Description
Provide advanced nursing care to acutely and critically ill patients in hospital and emergency settings. Diagnose and manage unstable conditions; order and interpret advanced diagnostics; perform acute procedures; prescribe therapies; and coordinate multidisciplinary care as a registered nurse with specialized graduate education in acute care.
- • Educate patients and families on acute illness, procedures, and post-acute care.
- • Plan and coordinate follow-up after discharge with primary care and specialists.
- • Counsel on medication regimens, infusions, side effects, and interactions.
- • Order, perform, or interpret diagnostics such as ABGs, labs, EKGs, radiographs, CTs, and bedside ultrasound.
- • Analyze histories, exams, and monitoring data to develop differential diagnoses.
- • Diagnose and treat acute conditions such as sepsis, respiratory failure, arrhythmias, and trauma.
- • Manage acute exacerbations of chronic diseases in the inpatient setting.
- • Stabilize and co-manage complex, unstable, or emergent cases with physicians and specialty teams.
- • Triage, admit, and manage hospitalized patients; respond to rapid response and code events.
- • Consult with and refer to appropriate medical or surgical specialists when needed.
- • Detect and manage adverse drug events and infusion reactions in high-risk patients.
- • Develop and adjust evidence-based acute care plans, including resuscitation and escalation pathways.
- • Perform acute care procedures per privileging, such as wound repair, incision and drainage, arterial or central venous line placement, paracentesis, thoracentesis, and splinting.
- • Conduct admission histories and physicals and daily progress examinations.
- • Prescribe and titrate medications and therapies, including IV fluids, antibiotics, anticoagulants, analgesia, and vasoactive agents as authorized.
- • Manage ventilatory support and oxygen therapy in collaboration with respiratory therapy.
- • Provide education on hospital safety, infection prevention, delirium reduction, and mobility.
- • Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions balancing safety, invasiveness, cost, and patient goals.
- • Initiate and support behavior change interventions relevant to recovery, such as smoking cessation and alcohol withdrawal management.
- • Determine medication dosages, routes, frequencies, and infusion titrations based on patient factors and response.
- • Advocate for timely, equitable access to acute and post-acute services and resources.
- • Arrange resources for rehabilitation, durable medical equipment, home health, or skilled nursing placement.
- • Maintain complete and timely electronic documentation of assessments, orders, procedures, and outcomes.
- • Review current critical care and acute care literature and participate in education and conferences.
- • Keep current with hospital policies, state regulations, credentialing, and payer requirements for inpatient and observation care.
- • Ensure compliance with infection prevention bundles, safety protocols, and regulatory standards.
- • Lead, mentor, or coordinate activities of nursing staff, students, or other support personnel.
- • Participate in quality improvement, morbidity and mortality reviews, and protocol development.
Related specializations
Interview options
Interview options
Interviewee gender
Interviewee accent
Interview time
Related Pathways
Healthcare & Human Services
View
Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
Learn more
Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
