What Is a Nurse Practitioner Critical Care? Your Career Guide

The role of nurse practitioner is relatively new in India and continuing to evolve as a potential answer to increasing the population’s access to affordable healthcare. 

Demand for healthcare workers has grown significantly in India and globally. Nurses, already representing over 30 per cent of the healthcare workforce in India [1], are in short supply for a country that has pledged to post a nurse practitioner at every government hospital by 2030 [2]. 

To reach the level of nurse practitioner in critical care, you will first need to become a registered nurse or midwife by earning your bachelor’s of science and passing an exam. After you are a registered nurse or registered midwife, you will be eligible to continue your education with the nurse practitioner of critical care residency, a two year programme that will help you prepare for advanced nursing practice. 

Explore the role of a nurse practitioner in critical care, including the skills and education you’ll need and the steps to take to start a career in this in-demand industry.

What is a nurse practitioner in critical care?

A nurse practitioner in critical care is an advanced practice registered nurse who has completed a nurse practitioner in critical care residency programme as outlined by the Indian Nursing Council. The skills of the nurse practitioner go beyond those of a registered nurse (RN) and often mimic what doctors do.

Like physicians, nurse practitioners can treat patients by diagnosing illnesses, ordering and interpreting diagnostic or laboratory tests, and prescribing medicine. NPs may also focus on educating their patients to make healthy lifestyle choices. 

Nurse practitioner salary and job outlook

Nurse practitioners can earn quite a high income. According to Ambition Box, the average salary for a nurse practitioner in India is ₹3.6 Lakhs [3]. Your salary will vary depending on your location, education and certifications, and specialisation.

According to Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Director of the Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, India has a current ratio of 1.96 nurses for every 1,000 members of the population, far short of the World Health Organisation's recommendation of 3 nurses per 1,000 population [4]. This helps show the shortage of skilled nurses in India and the demand for workers in this field.. If you are seeking an in-demand job in healthcare, training to become a nurse practitioner in critical care may be a good option for you.

Types of nurses 

As a registered nurse, you can choose to specialise in different areas other than critical care.  can choose to work in hospitals, doctor's offices, outpatient centres, or schools. You can choose to pursue a post-basic diploma programme in areas like:

• Geriatric nursing

• Neonatal nursing

• Psychiatric nursing

• Operation room nursing 

• Cardio thoracic nursing

• Neurology nursing

• Midwifery nursing

• Critical care nursing

• Emergency and disaster nursing

• Oncology nursing

• Ortho and rehabilitation nursing

• Forensic nursing

• Haematology nursing—residency programme

• Burn and reconstructive surgery nursing—residency programme

Skills needed to become a nurse practitioner

Whilst working as a nurse practitioner can be a demanding job, it's also a rewarding one. As an NP, you should consider building both technical and workplace skills.

Technical skills

Becoming an effective nurse practitioner requires a wide range of technical skills. They may vary depending on your specialisation, so you may learn some of these skills in your training or certification programmes. Typically, you can expect employers to focus on these three areas:

• Clinical training: Possessing ample clinical knowledge is necessary for a nurse practitioner. Employers will want to assess your clinical experience—that is, direct experience working with patients—to feel confident that you can be trusted to assist physicians and administer treatment effectively.

• Specialty training: Employers will want to see evidence of mastery, such as certifications or training programmes in your specialisation.

• Patient education: You will need to demonstrate that you can help patients make informed decisions about their condition and treatment.

Workplace skills

If you possess the following personality traits and skills, you may be a good fit for a career as a nurse practitioner. You can build these skills with on-the-job training and experience over time:

• Communication: It's critical to practise active listening to understand the patient's needs and communicate clearly to demonstrate empathy.

• Critical thinking: As a nurse practitioner, you'll need to analyse a host of medical problems in order to diagnose and offer treatment plans.

• Leadership: When caring for patients, you will need to make effective and efficient decisions that benefit their health. As a member of a care team, you will need to make balanced decisions that support you and your clinic.

• Patience: The work of a nurse practitioner can be stressful at times. Exuding a calm, patient demeanour is an important quality for NPs.

• Physical endurance: Working as a nurse practitioner can be mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. You will need to take care of your own health in order to continue providing the best care for your patients.

How to become a nurse practitioner in critical care

Before you can become a nurse practitioner in critical care, you must first become a registered nurse (RN) and complete a bachelor’s degree programme in nursing. Then you will need to complete a two-year nurse practitioner in critical care residency program

Explore these steps in further detail: 

1. Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Whilst you do not have to earn a bachelor’s degree to become a general nurse/midwife, you will need to earn a bachelor’s degree to continue on with post basic and residency programs. 

2. Become a registered nurse.

After passing your 10+2, you can register as an auxiliary nurse/midwife whilst you continue your education. If you study subjects like Vocational Stream-Health care and vocational ANM courses and do well enough, you can become a general nurse/midwife after passing an exam. Otherwise, you can become a general nurse after completing your bachelor’s degree and completing your registration.

3. Apply for a nurse practitioner in critical care residency programme.

After completing your bachelor’s degree and registering as a general nurse/midwife, you can choose to continue your education and specialise with post-basic diploma programmes, master’s degree programmes, or with a residency programme like the nurse practitioner in critical care. 

4. Go further in your career.

Becoming a nurse practitioner can take several years of education and training. The work you put in is necessary because you are in charge of people's health and lives, which makes this career path exciting and rewarding.

After becoming an NPCC, you may choose to pursue more learning and certifications if you want to switch your specialty or dive deeper into your current one. Self-directed learning and professional development are essential to maintaining a steady career as an NPCC. You will need to continue to update your technical skills as technologies and new systems or tools arise and be open to improving your workplace skills every day.

Build nurse practitioner skills on Coursera

A career as a nurse practitioner can be a rewarding and lucrative option for working within healthcare and helping people. If you want to pursue a career in healthcare, consider taking Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us, offered by the University of Pennsylvania, as a primer to help build foundational knowledge. You can gain insight into this exciting and in-demand profession by learning vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, and pain.