Acute care experience is important to many medical professionals because it is required for job advancement in several fields, and because this experience allows medical professionals to hone their skills in many common medical practices.

Definition

Acute care experience is simply experience working in an acute-care setting, such as a medical facility focusing on acute injuries and illnesses. Acute injuries and illnesses are ailments of sudden onset or a short course of a disease (as opposed to a chronic course). Acute care facilities include emergency rooms, urgent care centers and hospitals.

Jobs

Registered nurses and nurse practitioners often need experience in acute care to obtain employment. Registered medical transcriptionists also need several years of acute-care experience to become certified medical transcriptionists.

Reason

Acute-care experience allows medical professionals to become proficient in many common medical practices. For nurses, this means performing common tests and treatments; for medical transcriptionists, it means building familiarity with common ailments and conditions.

Time Frame

Medical transcriptionists need at least two years in an acute-care setting before becoming eligible for certification. Nurses often have difficulty finding work without some acute-care experience, though durations of that experience vary.

Patient Benefits

Patients benefit from their health care professionals gaining acute-care experience because they receive treatment from well-practiced caregivers. This cuts down on mistakes and visit lengths.

Source:

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical Transcriptionists

All Nurses: How to Obtain Acute Care Experience

All Nursing Schools: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner