What do they do?
Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
Also known as:
Certified Critical Care Nurse, Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), ICU Critical Care NP (Intensive Care Unit Critical Care Nurse Practitioner), ICU Nurse (Intensive Care Unit Nurse), Intensive Care Registered Nurse (Intensive Care RN), Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse (ICU RN), Newborn ICU RN (Newborn Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse), Nurse, Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Staff Nurse
No Data Available
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0.9%
Change
Ranks #66 in job growth rate7,700Job Openings
Ranks #10 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (53%)
- Associate's degree (28%)
- Master's degree (11%)
- Some college, no degree (4%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (2%)
- High school diploma equivalent (1%)
- Less than high school diploma (<1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Critical Care Nurses
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#1
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Degrees Granted
82,012
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Female Students
71,049
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Male Students
10,963
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#2
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Degrees Granted
811
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Female Students
578
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Male Students
233
-
Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#3
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Degrees Granted
166
-
Female Students
137
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Male Students
29
-
Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#4
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Degrees Granted
138
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Female Students
126
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Male Students
12
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#5
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Degrees Granted
61
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Female Students
50
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Male Students
11
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- 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.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Speed of Closure - The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
- Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
- Treat medical emergencies.
- Administer non-intravenous medications.
- Administer intravenous medications.
- Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
- Develop medical treatment plans.
- Test patient heart or lung functioning.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
- Record patient medical histories.
- Collect biological specimens from patients.
- Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
- Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
- Administer blood or other fluids intravenously.
- Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support.
- Assess patient work, living, or social environments.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during examinations or treatments.
- Supervise patient care personnel.
- Examine medical instruments or equipment to ensure proper operation.
- Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
- Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
- Establish nursing policies or standards.
- Conduct health or safety training programs.
- Train medical providers.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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