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Acute Care Nurses

What do they do?

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.

Education Required

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

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What Does This Job Pay?

Median Annual Salary: $86,070
Median Hourly Salary: $41
$63,720
$86,070
$132,680
One out of ten earn less than $63,720
The median salary is $86,070
One out of ten earn more than $132,680

Top Skills For This Job

  • Basic Skills
  • Reading work related information
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Reading work related information
  • Talking to others
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Reading work related information
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Problem Solving
  • Reading work related information
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Reading work related information
  • Talking to others
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Reading work related information
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Social
  • Reading work related information
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Reading work related information
  • Talking to others
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Reading work related information
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
  • Looking for ways to help people
  • Understanding people's reactions

Will There Be Jobs?

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.

Typical Daily Tasks

  • Perform emergency medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and other condition-stabilizing interventions.
  • Manage patients' pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, monitoring patients' responses, and changing care plans accordingly.
  • Document data related to patients' care, including assessment results, interventions, medications, patient responses, or treatment changes.