Critical Care Nurse
Also known as: ICU Nurse · Critical Care Staff Nurse · CCU Nurse
Cares for critically ill patients in ICUs, closely monitoring vital signs, ventilators and medication.
Starting salary: not added yet.
What you’d do
A critical care nurse works in intensive care units (ICU, CCU, NICU and similar), looking after patients who need constant monitoring and life support. Multi-speciality and tertiary hospitals hire for these units. A typical shift involves close patient monitoring, managing equipment such as ventilators and infusion pumps, giving medicines, and working alongside intensivists.
- Monitor critically ill patients continuously
- Manage ventilators, infusions and monitors
- Give medicines and record observations
- Respond to emergencies with the ICU team
How you get in
Most nurses start as staff nurses on general wards and move to the ICU after some experience; some hospitals take freshers directly into ICUs with on-the-job training. Basic and advanced life-support certifications are commonly required.
Salary in India
Salary data isn’t added for this role yet. When it is, every figure points to its source.
Skills you’ll use
From our guide · a curated list is coming
- Patient assessment and monitoring
- Ventilator and equipment handling
- Medication and infusion management
- Basic and advanced life support
- Calm teamwork under pressure
About this field · for freshers
Job openings by year
Is demand growing?
Not added yet.
Competition2
How many graduates enter each year?
B.Sc Nursing graduates in 2023-24 at institutions that reported to AISHE — everyone finishing that degree, not only those entering this role.
Who hires
IT firms, banks, government, startups?
Not added yet.
Where the jobs are
Which cities?
Not added yet.
Women in the field2
Is it diverse?
Share of women among B.Sc Nursing graduates in 2023-24 — the entry degree, not people already working in this role.
At a glance
- Common next roles: ICU charge nurse, nurse educator, critical care nurse specialist.
- Rotating shifts, including nights, are standard.
- ICU experience is also valued for nursing jobs abroad.
Stay safe
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