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Career Resources / Kansas City Nurse Quality of Life

When you decided to become a nurse, you likely had several career goals in mind, including completing your education and learning vital hands-on skills, securing a good job, and learning more about specialty areas where you might seek certification. But as you’ve gained more experience and come into your own, your goals have expanded even further and you recognize the need to prioritize other areas as well. 

You may find this means you want to participate in mentoring or seek an advanced degree. You may be interested in becoming a more effective advocate for yourself, your patients, and your colleagues. Most importantly, you’ve learned to address and prioritize your own needs, to value a healthy work/life balance, and to practice self-care. Many of these essential quality-of-life aspects are tied directly to where you live and work, and that’s why Kansas City, Missouri is such a great choice for nurses who want to have it all.

Kansas City is a town with incredible job opportunities, great places to live, fantastic sports teams, and a vibrant arts and culture scene. The city is unusual in spanning two states — Missouri and Kansas — but residents say that element adds to its attractions. Nursing professionals will find the area a healthcare haven: they can add to their education and expertise at multiple top-level nursing programs and choose from among dozens of hospitals and healthcare facilities eager to talk to them about how they can best use and expand their talents. 

1. Kansas City is Home to Top Nursing Schools

Whether you entered your career with an Associate’s degree, as a BSN, or MSN, there is always more to learn. Adding to your education does more than increase your knowledge: it provides greater professional credibility and self-confidence, and many facilities offer higher salaries to nurses with advanced degrees. Living and working in Kansas City provides direct access to a remarkable number of high quality nursing programs, including the Master’s program at the University of Saint Mary, the online RN-to-BSN program offered at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the many Advanced Practice Nursing options available online through Pittsburg State University. Nursing education is so vital to Kansas City’s future that the University of Kansas School of Nursing has introduced the nation’s first virtual reality nursing school program allowing nurses to attend school and meet patients in virtual exam rooms from wherever they live, and HCA Midwest recently announced a $34.5 million expansion of its Research College of Nursing. 

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2. Kansas City is Home to Top Medical Teaching and Research Hospitals

Pride in your employer is one of the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction, and that’s especially true when you work in healthcare. Nurses in Kansas City have a remarkable selection of high-quality healthcare providers from which to choose, including a hospital system that U.S. News and World Report named one of the top 50 in the country. The University of Kansas Medical Center has been nationally ranked in 12 separate specialty areas for a decade, but it is not alone in being considered among the nation’s best. St. Luke’s Hospital is ranked as high performing in 5 specialties and 13 procedures and conditions, and the city is also home to the CARE Clinic, one of the largest free and charitable health clinics in the country. Nearby St. Joseph, Missouri is home to Mosaic Life Care, a Mayo Clinic Care Network member, and HCA Midwest’s Research Medical Center is one of the region’s leading acute-care hospitals.

3. Kansas City Offers Remarkable Opportunity

Healthcare facilities and companies are among Kansas City’s top employers, but there are plenty of opportunities in other industries. From government to manufacturing, from banking to delivery services, the Kansas City metropolitan area has a low unemployment rate and is attracting new investments in tech — in fact, it was ranked the tenth best startup city in the country based on the low cost of doing business there: the LLC filing fee is just $50 and the incorporation filing fee is just $58! These are just a few reasons why venture capitalists invested $1.09 billion in the city’s up-and-coming businesses in 2021. A local nonprofit, the Kauffman Foundation further supports and provides capital to the city’s entrepreneurs, particularly women, people of color, and business founders who are investing in the city’s underserved communities. 

