Acute Care Nurses
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.
Also called: Acute Care Nurse · Cardiac Interventional Care Nurse · Cardiovascular ICU Nurse (Cardiovascular Intense Care Unit Nurse) · Cardiovascular Surgery Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (Cardiovascular Surgery ACNP) · Charge Nurse · DSU Nurse (Day Surgery Unit Nurse)
Median pay (national)
$93,600
$66,030–$135,320 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
3,282,010
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+4.9%
~189,100 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for acute care nurses shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $135,320 versus $66,030 at the bottom 10% — 2.0x. The median of $93,600 leaves roughly 45% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +4.9% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 189,100 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 53 states with released data, California pays the most for this role (median $140,330, +50% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $37,780 — a 271% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
Tailor your resume to Acute Care Nurses
Honest tailoring
See how your resume lines up with Acute Care Nurses
Refit re-angles your real experience toward this role using the skills above — and never invents skills you don't have. A no-fabrication gate checks every change before you see it.
Free. No account needed to see your first re-fit.
Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Discuss illnesses and treatments with patients and family members.
- Document data related to patients' care, including assessment results, interventions, medications, patient responses, or treatment changes.
- Interpret information obtained from electrocardiograms (EKGs) or radiographs (x-rays).
- Obtain specimens or samples for laboratory work.
- Manage patients' pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, monitoring patients' responses, and changing care plans accordingly.
- Collaborate with members of multidisciplinary health care teams to plan, manage, or assess patient treatments.
- Assess the needs of patients' family members or caregivers.
- Participate in patients' care meetings and conferences.
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in acute care.
- Analyze the indications, contraindications, risk complications, and cost-benefit tradeoffs of therapeutic interventions.
Tools & technology
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Microsoft Teams
- SAP software
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- ChartWare EMR
- e-MDs software
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- IBM Lotus Notes
- Medscribbler Enterprise
- MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR
- NextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR
- SOAPware EMR
- StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security