Explore career options in critical care nursing
Here you can find information on the types of careers and employment roles a critical care nursing program may land you.
You can also discover where to look for job vacancies, as well as professional associations, mentoring and international opportunities.
Opportunities
Advanced education programs in nursing enable registered nurses to develop specialised knowledge and skills, emphasising evidence-based practice, patient safety and outcomes.
These postgraduate qualifications require a Bachelor of Nursing degree or equivalent and a current or temporary unrestricted license with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and for international students registration in their country of practice.
Graduates from acute care nursing programs are recognised for their expertise and ability to apply multidisciplinary knowledge and skills in acute care settings, capable of analysing, critiquing, and synthesising advanced nursing practices.
Acute care nurses, who work with patients during acute hospital admissions, following surgery or during chronic illness management, are in high demand.
Emergency nurses are prepared to rapidly identify and address life-threatening conditions in patients experiencing trauma, acute deterioration, or new emergent health concerns, working in settings such as hospital emergency rooms, pre-hospital retrievals, and urgent care centres.
While most work in hospitals, many also provide care in regional and rural hospitals, health care centres, and as flight nurses. Additionally, emergency nursing students cultivate essential skills like teamwork, analytical thinking and communication, which are highly valued by employers.
Paediatric nursing programs enable registered nurses to develop advanced knowledge and specialist skills in the care of infants, children, young people and families.
Critical care nursing programs focus on the care of critically ill patients and families. These programs equip students with the theoretical knowledge and skills required for specialist critical care practice.
Critical care nurses, or ICU nurses, use their advanced skills to care for critically ill patients at high risk for life-threatening health issues and work in settings such as ICU, CCU and pre-hospital retrievals and flight nursing.
Professional nursing programs enable registered nurses to develop advanced knowledge and skills in comprehensive nursing assessment and managing complex clients during transitions of care. These programs also equip students with transformational leadership and interdisciplinary ethics skills.
Registered nurses working in any setting will develop these professional nursing skills which are essential for enhancing clinical practice and leadership in nursing.
Career fields
- Hospitals - private and public
- Intensive care
- Cardiology
- Health service management roles
- Quality and safety
- Clinical research
- Medical research organisations
- Health education
- Clinical assessment
- Emergency departments
- Coronary care
- Neo-natal intensive care
- Drug and alcohol services
- Defence forces
- Health promotion agencies
- International aid agencies
- Clinical management
Employment roles
- Acute care nurse
- Trauma nurse
- Acute care nurse practitioner
- Acute care research nurse
- Paediatric nurse
- Paediatric nurse educator
- Neonatal nurse
- Paediatric research nurse
- Emergency nurse
- Emergency nurse educator
- Emergency nurse practitioner
- Disaster nurse
- Emergency department nurse manager
- Flight nurse
- Critical care nurse
- Critical care nurses ( ICU / ED / CCU )
- RN critical care—nurse resource team
- Critical care nurse educator
- RN —critical care and emergency department
- Critical care liaison nurse
- Registered nurses—angiography
Occupation snapshot
Employed
42,100
Future demand
Strong
Weekly earnings
$1,514
Part-time share
48%
This data is based on the occupation profile for registered nurses specialising in critical care and emergency retrieved from the Government's Jobs and Skills Australia website and YourCareer websites July 2024.
Your employability
In addition to knowledge and skills directly related to your program of study, you will also develop a range of other skills such as teamwork, analytical, communication through academic study, employment, voluntary work, sporting and recreational activities and life experience.
Recognising the value employers place on these skills is an important factor in your graduate job search. You can further develop your employability with these resources:
Vacancies
Information on relevant vacancies and career resources can be found in a wide range of sources:
- Adzuna Critical Care Nursing Jobs
- CareCareers
- Health and Community Jobs
- Healthcare Australia
- Indeed Critical Care Nursing Jobs
- Medical Staff nurse recruitment
- New South Wales Government jobs
- Queensland Government Jobs
- Queensland Health
- Queensland Government Graduate Portal
- Seek Critical Care Nursing jobs
- Your World Healthcare
- What is a Critical Care or Intensive Care Nurse?
- ACN—Critical Care Nursing
- My Health Career: Nursing videos
Job application resources
Craft a stand-out resume and cover letter, and learn how to prepare for job interviews.
Approach potential employers
Many work opportunities are not advertised, so we recommend approaching potential employers with the aim of researching their needs and how your skills, experience, interests and qualifications could match theirs.
This is called informational interviewing and will benefit you by:
- clarifying your specific career direction
- enhancing your professional network
- increasing your chances of being offered a job.
Industry outlook
The Your Career website includes helpful information such as job descriptions, employment prospects, average weekly earnings and skills requirements. Every job title in the database has a skills section to help you identify and describe essential skills for your future career.
The My Future website also has job descriptions and a useful career insight section.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has up-to-date information on graduate salaries, especially the Graduate Outlook Survey (GOS) National Report, which contains undergraduate salary figures.
More detailed information is available at the Labour Market Insights portal.
Professional associations
Joining a professional association is a great way to interact with people in your field who can assist you to explore your career options and potentially find employment opportunities. These associations hold regular professional development and networking events:
- Australian College of Critical Care Nurses
- Australian College of Nursing
- Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association
- Australian Health Promotion Association
- Public Health Association of Australia
Students are welcome to join and often receive a discount on their membership.
Mentoring
The award-winning Industry Mentoring Program provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your employability and build professional networks.
The program is available to students with more than 80CP as well as recent graduates.
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) and is committed to addressing the global challenge of poverty, while committed to providing inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all.
Further careers information
Careers counselling
Individual career counselling sessions are available to all current students and recent graduates.
You can book an initial appointment via CareerHub.
Career planning
Our website has an array of career planning resources you can explore at any stage of your student journey.
Career Readiness
Check out our Career Readiness site in Learning@Griffith for additional information and resources for your career development learning:
Similar career options
Please note: The content on this webpage is a guide only. Please refer to degree-specific information and accreditation requirements of your profession on the Degree and Course Finder website and with the relevant professional accreditation body for your degree.