Critical Care Nurses

Also Called: Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), ICU Nurse (Intensive Care Unit Nurse), Staff Nurse

Associate's Degree

usually needed

Not Available
(Students Only)
Match Percentage

$63,720

Entry Salary

Bright

Job outlook

What Critical Care Nurses do

Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.

  • Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
  • Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
  • Set up and monitor medical equipment and devices such as cardiac monitors, mechanical ventilators and alarms, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, or pressure lines.
Industry Areas:

Health Care

Expand For Additional Details

Work Context

  • Telephone
  • Exposed to Disease or Infections
  • Face-to-Face Discussions
  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
  • Physical Proximity

Tools

  • Medical suction or vacuum appliances
  • Tablet crushers or accessories
  • Cardiac pacemaker generator or cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker CRT-P
  • Cardiac ultrasound or doppler or echo units or cardioscopes
  • Diagnostic or interventional vascular catheters or sets

Technology

Medical software
Epic Systems
MEDITECH software
Information retrieval or search software
American Association of Critical Care Nurses AACN Medicopeia
PEPID RN Critical Care RNCC
Office suite software
Google Drive
Microsoft Office

The Education & Training You Need

Skills

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

Knowledge

Health
medicine and dentistry
therapy and counseling
Math and Science
psychology
biology
Arts and Humanities
English language
Business
customer service

Education

  • 45% Associate's degree
  • 45% Bachelor's degree
  • 5% Some college, no 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

Cooks, Institution & Cafeteria

Educational Level

High School Diploma or Equivalent

 Job Training Match

Licensed Practical & Licensed Vocational Nurses

Educational Level

Post-secondary, non-degree

Critical Care Nurses Currently Selected

Educational Level

Associate's Degree

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, & English as a Second Language Instructors

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

  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Concern for Others
  • Self Control
  • Integrity

Values

  • Relationships
  • Support
  • Achievement

Abilities

  • Verbal
  • Ideas and Logic
  • Visual Understanding
  • Attention

This is what Critical 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.

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