The adult critical care unit in which I work evolved over the years because of the hospital’s growing need for a step-down unit to bridge the gap from the critical care units to the medical surgical floors. The unit also has evolved because of the professional growth of the nurses who have worked and are currently working at the bedside in this unit and their dedication to continual learning of critical thinking and performance of critical job skills.

Originally named the progressive care unit, this 10-bed unit at the end of a hallway next door to the intensive care unit (ICU) was home for stable but ill patients that required more observation and personal care than could be provided on medical surgical floors; this unit also housed chronically ill stable patients who were difficult to place in extended care facilities. In the 1990s, this unit became more financially sufficient and...

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