What is an Acute Care Nurse?
Occupation 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
- Provide formal and informal education to other staff members.
- Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests and screening procedures based on assessment results, differential diagnoses, and knowledge about age, gender and health status of clients.
- Collaborate with members of multidisciplinary health care teams to plan, manage, or assess patient treatments.
- Set up, operate, or monitor invasive equipment and devices such as colostomy or tracheotomy equipment, mechanical ventilators, catheters, gastrointestinal tubes, and central lines.
- Treat wounds or superficial lacerations.
- Assess the impact of illnesses or injuries on patients’ health, function, growth, development, nutrition, sleep, rest, quality of life, or family, social and educational relationships.
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What Every Acute Care Nurse Should Know
When polled, Acute Care Nurses say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
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.
Types of Acute Care Nurse
- Pediatric Acute Care Unit Nurse
- Charge Nurse
- Clinical Nurse Educator
- Admission Nurse
- Acute Care Nurse
Job Opportunities 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. The BLS estimates 203,700 yearly job openings in this field.
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
The average yearly salary of an Acute Care Nurse ranges between $50,800 and $106,530.
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?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Acute Care Nurses:
- 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 do I Become an Acute Care Nurse?
What kind of Acute Care Nurse requirements are there?
How many years of work experience do I need?
Acute Care Nurses Sector
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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