Critical Care Nurses
Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
- O*NET-SOC code
29-1141.03 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
BLS doesn't publish wages for Critical Care Nurses separately. These are the figures for Registered Nurses (29-1141), its parent occupation.
Median annual wage, U.S.$97,550
Employment, U.S.3,379,720
Median hourly wage$46.90
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68,940 | $80,330 | $97,550 | $112,350 | $137,470 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 54,340 | $77,080 | 1.18 |
| Alaska | 7,510 | $109,480 | 1.06 |
| Arizona | 73,150 | $99,500 | 1.04 |
| Arkansas | 29,400 | $78,940 | 1.04 |
| California | 338,940 | $140,270 | 0.86 |
| Colorado | 54,490 | $100,260 | 0.87 |
| Connecticut | 40,110 | $102,740 | 1.09 |
| Delaware | 14,290 | $99,520 | 1.36 |
| District of Columbia | 11,440 | $102,540 | 0.75 |
| Florida | 229,940 | $84,190 | 1.07 |
| Georgia | 100,950 | $93,550 | 0.95 |
| Hawaii | 12,940 | $136,320 | 0.95 |
| Idaho | 16,880 | $92,460 | 0.91 |
| Illinois | 138,910 | $95,990 | 1.05 |
| Indiana | 68,980 | $83,500 | 0.99 |
| Iowa | 34,420 | $78,630 | 1.02 |
| Kansas | 33,800 | $79,320 | 1.08 |
| Kentucky | 50,300 | $81,040 | 1.16 |
| Louisiana | 48,970 | $80,230 | 1.16 |
| Maine | 16,540 | $86,990 | 1.19 |
| Maryland | 52,910 | $99,790 | 0.88 |
| Massachusetts | 88,200 | $104,550 | 1.12 |
| Michigan | 104,950 | $94,300 | 1.10 |
| Minnesota | 70,110 | $101,510 | 1.09 |
| Mississippi | 29,060 | $77,090 | 1.15 |
| Missouri | 76,310 | $81,780 | 1.20 |
| Montana | 10,950 | $85,280 | 0.99 |
| Nebraska | 24,720 | $84,730 | 1.11 |
| Nevada | 27,070 | $103,670 | 0.80 |
| New Hampshire | 15,390 | $99,700 | 1.04 |
| New Jersey | 92,680 | $106,500 | 0.99 |
| New Mexico | 17,980 | $94,340 | 0.95 |
| New York | 205,810 | $109,440 | 0.98 |
| North Carolina | 111,120 | $84,350 | 1.03 |
| North Dakota | 11,340 | $80,730 | 1.21 |
| Ohio | 143,730 | $82,510 | 1.19 |
| Oklahoma | 38,270 | $82,920 | 1.03 |
| Oregon | 39,730 | $129,010 | 0.93 |
| Pennsylvania | 146,520 | $96,430 | 1.11 |
| Rhode Island | 10,090 | $100,640 | 0.93 |
| South Carolina | 49,750 | $82,360 | 0.99 |
| South Dakota | 14,710 | $78,060 | 1.48 |
| Tennessee | 72,200 | $81,500 | 1.01 |
| Texas | 271,380 | $95,970 | 0.89 |
| Utah | 27,420 | $84,600 | 0.73 |
| Vermont | 7,410 | $97,460 | 1.12 |
| Virginia | 77,490 | $93,600 | 0.87 |
| Washington | 69,260 | $124,200 | 0.90 |
| West Virginia | 23,430 | $80,130 | 1.54 |
| Wisconsin | 68,060 | $95,530 | 1.06 |
| Wyoming | 5,330 | $83,760 | 0.87 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nurse Practitioners | 5 | 0.982 |
| 2 | Nurse Midwives | 5 | 0.979 |
| 3 | Registered Nurses | 4 | 0.977 |
| 4 | Acute Care Nurses | 4 | 0.976 |
| 5 | Athletic Trainers | 5 | 0.975 |
| 6 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | 5 | 0.975 |
| 7 | Physical Therapists | 5 | 0.973 |
| 8 | Physician Assistants | 5 | 0.972 |
| 9 | Nurse Anesthetists | 5 | 0.972 |
| 10 | Clinical Nurse Specialists | 5 | 0.972 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Critical Care Nurses, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute Care Nurses | Reading Comprehension | 0.88 | 0.976 |
| Radiation Therapists | Operation and Control | 0.88 | 0.962 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Critical Care Nurses, excluding software Critical Care Nurses already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE | 5 of 20 | 21.0x |
| Medical procedure coding software | 7 of 20 | 7.2x |
| Medical condition coding software | 6 of 20 | 6.9x |
| Patient management software | 4 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Electronic medical record EMR software | 5 of 20 | 7.2x |
| Prognosis Innovation Healthcare ChartAccess | 3 of 20 | 23.1x |
| Allscripts PM | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| CareCloud Central | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 3.38 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.38 | 4.00 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.12 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.62 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Science | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4.74 | 5.00 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.21 | 5.88 |
| Psychology | 4.11 | 5.63 |