4. Kansas City Nurses Enjoy Generous Compensation, Benefits, and Perks 

Registered nurses in Kansas City earn an average salary of $71,800 per year, and the remarkable demand for qualified professionals has triggered a significant upward shift in compensation, benefits, and additional bonuses being offered. Many new nursing positions come with generous sign-on bonuses and perks such as relocation assistance, while benefit packages have been expanded to include incentives including paid hotel rooms for those commuting 50-75 miles each way, paid mileage to/from the hospital for those commuting less than 50 miles each way, and free uniforms and stethoscopes. Beyond these extras, Kansas City hospitals are also dedicated to helping their nurses’ professional goals, offering CEU opportunities, reimbursement for continuing education, leadership and career training, and advancement programs dedicated exclusively to Registered Nurses.

5. Economic Advantages of Living in Kansas City

Living in an area that holds so much appeal generally comes at a cost, but Kansas City is the exception to that rule. According to the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, the metropolitan area is one of the most affordable cities in the Midwest, boasting a cost of living that is 2.5 percent lower than the national average. This not only impacts the purchase price of existing single-family homes and apartment rentals, but also everyday expenses including energy and transportation costs, healthcare, and food.

6. Registered Nurses in Kansas City Enjoy a Town Ranked One of the Best Places in the Country to Live 

Registered nurses seeking the best of all worlds need to factor in more than professional considerations. One of the reasons that Kansas City is a top place for nurses to work is that it’s also one of the best places to live. From the quiet suburbs on the Kansas side of the river to the bustling downtown and historic Westport area on the Missouri side, Kansas City has become one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. There are many factors that have made the city such a magnet: it is home to several top-rated colleges and universities offering academic opportunities in wide ranging areas. There are multiple cultural offerings, from the city’s famous fountains to countless museums, galleries, and evocative memorials. Families can also enjoy festivals and water parks, zoos and farms, as well as reveling in the many jazz clubs, concerts, and professional sports teams to root for. And no review of Kansas City would be complete without mentioning the barbecue for which it has become world famous.

With so many excellent reasons to live and work as a registered nurse in Kansas City, what are you waiting for? You can start your professional journey by visiting Incredible Health’s website and job search platform, where top Kansas City employers are waiting for you to log on so that they can reach out to you.

Career Resources / Top Nursing Opportunities in Kansas City

No matter how much people think they understand what nurses do, the profession can be very different for everybody. So much depends on the individual nurse, the patients they care for, the environment in which they work, and their role within that environment. Every nursing job is unique, and every nurse has the opportunity to choose their own future. 

When you combine the diversity of nurses’ professional choices with the reality of the national nursing shortage, you end up with the ability to essentially write your own career ticket and live and work wherever you want: based on your own interests, priorities, and values. If you’re looking for a place that checks all the boxes, you can’t do much better than Kansas City. Known as “the Paris of the Midwest”, Kansas City has something to offer everybody, and registered nurses will find major health systems, intimate hospice services, and countless facilities in between all eager to work with you. They’re looking for top-quality nurses and offering remarkable salaries and benefits to encourage your consideration. 

Kansas City

Fountains and festivals. Jazz and some of the most jaw-dropping barbeque on the planet. Kansas City is known for all of these things and more. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 2.4 million people, is bisected by both the Missouri and Kansas rivers, and is shared by two different states. The popular Downtown area sits right where the two rivers converge, and the city’s highlights include a robust shopping district, jazz bars, theaters and concert halls, museums, restaurants, and national sports franchises that have given locals plenty to cheer for.  

As the population of Kansas City continues to grow, so do the career opportunities for registered nurses, who will find themselves surrounded by hospitals, clinics, private practices, and other healthcare facilities and businesses where they can work and make a real difference in people’s lives. 

Types of Nursing Jobs in Kansas City

Like other locations around the country, Kansas City has been feeling the impact of the nursing shortage for a while, and the COVID-19 pandemic only made things more difficult. Though hospital workers were praised as heroes at the beginning of the pandemic, by its end nurses were exhausted and stressed. In response, Kansas City healthcare administrators have chosen to address the shortage and other challenges through a variety of measures, ranging from pledging not to lay off any clinical staff to implementing “serenity rooms” to which staff can escape for much-needed breathing space. Workloads are being reduced through the use of technology and hospitals are offering staff benefits including debt-free education and flexible schedules that allow for healthier work/life balances.

