In This Article
- How to become an acute care nurse
- What is acute care nursing?
- What does an acute care nurse do?
- Where do acute care nurses work?
- Acute care nurse salary
- Acute care vs critical care: what’s the difference?
- Important skills needed for acute care nursing
- Who should consider acute care nursing?
- Discover the dynamic field of acute care nursing today
Acute care nursing is an essential part of emergency care, where immediate medical attention is required to help patients with a sudden illness or injury. The government’s Nursing Supply and Demand Study 2023-2035 projects an undersupply of 26,665 acute care nurses by 2035, which highlights the imminent need for skilled nurses in this sector.
This specialised nursing role offers career growth opportunities and the chance to sharpen your practical and critical thinking skills to support patients who require urgent care. In this article, you’ll learn how to pursue a career in acute care nursing, what these roles entail, the average salaries in Australia and what skills you’ll need to cultivate for success.
How to become an acute care nurse
To become an acute care nurse in Australia, you first need to become a registered nurse, gain acute care nursing experience, optionally complete postgraduate study and apply for a role in this specialised nursing field.
Here are the steps to follow if you want to become an acute care nurse.
1. Consider if this is the right career path for you
First, it’s important to consider your innate strengths and interests, skills you want to develop as a nurse and your future career goals to help you decide if acute care nursing is a role you want to pursue.
With a decade of acute care nursing experience, Michelle Deroubaix says that the role is varied with no two days being the same. “You never know what is going to come through the door. One day could be calm, the next day could be hectic. You have to be very flexible and go with the flow.”
Nursing coach Madeline Kessler agrees, describing acute care as a high-pressure environment that’s both challenging and rewarding. Acute care settings can be unpredictable, where your quick thinking and clinical expertise have the potential to save lives. She highlights how different it is from being on a nursing ward where you may generally have more time with patients to reassure them, treat them and think of the next steps regarding their care.
If you enjoy variety, a challenge and the chance to develop expert nursing skills, acute care might be ideal for you.
2. Complete your nursing degree
To become an acute care nurse, you’ll need to become a registered nurse by first completing a nursing degree. The most common pathway to this qualification is to complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which takes approximately three years to complete full-time.
If you’re making a career change into nursing and have a prior bachelor’s degree in another field, many universities provide pathways to this with a graduate-entry Master of Nursing program, which expedites the qualifying process. These courses typically take two years to complete full-time.
3. Obtain your nursing registration
Upon the successful completion of your nursing degree, you’ll need to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). This registration is mandatory for all nurses practising in Australia and must be renewed annually.
If you've completed your nursing education overseas, you may still be eligible for Australian registration. The NMBA assesses international qualifications to determine their equivalence to Australian standards. If you don’t automatically qualify, there are alternative pathways to obtaining registration through the NMBA to help you become registered.
4. Gain acute care nursing experience
Building expertise in acute care nursing is important to gain hands-on experience and develop the confidence needed to respond effectively to patients' evolving health needs. You’ll also enhance your understanding of the complexities of multidisciplinary teams and solidify your decision on whether acute care nursing is a specialisation you want to continue long-term.
Your experience may also provide a professional advantage in the job market once you explore future acute care nursing roles. You’ll be able to demonstrate to employers your competency in emergency, critical and acute care environments and your preparedness for the inherent challenges of the role.
5. Complete acute care nursing postgraduate study
Whilst not mandatory, postgraduate education in acute care nursing significantly enhances your expertise and career prospects. Advanced study deepens your understanding of complex pathophysiology, evidence-based practice and specialised clinical skills essential for acute care practice.
Many postgraduate courses also stipulate a minimum of one year's experience in acute care environments as an entry requirement or current employment in an acute care setting. Some courses require both as a prerequisite. It's advisable to check the specific entry requirements for the course you’re interested in to ensure you qualify for entry.
