# 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/acute-care-nurses
- SOC code: 29-1141.01
- Career family: Healthcare practitioners
- Median annual pay: $97,550 (10th percentile $68,940, 90th percentile $137,470)
- Projected growth: Faster than average, +5.6%
- Openings a year: 180,800
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections
- Pay and outlook are for the broader BLS group "Registered nurses".

## Interest profile (code SIR)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 45 |
| Investigative (I) | 78 |
| Artistic (A) | 13 |
| Social (S) | 80 |
| Enterprising (E) | 13 |
| Conventional (C) | 39 |

## What you'd do

- Assisting and Caring for Others (importance 92/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 88/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 86/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 86/100)
- Getting Information (importance 84/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 84/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 80/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 80/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 79/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 78/100)

## Skills

Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Service Orientation, Speaking, Active Learning, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Monitoring

## Knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, English Language, Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Biology, Mathematics

## Also called

Acute Care Nurse, Admission Nurse, Admission Nurse Coordinator, Cardiac Interventional Care Nurse, Cardiovascular ICU Nurse (Cardiovascular Intense Care Unit Nurse), Cardiovascular Surgery Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (Cardiovascular Surgery ACNP), Care Transitions Manager, Care Transitions Nurse, Charge Nurse, Chronic Condition Nurse

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5138) (CIP 5138, 1,954 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [California State University-East Bay](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-east-bay-368) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $139,123 | $150,921 | $18,751 |
| [San Francisco State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/san-francisco-state-university-2349) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $145,008 | $150,102 | $13,331 |
| [Dominican University of California](https://www.collegesref.com/college/dominican-university-of-california-828) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $128,516 | $149,622 | $26,243 |
| [Sonoma State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/sonoma-state-university-2438) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $134,423 | $143,886 | $12,500 |
| [University of San Francisco USF](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-san-francisco-usf-3034) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $120,438 | $143,356 | $25,000 |
| [Pacific Union College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-union-college-2063) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $126,952 | $140,542 | $29,584 |
| [California State University-Monterey Bay](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-monterey-bay-373) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $127,203 | $134,489 | $6,375 |
| [Pacific College-California](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-college-california-2055) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | not reported | $132,148 | $32,611 |

## Related careers

- [Registered Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/registered-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Critical Care Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/critical-care-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Clinical Nurse Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/clinical-nurse-specialists): $97,550 median pay
- [Paramedics](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/paramedics): $60,600 median pay
- [Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/advanced-practice-psychiatric-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Nurse Midwives](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/nurse-midwives): $134,040 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.