If you are a registered nurse looking for new opportunities, Kansas City’s hospitals, urgent care centers, surgery and specialty centers and many other facilities offer a wide array of roles that provide generous compensation and which benefit from their proximity to the best the city has to offer. Below you’ll find a list of the Kansas City healthcare employers we believe offer some of the best options for nurses.

University of Kansas Health System

Nationally ranked in 8 adult specialties and named a top hospital in Kansas City by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Kansas Health System is a world-class academic medical center destination for complex care and diagnosis management. The organization prides itself on offering the most current and effective treatments in a welcoming environment, which includes branch hospitals and education centers throughout the state of Kansas. Affiliated with the University of Kansas’s schools of medicine, nursing, and allied health, the hospital is the region’s only nationally certified Level I Trauma Center and hosts nearly 300,000 outpatient and 30,000 inpatient admissions per year. 

The University of Kansas Health System values its nurses as leaders and decision-makers. Nurses are empowered to work closely with physicians in providing care to patients diagnosed with complex conditions. They are respected as professionals and supported in their careers. Generous compensation and benefits include a robust medical, dental, and vision package, life, disability, and accident insurance, a comprehensive wellness program, and a retirement savings plan with an employer contribution. Nurses are also offered unique onsite opportunities for continuing education and development and have the opportunity to take advantage of professional certifications with monetary awards, tuition reimbursement, performance development, and ongoing learning and education opportunities. 

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Research Medical Center

Today part of the HCA Midwest Division, Research Medical Center got its start in 1886, when it was first established as German Hospital in a brick farmhouse. Over the decades it grew and relocated to its present-day location, and is now a 590-bed hospital providing quality healthcare services, including emergency care via a Level I Trauma Center, a certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, and specialized programs for traumatic brain injury, TIAs, burn, gastrointestinal conditions, oncology care, obstetrics, transplants, and orthopedics and sports medicine. 

In addition to the hospital itself, Research Medical Center also has an affiliated medical specialty campus and is home to a well-respected nursing school which has recently announced plans to build a $34.5 million expansion meant to increase the school’s enrollment capacity. 

Registered nurses considering a career at Research Medical Center will find that nurse professionals are collaborative and respected team members. New and upcoming nurse graduates are welcomed to a 13-week StaRN residency program that provides classroom learning, simulation learning, and hands-on experience and training with clinical experts, while all nurses are invited to take advantage of tools and resources including education assistance, the StaRN Plus Program which provides a pathway into specialty areas, and the HCA Nurse Care Program, which provides caregivers with support as they deal with life’s challenges. Compensation benefits include fertility and family building benefits, adoption assistance, child and elder care resources, and an employee stock purchase plan, as well as a 401(k) plan with a 100% match on 3% to 9% of pay based on years of service, a retirement readiness program, and a generous time away from work program. 

KC CARE Health Center

Established in 1971 in the lobby of the Alcazar Hotel, Kansas City’s CARE Clinic is one of the largest free and charitable health clinics in the country. The KC CARE Health Center has built a legacy of providing trusted, innovative care funded entirely by donations. Years later the city donated a house where primary care and reproductive health services were dispensed, as well as oral health services. 

Since that time, the center has seen many expansions and has been the recipient of numerous grants for providing much-needed health services including HIV care, behavioral health services, and substance abuse counseling. In 2015, the clinic was awarded designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center and recognized as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Both of these indicate the high quality of care provided. Today, KC Care Health has multiple locations, including a pediatric-centered location that provides medical, dental, and behavioral health services to infants, children, teens, and young adults. 

Registered nurses interested in providing compassionate care to community members in need will find the environment at KC Care inclusive and supportive and the work tremendously rewarding. 