There are many postgraduate emergency nursing courses and acute care nursing courses to explore offered by reputable Australian universities. These courses are flexible with study options to suit your work and lifestyle needs. You’ll gain a variety of advanced skills and knowledge, such as triage and trauma management, wound care and clinical leadership to find success in acute care nursing roles.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Online’s Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing and Master of Advanced Nursing Majoring in Acute Care are online courses for registered nurses looking to upskill in the field of acute care.
The graduate certificate takes eight months to complete full-time and provides foundational skills in acute patient deterioration management, clinical decision-making and person and family-centred care. You’ll be equipped with enhanced knowledge and in-demand skills which you can apply to your acute care role.
The master’s degree is a comprehensive course, delivering advanced skills in physical assessment, diagnostic reasoning, quality and safety in medicines and managing patient deterioration. This course takes two years to complete full-time. You’ll have a thorough understanding of acute care nursing and the capacity to pursue senior and leadership roles, such as a clinical nurse specialist, clinical nurse consultant, nurse educator or nurse researcher.
The courses below are listed by qualification level, from lowest to highest.
6. Start applying for acute care nursing jobs
Once you've gained experience and completed your postgraduate education, you can begin pursuing specialised acute care nursing jobs. Employment opportunities are widely available through major job platforms including SEEK, Indeed and LinkedIn. Make the most of your professional network to discover roles and ways to advance your career.
You may also want to consider joining the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA), Australia's peak professional body for emergency nursing. CENA provides access to job listings, professional development opportunities, continuing education resources and events that are specifically related to the field of emergency and acute care nursing.
What is acute care nursing?
Acute care nursing is a specialised field of nursing where registered nurses provide essential care for patients in a short-term capacity for a sudden illness or injury. Acute care nurses can work with patients suffering a critical condition, an exacerbation of a chronic condition or a recent experience of trauma to quickly stabilise them and provide rapid medical intervention.
These professionals work with doctors or other emergency care staff to coordinate patient care and ensure optimal patient outcomes. Acute care nurses possess advanced clinical skills to address the needs of patients who present with complex and rapidly changing health conditions that demand constant monitoring, assessment and intervention. They can recognise signs of patient deterioration and can use sophisticated medical equipment to enhance patient recovery.
What does an acute care nurse do?
The typical roles and responsibilities of acute care nurses include:
- Evaluating and planning appropriate care for patients that aligns with nursing industry best practices
- Working in collaboration with other allied health and primary health professionals to promote optimal patient care
- Delivering appropriate acute healthcare interventions such as administering medications and monitoring patient responses and progress
- Advocating for patients through health education and disease prevention initiatives
- Communicating clearly with patients and their families, offering advice on treatments and care options
- Supervising enrolled nurses and staff to ensure a high standard of healthcare delivery is maintained
Some examples of the unique and advanced technical tasks that acute care nurses need to demonstrate competency in may include airway management, advanced life support, arrhythmia analysis and resuscitation pharmacotherapy.
Acute care nurses can adopt many clinical or advanced roles, such as nurse unit manager, critical care liaison nurse, clinical nurse specialist, emergency care nurse, advanced practice nurse, clinical nurse consultant and nursing director.
Madeline says that it’s important for nurses to work methodically in these roles, adding, “In an acute setting, you must be proficient with your documentation.” She refers to the tendency in these high-pressure situations to get overwhelmed or stressed, but that it’s important not to let it overtake you and to remain steady in these situations. “Slow is fast,” she says, in relation to carrying out tasks “meticulously, proficiently and as quickly as you can.”
Michelle recounts her experience working within a trauma team in a busy hospital. She describes it as quite exciting and collaborative, which is a unique feature of acute care compared to other nursing roles. She says there’s “more camaraderie and more connection with the medical team, which makes nurses feel more part of things. You’ll chat to the ED doctors and get to know them.”
Michelle also says that while it can be intense and challenging, there are periods where it’s calm with a more balanced workload. “Most of the time it’s business as usual. There may be lots of excitement and then go for weeks with not much happening.”
