themselves. |
| Focus and attention regulation Competency (50-framework): Accuracy | N5 | Big Fifty, Competency Check | Personality questionnaire | Introduces organisation wide working agreements that protect uninterrupted work time and periodically tests whether those agreements have the intended effect. |
| Accuracy and attention to detail Competency (50-framework): Accuracy | N4 | Big Fifty, 360 Feedback | Personality questionnaire | Builds check moments into the own process, keeps track of errors and prevents repetition by adjusting the method. |
| Discipline and keeping commitments Competency (50-framework): Discipline | N4 | Big Fifty, 15PF, 360 Feedback | Personality questionnaire | Commits only to what is feasible, tracks own commitments and informs those involved as soon as a deadline comes under pressure. |
| Safety awareness Competency (50-framework): Discipline | N4 | Big Fifty, Competency Check | Situational Judgement Test | Recognises unsafe situations in own process, intervenes and addresses colleagues without bringing the work to a halt. |
| Switching between tasks and roles Competency (50-framework): Flexibility | N4 | Big Fifty, Colour Profile (Jung), Competency Check | On-the-job observation | Switches independently between execution and consultation tasks, keeps notes per role and correctly resumes interrupted work. |
| Physical strength and endurance Competency (50-framework): Energy | N4 | Work sample test | Work sample test | Moves heavy loads independently with aids, spreads the effort across the shift and maintains the agreed pace. |
Short profile
The ten heaviest skills in this profile. The full profile with every skill, behavioural anchor and assessment method is in the download.
| T | Skill | Target level | Weight | Knockout | Assessment method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | interpersonal sensitivity | N5 | 5 | yes | Personality questionnaire |
| G | Stress tolerance | N5 | 5 | yes | Personality questionnaire |
| V | Nursing and personal care practice | N5 | 5 | yes | Work sample test |
| V | Medication safety | N4 | 5 | yes | Knowledge test |
| G | Decisiveness | N5 | 4 | yes | Situational Judgement Test |
| G | Focus and attention regulation | N5 | 4 | no | Personality questionnaire |
| G | Accuracy and attention to detail | N4 | 4 | no | Personality questionnaire |
| V | Conversation management | N4 | 4 | no | Assessment centre |
| V | multidisciplinary collaboration | N4 | 4 | no | Assessment centre |
| G | Discipline and keeping commitments | N4 | 4 | no | Personality questionnaire |
See all 24 skills in the full profile
Assessment instruments for this job
Big Fifty
Personality questionnaire, 150 items, 25 factors
Competency Check
Behavioral-Level Competency Assessment
360 Feedback
Multiple assessments based on behavioral anchors
Knowledge test (client-specific)
Professional knowledge test, customized for each client
Work sample test
Representative work sample under standardized conditions
Colour Profile (Jung)
Four color types, linked to Big Fifty factors
15PF
Personality Profile, a shorter alternative to the Big Fifty
Mental Resilience (4C)
Mental Resilience According to the 4C Model
Communication Styles
Preferred communication style
Portfolio
Evaluation of prior work against fixed criteria
Ability Scan
Aptitude Test: Verbal, Numerical, and Abstract Reasoning Skills
Conflict Styles
Preferred style in conflict situations
Structured interview
Behavioral interview with a fixed structure
Comparable jobs
24 skills in the profile · medior
Home Care Helper24 skills in the profile · junior
Registered Nurse (Associate Degree)24 skills in the profile · medior
Registered Nurse (Bachelor)24 skills in the profile · medior
District Nurse24 skills in the profile · senior
Practice Nurse (General Practice)22 skills in the profile · medior
Advanced Nurse Practitioner24 skills in the profile · senior
Operating Theatre Assistant24 skills in the profile · medior