What is an Acute Care Nurse?
Career Description 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.
Life As an Acute Care Nurse
- Discuss illnesses and treatments with patients and family members.
- Assess urgent and emergent health conditions using both physiologically and technologically derived data.
- Collaborate with patients to plan for future health care needs or to coordinate transitions and referrals.
- Administer blood and blood product transfusions or intravenous infusions, monitoring patients for adverse reactions.
- Perform emergency medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and other condition stabilizing interventions.
- Obtain specimens or samples for laboratory work.
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Acute Care Nurse Skills
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
- Chronic Condition Nurse
- Nursing Director
- Care Transitions Manager
- Nurse Manager
- Staff Nurse
Job Outlook for Acute Care Nurses
There were about 2,955,200 jobs for Acute Care Nurse in 2016 (in the United States). 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. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 203,700 job openings in this field each 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.
Do Acute Care Nurses Make A Lot Of Money?
The salary for Acute Care Nurses ranges between about $50,800 and $106,530 a year.
Acute Care Nurses who work in Hawaii, California, or Oregon, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Acute Care Nurses 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 & Technology 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
Becoming an Acute Care Nurse
Are there Acute Care Nurses education requirements?
How Long Does it Take to Become an Acute Care Nurse?
Where Acute Care Nurses Work
Acute Care Nurses work in the following industries:
References:
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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