Where do acute care nurses work?
Acute care nurses practice across diverse healthcare settings, which provide unique challenges and opportunities:
Hospital emergency departments
This is the most common setting that acute care nurses work in, providing care for patients requiring immediate medical attention. Nurses in these fast-paced environments perform rapid triage assessments, manage multiple patients simultaneously and coordinate care for conditions ranging from minor physical injuries to life-threatening emergencies.
Trauma units
These specialised units exist in many major hospitals around Australia. In most cases, patients will be admitted to the dedicated trauma unit from the emergency department following an initial assessment, resuscitation and life-saving treatment. Acute care nurses work with a team of highly trained doctors, specialists, surgeons and varied healthcare professionals to provide immediate and advanced care to patients with severe and critical injuries, often requiring rapid decision-making and intervention to save lives.
Intensive care units (ICUs)
Acute care nurses can work alongside critical care nurses in general and specialised ICUs to provide continuous monitoring and treatment of patients with life-threatening acute or chronic conditions. Nurses, doctors, specialists and other healthcare professionals in these units are highly skilled to deliver a high level of care, including providing life support and operating complex medical equipment, such as ventilators, incubators, enteral tube feeding devices and intravenous medications.
High-dependency units (HDUs)
A step-down from ICUs are HDUs, which cater to patients with less critical conditions who still need a greater level of monitoring and treatment than general wards can provide. HDUs may be integrated within an ICU in some hospitals or operate as a solitary unit for patient care. Acute care nurses use their advanced skills to closely monitor and address the evolving health needs of patients in HDUs to support their recovery.
Urgent care clinics
Clinics that provide urgent care are an intermediate option for patients between seeing a general practitioner and visiting the hospital emergency department. Acute care nurses in urgent care clinics help patients with non-life-threatening conditions that need to be promptly addressed, such as minor infections, sprains, respiratory illnesses, mild burns or gastroenteritis.
Aged care facilities
Nurses can assess, monitor and provide short-term acute care to people in aged care and residential care facilities, such as wound care, managing co-morbidities, medication adverse effects, infection control or evaluating a possible deteriorating patient. They may also collaborate with other health providers to support the unique needs and overall wellbeing of older adults.
Other common settings for acute care nurses may include outpatient clinics, community health clinics, day procedure centres, theatre nursing, medical centres, mental health services, rehabilitation and correctional facilities and rural and remote health centres. These environments are ideal for nurses to gain acute nursing experience, especially prior to commencing acute care postgraduate study.
Acute care nurse salary
According to Indeed data, emergency and acute care nursing salaries can vary significantly. The average emergency department nurse salary in Australia is $85,000, while the average acute care nurse salary is $87,000 annually. An acute care nurse’s salary may vary depending on experience and location.
Here are the average annual salary ranges for acute care nurses across each Australian state and territory:
Acute care vs critical care: what’s the difference?
Whilst acute care and critical care nursing share some similarities in their role and common work environments, they represent two distinct specialisations within hospital-based nursing practice:
Acute care nursing
This specialisation encompasses a broader spectrum of patient care as demonstrated in the examples above. Acute care nurses manage patients with various conditions requiring immediate attention but who may not necessarily be critically ill. These nurses must be adept at triaging and providing life-saving treatments to promote recovery. Many environments that acute care nurses work in often have higher nurse-to-patient ratios, where nurses will be responsible for managing several patients with varying acuity levels and health needs.
Critical care nursing
This specialised field of nursing focuses on patients with life-threatening conditions requiring intensive monitoring and advanced life support interventions. Critical care nurses typically work in intensive care units, high-dependency units or in flight or retrieval services with a much lower nurse-to-patient ratio. It’s common for critical care nurses to work with only one or two patients at a time, allowing for more intensive, individualised patient monitoring and intervention.
