Do you want to become a Intensive Care Unit Technician? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:
Job Description - 
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Intensive care unit technicians work in a team with doctors, nurses and other technicians in hospital intensive care and cardiac care units. They specialise in the use of equipment and technology in the delivery of care to critically ill patients. They maintain and repair all of the equipment used in the units. If equipment fails, they must act immediately to rectify the situation, in high pressure situations where patients rely on life support machinery.
Intensive care unit technicians usually work a 37 hour week on a shift basis, including weekends. A member of the technician team is on call at all times. Work can involve bending and carrying heavy equipment, and the handling of some hazardous chemicals. Protective overalls, coats, gloves and masks are worn when necessary.
Salaries range from around £8,100 for a trainee technician, to £32,000 or more for a very experienced technician. There are additional payments for overtime, on-call allowances and working in London.
An intensive care unit technician should:
There are around 230 intensive/critical care units in UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals that employ technicians. Some private hospitals also have intensive care facilities.
There are no formal academic requirements for the job, but most employers require at least four GCSEs/S grades, or the equivalent, and a mature approach to work. A BTEC National Certificate/BTEC/SQA Higher National Certificate in Electronics and Engineering, or NVQs/SVQs in Engineering Maintenance may provide a useful background. There is no upper age limit.
New technicians follow a two-year in-house training programme under the supervision of experienced technicians, receiving the minimum salary for the job during this period. The National Health Service University (NHSU) provides training advice and courses for NHS staff.
Promotion opportunities sometimes occur in larger intensive care units, to senior technician or supervisor. Some experienced technicians progress to medical technical officer positions, or move into specialist areas of medicine.
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