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Healthcare

Acute Care Nurses

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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.

Median salary

$93,600

Typical range

$66k – $135k

Job outlook

+5% (faster than average)

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Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

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How to qualify

License required

Cost to qualify

$6,300–$80,650

Time to qualify

2.2 yr

Renewal

$75/yr

  1. 1

    Nursing degree (ADN or BSN)

    Degree

    2-year associate or 4-year bachelor's in nursing from an accredited program.

    $6,000–$80,000 · 2 years source

  2. 2

    NCLEX-RN exam

    Exam

    National licensing exam for registered nurses.

    $200–$350 · 1 months source

  3. 3

    State RN license

    License

    Apply to your state board of nursing after passing the NCLEX.

    $100–$300 · 1 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Which occupations require a license and in which states: CareerOneStop License Finder (U.S. DOL). Costs/hours are curated estimates that vary by state and change — see each step's official source.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Acute Care Nurses

    Entry / Junior

    $66,030

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Acute Care Nurses

    Established

    $93,600

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Acute Care Nurses

    Senior

    $114,460

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Discuss illnesses and treatments with patients and family members.
  • •Diagnose acute or chronic conditions that could result in rapid physiological deterioration or life-threatening instability.
  • •Perform emergency medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and other condition-stabilizing interventions.
  • •Assess urgent and emergent health conditions, using both physiologically and technologically derived data.
  • •Set up, operate, or monitor invasive equipment and devices, such as colostomy or tracheotomy equipment, mechanical ventilators, catheters, gastrointestinal tubes, and central lines.

Fields of study

Any field

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