| English Language | 4.11 | 4.19 |
| Biology | 3.89 | 4.56 |
| Mathematics | 3.78 | 4.04 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 3.71 | 4.70 |
| Education and Training | 3.71 | 4.46 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.26 | 4.22 |
| Chemistry | 3.15 | 4.00 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.14 | 2.93 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.00 | 3.70 |
| Administration and Management | 2.93 | 3.30 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 2.64 | 3.29 |
| Law and Government | 2.64 | 2.54 |
| Communications and Media | 2.52 | 2.68 |
| Administrative | 2.46 | 3.00 |
| Physics | 2.37 | 2.46 |
| Telecommunications | 2.32 | 1.61 |
| Mechanical | 2.26 | 2.19 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.25 | 2.26 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.11 | 1.77 |
| Foreign Language | 1.93 | 1.37 |
| Production and Processing | 1.86 | 1.44 |
| Design | 1.79 | 1.36 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.71 | 1.14 |
| Transportation | 1.56 | 1.21 |
| Building and Construction | 1.43 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.39 | 1.04 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.29 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.25 | not rated |
| Geography | 1.25 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.14 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.12 | 5.00 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.62 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speech Recognition | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 4.00 | 3.88 |
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Information Ordering | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Written Expression | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Selective Attention | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.38 | 3.62 |
| Speed of Closure | 3.38 | 3.62 |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.38 | 3.12 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.88 |
| Originality | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Far Vision | 2.88 | 3.12 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Control Precision | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Memorization | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Static Strength | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visualization | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Response Orientation | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Depth Perception | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Stamina | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Reaction Time | 2.12 | 2.62 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Explosive Strength | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Rate Control | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Epic Systems hot
- MEDITECH software hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- eClinicalWorks EHR software hot
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses AACN Medicopeia
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- ChartWare EMR
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- Google Drive
- MEDITECH Healthcare Information System HCIS
- Medscribbler Enterprise
- MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR
- NextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR
- Oracle Taleo
- PEPID RN Critical Care RNCC
- SOAPware EMR
- StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite
- SynaMed EMR
- Texas Medical Software SpringCharts EMR
- Web browser software
- e-MDs software
Where it concentrates
BLS doesn't publish wages for Critical Care Nurses separately. These are the figures for Registered Nurses (29-1141), its parent occupation.
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgantown, WV | 4,510 | 3.08 | $80,130 |
| Rochester, MN | 6,390 | 2.39 | $101,660 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | 10,980 | 2.30 | $103,450 |
| Gainesville, FL | 7,470 | 2.25 | $81,870 |
| Greenville, NC | 3,770 | 2.15 | $81,670 |
| Iowa City, IA | 4,090 | 2.00 | $85,940 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 7,680 | 1.98 | $75,350 |
| Charleston, WV | 4,320 | 1.92 | $80,230 |
| Springfield, IL | 4,110 | 1.87 | $84,220 |
| Mayaguez, PR | 2,070 | 1.83 | $39,280 |