Cardiovascular ICU Nurse Salary Guide

Cardiovascular intensive care unit nurses, or CVICU nurses, work closely with doctors and heart specialists to provide critical cardiovascular care to heart patients in the CVICU. Due to patient complexity, CVICU nurses usually only have one or two patients each shift. Critical care nurses are always in high demand, but CVICU nurses are among the most sought-after because of their extensive skills in the cardiovascular field. They typically work in a hospital setting and different elements may impact a CVICU RN's salary.

CVICU nurses are registered nurses who specialize in providing critical care to children and/or adults with potentially life-threatening heart conditions. They may care for patients with damaged hearts following a heart attack or surgery or healing hearts following a transplant. CVICU RNs continually monitor their patients’ vital signs to detect any signs of deterioration, operate heart monitors, administer medications and may perform CPR and/or operate defibrillators should a patient’s heart stop.

CVICU nurses must obtain a two-year associate's degree or a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing from a program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). They must also pass the NCLEX-RN and complete all state licensing requirements before becoming an RN and starting their careers.

Different facilities may base salaries on different parameters, but they tend to be similar. Years of experience are always a factor in how a CVICU RN’s salary is based. Entry-level nurses in this challenging environment will naturally earn less than RNs who’ve been working in the field for numerous years and acquired additional skills on the job. Other elements that can impact your base salary include location and certifications.

Hospitals often have higher base salaries than other work settings, which is great for CVICU RNs since this is their primary place of employment. However, where a hospital is physically located can have an even bigger impact.

Certain areas of the country traditionally have higher base salaries than others, which is often due to a higher cost of living. California, New York, Hawaii and Alaska typically top the list of higher-paying locations for CVICU nurses. Other places on the West Coast and in the New England states also usually pay well. Jobs in the North Central, Southeastern and Midwestern regions of the nation often pay less. Geography within a given state can also be a factor since urban areas generally have higher base salaries than rural areas.

CVICU nurses must complete Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support certification. Part of your base salary may hinge on you already possessing all three of these certifications. Some hospitals recommend, or may even require, advanced certification in the field. Even if professional certification isn’t required, consider pursuing it to enhance your salary base and career progression.

You can take proactive steps to increase your CVICU RN salary through additional education and/or professional certifications. Furthering your education can open the field to advanced practice RN roles. Completing a graduate-level advanced practice education program as an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner prepares you to take the exam to become a certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (Adult-Gerontology) through the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

The AACN also awards several professional certifications that can give your salary a bump and don’t require an advanced degree. Although it doesn’t offer CVICU nurse certification, the Critical Care Registered Nurse (Adult) credential is a specialty certification for RNs providing direct care to critically or acutely ill patients no matter the work setting. RNs who’ve completed 1,750 hours in direct care of critically/acutely ill adult patients in the last two years or 2,000 hours in the past five years can sit for the CCRN exam.

The AACN also offers Cardiac Medicine Certification, which is a subspecialty certification for certified nurses who provide direct care specifically to adult cardiac patients who are critically or acutely ill. You must already possess a clinical nursing specialty certification to attach the CMC credential to. Sitting for this exam also requires 1,750 to 2,000 hours in direct patient care, including a set number of hours caring for acutely/critically ill adult cardiac patients.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center offers Cardiac Vascular Nursing board certification (CV-BC). The exam measures the knowledge and skills of RNs in the cardiac-vascular specialty. Applicants must have completed two years of full-time RN practice with a minimum of 2,000 hours in clinical practice and 30 hours of continuing education in cardiac-vascular nursing within the previous three years.

Take a look at Vivian's CVICU Nurse Career Guide for more information, including required education, responsibilities, pros and cons and more.