Intensive care nurse jobs

Intensive Care Nurse jobs: frequently asked questions

(Updated Dec 2024)

Welcome to our Intensive Care Nurse jobs page, featuring the very latest roles across the UK, as well as frequently asked questions below.

What is an Intensive Care Nurse?

An Intensive Care Nurse monitors and assists patients facing critical medical emergencies.

They work in intensive care units (ICUs) within hospitals and have to monitor and manage a far bigger range of complex equipment than a General Nurse. Patients in ICUs inevitably require a lot of attention, too.

It’s a highly specialised role involving working in multi-disciplinary teams.

What are the daily duties of an Intensive Care Nurse?

The daily duties of an Intensive Care Nurse could include:

• Supporting and educating patients and their loved ones about conditions, medications and treatments

• Monitoring patients and recording developments

• Assisting patients through treatments

• Supporting patients through the side effects of treatments

• Monitoring vital signs

• Co-ordinating treatments with different wards and specialists

Intensive Care Nurses often work on a 1:1 patient to Nurse ratio, so essentially, daily duties vary according to the nature of specific patient conditions.

How do you become an Intensive Care Nurse?

To become an Intensive Care Nurse you’ll need to complete a nursing degree and register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Intensive Care Nurses typically study adult or children’s nursing.

It’s possible to then apply directly for ICU positions after qualifying, assuming you’ve managed to do some placements within an ICU during your studies.

For that reason, if you’re eager to become an Intensive Care Nurse it will really help to choose ICU placements.

In terms of skills and personality traits, you’ll need all of things any Nurse needs, like compassion and patience, but you’ll need to be particularly resilient and calm to deal with what can be very intense and distressing circumstances.

You’ll also need to build up a knowledge of equipment and tools that might go beyond what you need in an A&E ward.

How much do Intensive Care Nurses earn?

The average Intensive Care Nurse probably earns somewhere between £35,000 and £45,000 a year according to industry stats.

Roles start at Band 5, and move upwards with more experience and qualifications. To find out exactly what you could earn, check out our handy pay calculator.

In terms of increasing your earnings, your best bet is to keep training and to secure further specialist qualifications and experience at every opportunity. These could help you move into a more senior position.

You also have the option of working as a bank or agency Intensive Care Nurse, which can pay higher daily rates.

Find your next Intensive Care Nurse job today

View our latest roles above, or if you can’t find what you’re looking for, create an account, register your CV here and we’ll send you the latest positions as soon as we get them.