Important skills needed for acute care nursing
There is a range of valuable nursing skills that can help you in your role as an acute care nurse, including:
Adaptability
Acute care can be intense and unpredictable. Not knowing what patients may arrive and having to think on your feet can be a taxing part of the job. It’s important to develop the ability to adjust to situations as they change, such as a deteriorating patient to provide the best care possible.
Effective communication
These roles are dynamic and involve many health professionals working together to support the health of patients. This requires excellent communication skills not only with fellow colleagues but also with patients and their families. Learn more about the value of effective communication in nursing here.
Critical thinking
An emergency nurse or acute care nurse needs to evaluate and triage patients swiftly to determine the level of care they need or whether to refer to a trauma ward or other team. The ability to think critically and solve complex problems is valuable in supporting the changing health needs of patients in acute care.
Collaboration
Teamwork and working collaboratively with doctors, surgeons, other nurses and support staff is essential in acute care nursing roles. This ensures patients receive comprehensive and individualised care in a timely manner, according to their specific needs. Find out more about the importance of teamwork in healthcare here.
Resilience
Remaining calm under intense pressure and the ability to handle difficult or high-acuity situations is important in acute care. These roles can be emotionally challenging, with frequent exposure to physical trauma and the loss of patients taking their toll. Building resilience and debriefing with colleagues as needed can help acute care nurses maintain their mental wellbeing.
Empathy
A core interpersonal skill that acute care nurses should cultivate is empathy. This allows for connection and trust-building between nurses and patients, which helps foster cooperation and ultimately better patient outcomes. Patients presenting to acute care settings may understandably be frightened and vulnerable, so ensuring you can provide a level of empathy is important. Explore the three types of empathy and how you can apply them in your healthcare role here.
Assertiveness
There may be times when your priority is to advocate for the patient, which means speaking up to get things done. As Madeline highlights, being confident and using an “assertive tone in your voice” is necessary to help unite other staff, delegate tasks and get the support you need to help your patients. Michelle agrees that nurses need a strong character to thrive in these roles, saying, “You’ve got to be assertive and you’ve got to be forceful.”
Who should consider acute care nursing?
To thrive in acute care, nurses need to have a knack for problem-solving and enjoy these high-stakes environments. Madeline says nurses who love learning and love being challenged would be well suited to these roles. “You’re always assessing potential disasters and asking ‘what could go wrong here’ – and being prepared if it does.”
Madeline says that for nurses considering working in acute care, it’s essential to trust yourself and your capabilities while seeking out valuable opportunities for growth and confidence-building.
“It's not until you’re put outside of your comfort zone that you realise how skillful you can be in a high-pressure situation,” she says.
Madeline says that in order to prepare for these roles, it can be helpful to get as much experience as possible in acute care settings. “Head to a big public hospital where they’ve got the support for supernumerary.” These environments are commonly well-staffed with experienced nurses and healthcare professionals who can provide support as you develop your own acute care experience.
Michelle says it’s essential to “Be discerning and use your intuition. Learn to speak up.” Sometimes you’ll need to advocate for yourself and for the needs of the patient. This becomes even more important when many health professionals are involved in a team dynamic. In these situations, clarity and understanding of what’s needed to help the patient are vitally important.
Discover the dynamic field of acute care nursing today
Acute care nurses have the unique role of supporting patients and families during some of their most challenging and vulnerable moments. Your clinical expertise, quick thinking and empathetic care can directly influence their recovery as you help save lives.
If you’re interested in developing your nursing practice with advanced skills in either specialisation, explore the range of postgraduate courses in acute care and emergency care to find one that suits your career goals and ambitions. Find a course and enquire to speak to a Student Enrolment Advisor about applying.
At GlobalHealth Education, we partner with respected universities to offer healthcare courses in a range of fields. We also list courses from reputable universities across Australia. These courses include nursing, health leadership, counselling, psychology, public health, social work and mental health. Transform your career in healthcare and enquire today.
Book a free professional development strategy call with our Education Consultant, Catriona.
