Life As an Acute Care Nurse
Acute Care Nurse Definition 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.
List of Acute Care Nurse Job Duties
- Obtain specimens or samples for laboratory work.
- Refer patients for specialty consultations or treatments.
- Interpret information obtained from electrocardiograms (EKGs) or radiographs (x-rays).
- Collaborate with members of multidisciplinary health care teams to plan, manage, or assess patient treatments.
- Perform administrative duties that facilitate admission, transfer, or discharge of patients.
- Analyze the indications, contraindications, risk complications, and cost-benefit tradeoffs of therapeutic interventions.
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What Every Acute Care Nurse Should Know
These are the skills Acute Care Nurses say are the most useful in their careers:
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Other Acute Care Nurse Job Titles
- Screening Unit Registered Nurse
- Nursing Director
- Care Transitions Nurse
- Charge Nurse
- Clinical Staff Educator
Job Outlook for Acute Care Nurses
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 2,955,200 jobs in the United States for Acute Care Nurse. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 14.8% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 438,000 new jobs for Acute Care Nurse by 2026. There will be an estimated 203,700 positions for Acute Care Nurse per year.
The states with the most job growth for Acute Care Nurse are Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Watch out if you plan on working in Rhode Island, Wisconsin, or Connecticut. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of an Acute Care Nurse
Acute Care Nurses make between $50,800 and $106,530 a year.
Acute Care Nurses who work in Hawaii, California, or Oregon, make the highest salaries.
How much do Acute Care Nurses make in different U.S. states?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $59,470 |
| Alaska | $89,310 |
| Arizona | $77,000 |
| Arkansas | $60,780 |
| California | $106,950 |
| Colorado | $74,240 |
| Connecticut | $81,220 |
| Delaware | $74,800 |
| District of Columbia | $92,350 |
| Florida | $66,210 |
| Georgia | $68,950 |
| Hawaii | $98,080 |
| Idaho | $67,110 |
| Illinois | $73,890 |
| Indiana | $64,860 |
| Iowa | $59,130 |
| Kansas | $61,030 |
| Kentucky | $63,100 |
| Louisiana | $63,970 |
| Maine | $67,610 |
| Maryland | $76,820 |
| Massachusetts | $92,140 |
| Michigan | $71,330 |
| Minnesota | $78,920 |
| Mississippi | $58,490 |
| Missouri | $65,130 |
| Montana | $67,450 |
| Nebraska | $64,470 |
| Nevada | $85,620 |
| New Hampshire | $72,760 |
| New Jersey | $82,750 |
| New Mexico | $71,730 |
| New York | $85,610 |
| North Carolina | $64,850 |
| North Dakota | $65,740 |
| Ohio | $66,820 |
| Oklahoma | $63,080 |
| Oregon | $91,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $70,390 |
| Rhode Island | $78,420 |
| South Carolina | $64,940 |
| South Dakota | $58,340 |
| Tennessee | $61,320 |
| Texas | $72,890 |
| Utah | $65,670 |
| Vermont | $69,160 |
| Virginia | $69,790 |
| Washington | $82,670 |
| West Virginia | $61,780 |
| Wisconsin | $71,470 |
| Wyoming | $67,360 |
What Tools do Acute Care Nurses Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Acute Care Nurses may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Access
- SAP software
- IBM Lotus Notes
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- eClinicalWorks
- SOAPware EMR
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- e-MDs software
- ChartWare EMR
- NextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- SynaMed EMR
- Texas Medical Software SpringCharts EMR
- MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR
How to Become an Acute Care Nurse
Are there Acute Care Nurses education requirements?
What work experience do I need to become an Acute Care Nurse?
Where do Acute Care Nurses Work?
The table below shows the approximate number of Acute Care Nurses employed by various industries.
References:
Image Credit: Aleksahgabrielle via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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