How to become An Acute Care Nurse

• Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

What do Acute Care Nurses do?

An Acute Care Nurse would typically need to:

• Provide critical care to patients with severe injuries or chronic illness flare-ups; aim at getting patients to be pronounced healthy and stable at the soonest possible
• Diagnose and treat patients with a wide variety of ailments within their field of speciality; avoid complications; review the patient’s medical history to ensure proper and safe medical care
• Prescribe medications related to their field of expertise; perform screenings and physical exams; teach patients to cope with their health issues; care for those who require long-term care
• Participate in patients’ care meetings and conferences; provide formal and informal education to other staff members
• Perform emergency medical procedures, such as essential cardiac life support, advanced cardiac life support, and other condition-stabilizing interventions
• Research the newest and latest medical procedures to increase their knowledge; need to be up to date with risk management protocols

Acute Care Nurses may specialise in pediatric, neonatal, or adult care, which can influence their work settings. They may also interact with professionals who specialise in medical disciplines related to ongoing health issues such as blood pressure, cardiology and diabetes.

Most Acute Care Nurses have a standard 40-hour workweek split into shifts. You may need to work nights, weekends and holidays whenever necessary.

Any medical organisation that offers emergency or critical care employs Acute Care Nurses.

Finding a new job might seem challenging. Acute Care Nurses can boost their job search by asking their network for referrals, contacting employers directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, leveraging social media and inquiring at staffing agencies.

Acute Care Nurses are generally employed by:

• Hospitals
• Doctor’s Offices
• Nursing Homes
• Emergency Rooms
• Trauma Units
• Operation Theatres
• Critical Care Units
• Ambulatory Care Clinics
• Walk-In Clinics
• Short-Term Stay Facilities

Healthcare associations such as the International Council of Nurse Practitioners provide unparalleled networking and educational opportunities. They offer all the certification courses members will need throughout their professional careers.

Affiliated Acute Care Nurses may attend conventions, seminars, and dinners frequented by peers, mentors, and other industry leaders. The events help them keep up with the newest breakthroughs and latest developments in the field, including plum jobs. https://www.nursepractitionerschools.com/blog/np-associations-list/

• A fast-paced work environment where a patient may require complex monitoring and treatment, high-intensity interventions or continuous vigilance
• The need for physical, mental and emotional strength to carry out their duties to the patients and interact effectively with the patients’ families

Shadowing a nurse will give you pre-nursing experience, help you better understand the profession and make a better choice of the specialities available after you graduate. Check whether the shadowing program you wish to sign up for meets your quality, location, and length requirements.

The clinical portion of your nursing program should give you hands-on experience in acute care.

As in any career, reading as much as possible about the profession, talking with a high school coun­selor, and interviewing those working in nursing are other important ways to explore your interest. A nursing mentor will also give you valuable tips and advice on how to excel in nursing school.

Prospective Acute Care Nurses choose between a two-year associate degree or a four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing specialising in acute care nursing to earn the required certification or license. You may train to work especially with children, adults, or elderly patients; you can also train to assist patients with chronic or critical issues.

Once you have completed your nursing school training, you can be licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN) and receive national certification from a professional organisation. License and certification requirements may vary across locations; make sure you consult your local boards to determine what degrees, fieldwork, and examinations are needed to achieve your career goals.

Be prepared to dedicate significant time and energy to the pursuit of the required certification or license.

Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics. The reassurance that members who practice outside the Code will be investigated and held accountable earns the community’s trust and respect, which are the most critical elements in securing an Acute Care Nurse’s future.

Performance, experience, and acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years. With significant experience and further education, Acute Care Nurses may advance to Advanced Practice Nurses (APN), Case Managers, or Team Leaders.

Individuals willing to relocate to medically underserved communities such as inner cities and rural areas will have the best job prospects.

It is most likely that after gaining significant experience as an acute care RN, you will return to school to earn a master’s degree.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is especially important in the healthcare sector as it has important implications for public wellbeing. Ideal career progression happens when Acute Care Nurses actively choose to expand their skill-sets and meet the requirements of their respective regulatory bodies.

In recent years, an important consideration in medical education has been transforming the masses of facts and skills that nurses accumulate in their training into adaptive clinical skills that work in the real world.

The central concern of CPD is that of lifelong learning with its application to professional lives. CPD is more than just a policy or some form of bureaucratic procedure. It is not just a set of boxes to be ticked mindlessly. It is value-laden and embraces several new learning objectives, educational methodologies, and novel technological developments, especially in education, management, and IT.

Reflective learning, interaction with peer groups, comprehensive inclusion, workshops, professional publications serve to educate, influence, support and foster lifelong enlightenment in all career-grade Acute Care Nurses.

Why is Nursing a Popular Career Choice?

Factors driving the high demand for Acute Care Nurses include the ageing baby boomer population, growing rates of chronic conditions, insurance reforms, and nurses retiring coupled with a shortage of nurse educators.

Nursing is the most trusted profession. Nurses have been at the top of Gallup’s honesty/ethics poll since 2011.

Acute Care Nurses solve tricky health issues, face complex patients, continually access new knowledge frontiers, and encounter unjust laws which prevent them from providing proper care. This, after all the competitive and rigorous training they undergo. As such, this is not a job for just anybody. It deserves the best.

Do not discuss personal problems with a patient. Start a conversation quickly by following OAR - observe, ask questions, and reveal something about yourself, but avoid getting too personal.