Critical care nurses work in an ICU, delivering care to patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses to restabilize their health. To become an ICU nurse, you must earn your BSN degree, pass the NCLEX exam, gain experience caring for critically ill patients, and become certified with the AACN.
As an ICU nurse, the patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) rely on your care to return to a stable condition, even from the brink of death, making it one of the most rewarding careers in healthcare. To work with patients in such an unstable condition, you need to have confidence in your nursing knowledge; for that, you must have a high-quality education.
The University of St. Thomas’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program provides students with a comprehensive nursing education based on three core curriculum components: online coursework, simulation labs, and clinical rotations. Through this combination of components, ABSN students at the University of St. Thomas (UST) experience the theoretical and practical aspects of nursing before starting their careers and develop the skills to help patients from the start. The accelerated timeline ensures students graduate in as few as 12 months, which allows them to jumpstart their careers.
Ready to become a nurse? Learn how our one-year online nursing program can fast-track your career.
What is an ICU Nurse?
ICU nurses, also known as critical care nurses, are trained to treat patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses. They must have high-level clinical reasoning and knowledge to manage the care of patients in an unstable condition safely.
The types of care and treatment an ICU nurse provide vary depending on the chosen subspecialty. Some subspecialties include:
- Trauma and surgery ICU
- Neonatal ICU (NICU)
- Pediatric ICU (PICU)
- Cardiovascular ICU
- Medical ICU
- Neurology/Neurosurgical ICU
ICU nurses may take on patients with emergent medical conditions, but ICU nurses should not be mistaken for emergency department nurses. Patients with life-threatening conditions could begin their hospital stay in the emergency department and transfer to the ICU after their initial assessment and treatment. They would continue to receive treatment in the ICU until their condition merited a different level of care.
What Does an Intensive Care Unit Nurse Do?
The duties of an ICU nurse overlap with the common responsibilities of all registered nurses (RNs), but the fragile health status of intensive care patients increases the urgency of these duties and the necessity of precision. During a typical shift, an ICU nurse manages patient assessments, monitors vital signs, and executes timely interventions. Additional critical care nursing tasks are as follows:
- Ordering diagnostic tests
- Administering high-risk medications
- Coordinating interdisciplinary care
- Operating and monitoring medical equipment
- Providing advanced cardiac life support
Soft skills like critical thinking and clinical judgment are crucial to ICU nurses’ work, enabling nurses to think on their feet when a patient’s health deteriorates.
Steps to Becoming an ICU Nurse
You do not need an extensive nursing background to begin a critical care nursing career. There are three straightforward steps to take, starting with building your nursing knowledge and ending with gathering experience in your nursing position.
1. Earn a Nursing Degree
Your critical care nursing career begins with graduating from an accredited nursing program with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reports that most modern healthcare employers prefer applicants with BSN degrees, as they can better manage the field’s growing clinical knowledge and complexities.
This doesn’t mean you must commit to four years of study to earn your BSN. If you have a previous college credit or a non-nursing bachelor’s degree, you may be eligible for an ABSN program, like the one at UST. Accelerated nursing programs leverage your past education to shorten the timeline until graduation and expedite the transition into the nursing workforce.
Before starting your application, take the time to review the eligibility requirements of your chosen program. At UST, we ask that ABSN applicants work with their admissions advisors to develop plans to complete any outstanding prerequisite courses, have cumulative GPAs of 3.0 or higher, and earn passing scores on either the HESI or the TEAS entrance exam to be considered for admittance to the program.
Wondering which admission exam to take? Discover everything you need to know about the HESI and TEAS admission exams.
2. Pass the Licensure Exam
Once you’ve earned your BSN degree, you must pass the NCLEX-RN exam to become a licensed RN, after which you may begin working as a nurse. The NCLEX is a computer-generated test designed to assess whether candidates have the clinical competency and judgment needed to safely practice as entry-level nurses. The exam uses various question types to test nurse candidates’ abilities in different areas of practice, including the following:
- Application of the nursing process
- Assessment of client needs
- Effective prioritization of nursing actions
- Evaluation of clinical outcomes
- Generation of solutions
These skills are especially vital for anyone aspiring to work in an ICU.
Patient safety should be a primary goal of ICU nurses. Learn more about how you can prioritize patient safety in your nursing career.
3. Gain Experience in a Critical Care Role
After you’ve ensured that you meet your state’s requirements to work as an ICU nurse, nothing stops you from working in that role. Employers, however, may ask that applicants have a certain amount of experience or certification due to the complex level of care the role requires. To earn a critical care registered nursing (CCRN) certification from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), an applicant must have 1,750 hours of experience in direct care of acutely or critically ill patients over two years or at least five years of experience with a minimum of 2,000 hours of experience in direct care of acutely or critically ill patients.
Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming an ICU Nurse
Below, we answer a few questions regarding what you can expect in critical care nursing.
Are ICU Nurses in High Demand?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects the employment of registered nurses to grow six percent from 2023 to 2033, resulting in 194,500 openings across the nursing industry each year. This demand is being fueled by growing rates of chronic conditions, an aging population, and emerging illnesses like COVID-19, which create long-term complications.
What is an ICU Nurse’s Salary?
Nursing salaries vary across states and specialties, but the BLS reports that the median salary for all RNs is $86,070 per year as of 2023. Thanks to the high level of experience and care required in the role, ICU nurses can expect to earn on the higher end of the nursing salary range.
Start a Meaningful Career at UST
If you’re excited to begin your career, UST’s admissions team is prepared to answer any questions and ensure our ABSN program is the right fit for you. As you begin the application process, you will work one-on-one with an admissions advisor to help you build the best application possible and set you on a path to success.
Contact our admissions team today to get started.