Acute Care Nurses

Also Called: Staff Nurse

Associate's Degree

usually needed

Not Available
(Students Only)
Match Percentage

$63,720

Entry Salary

Bright

Job outlook

What Acute Care Nurses do

Provide advanced nursing care for patients with acute conditions such as heart attacks, respiratory distress syndrome, or shock. May care for pre- and post-operative patients or perform advanced, invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

  • Perform emergency medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and other condition-stabilizing interventions.
  • Manage patients' pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, monitoring patients' responses, and changing care plans accordingly.
  • Document data related to patients' care, including assessment results, interventions, medications, patient responses, or treatment changes.
Industry Areas:

Health Care

Expand For Additional Details

Work Context

  • Exposed to Disease or Infections
  • Telephone
  • Face-to-Face Discussions
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled

Tools

  • Floor grade forceps or hemostats
  • Medical suction or vacuum appliances
  • Tablet crushers or accessories
  • Emergency or resuscitation carts
  • Cardiac pacemaker generator or cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker CRT-P

Technology

Electronic mail software
IBM Lotus Notes
Microsoft Outlook
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Medical software
GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite

The Education & Training You Need

Skills

  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Service Orientation

Knowledge

Health
medicine and dentistry
therapy and counseling
Business
customer service
Arts and Humanities
English language
Education and Training
teaching and course design

Education

  • 50% Associate's degree
  • 39% Bachelor's degree
  • 7% Master's degree

Experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

What are some related occupations at different educational levels?


Job Training Match

Veterinary Technologists & Technicians

Educational Level

High School Diploma or Equivalent

 Job Training Match

Licensed Practical & Licensed Vocational Nurses

Educational Level

Post-secondary, non-degree

Acute Care Nurses Currently Selected

Educational Level

Associate's Degree

 Job Training Match

Social & Human Service Assistants

Educational Level

Bachelor's Degree

Nurse Anesthetists

Educational Level

Advanced Degree

What are your training options on the pathway to this occupation?

Advanced Training

There are currently no advanced training opportunities for this career.

ACT & College

  • Allen College

    Waterloo, IA

  • Alverno College

    Milwaukee, WI

Apprenticeships

Earn while you learn. Apprenticeships combines paid training & specialized classes to help workers enter highly skilled occupations. Click here for to locate an apprenticeship near you.

Military

The Military offers exciting career opportunities that align with your interests. Click here to explore military careers and find a recruiter near you.

Are You a Good Fit?

Occupation Traits

    • Investigative (Thinker)
    • Realistic (Doer)
    • Social (Helper)

Work Styles

  • Integrity
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Concern for Others

Values

  • Relationships
  • Support
  • Achievement

Abilities

  • Verbal
  • Ideas and Logic
  • Attention

This is what Acute Care Nurses across the country typically make.

$30.64 / hour
$63,720 /year

Entry Level

$41.38 / hour
$86,070 /year

Median Level

$63.79 / hour
$132,680 /year

Experienced Level

Income information reflects a regional average.
Income information reflects a national average.

This career’s National Job Outlook is

Bright

Please be sure to verify the outlook of this occupation with your instructor.

Search Jobs