Beyond these facilities, Kansas City is home to health care facilities including private physician’s offices, specialty practices, urgent care centers, same-day surgery centers, and medical spas.
For information on some of the many positions available in Kansas City, visit Incredible Health’s nursing job search page.

Nurse Types / ICU Nurse

Intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the United States already number more than 20 per 100,000 residents and are only expected to increase over time. With this growing need, the demand for nurses to care for these patients is also quickly rising.

Read on to learn more about the field of ICU nursing, and how to pursue a career as an ICU nurse.

In this article, we will explore:

• What is an ICU nurse?
• What do ICU nurses do?
• Where do ICU nurses work?
• What are specific types of ICU nurses?
• How do you become an ICU nurse?
• What are the additional requirements for ICU nurses?
• What are the salary and career outlooks for ICU nurses?
• FAQs

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What is an ICU nurse?

ICU nurses or critical care nurses are highly specialized and trained healthcare personnel who provide nursing care to patients with life-threatening illnesses or conditions. They provide specialized experience, knowledge, and skills that patients need to survive or de-escalate care.

ICU nurses are trained to make split-second decisions and act quickly when a patient’s status changes. Their primary work environment in the hospital is in specialized care units. Typically, ICU patients need a high level of care, and most of them are admitted to the hospital. 

What do ICU nurses do?

ICU nurses work in challenging and complex fields in their nursing profession. They have the primary duty to provide lifesaving care to patients fighting for their lives. They are highly trained to provide exceptional care for patients who depend on 24/7 nursing care. A patient in ICU is often ventilated, intubated, and can be on several life-saving machines and medications.

ICU nurses are at the top of their game and well-versed with all aspects of specialized care to restore their patients’ health and wellness. Some of the specific responsibilities of ICU nurses include:

• Evaluate and monitor of patient’s progress and identification of any sudden or subtle changes in the patient’s medical condition
• Administer medications by routes of intravenous injection, intramuscular injection, gastric tubes, sublingual, transdermal, subcutaneous, and by mouth (PO).
• Assist in intubation, bedside procedures and Code Blues
• Deliver regular updates of patient’s progress to doctors, patients, and their families
• Perform approved diagnostic or therapeutic procedures according to the patient’s clinical status
• Respond to health emergencies when called upon and alert appropriate doctors
• Evaluate patient’s laboratory data and vital signs to determine emergency intervention needs
• Care for patient needs throughout their recovery journey in ICU
• Advocate for patients’ and families’ needs
• Provide emotional support to patients and their families
• Set up and monitor medical equipment and devices like medical ventilators, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, and pressure lines.
• Assess a patient’s pain level and sedation requirements
• Maintain patient records

Where do ICU nurses work?

As the name suggests, critical care nurses primarily work in the ICU departments of health care facilities. ICUs are well sanitized and properly lit units with strict adherence to health and safety.

ICU nurses typically work on their designated unit but may float to other units, commonly other ICUs. They typically follow a standard shifting schedule that features morning, afternoon, and night timetables. There are also other shifting schedules, depending on the hospital and region.

Not sure what nursing career path is best for you?

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What are specific types of ICU nurses?

The following are the different types of critical care nurses: 

• Cardiothoracic or cardiac care ICU nurses – These nurses work with patients suffering from severe heart conditions. They handle a maximum of 2 patients.
• Medical ICU nurses – Medical ICU RNs mostly care for patients that have a critical disease process not usually involving surgery, such as sepsis, critical cases of cirrhosis of the liver, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Diabetic Ketoacidosis/ Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State, or critical cases of COVID.
• Neonatal ICU nurses – Neonatal nurses work with newborn babies who face a life-threatening disease or condition.
• Neuroscience ICU nurses – Neuro ICU RNs mostly care for patients that have had a stroke via a blood clot in the brain or a bleed in the brain. They also care for patients who may be detoxing from various substances (drugs/alcohol) or who have had new or prolonged seizures. They also work with patients with traumatic brain injuries who require ICU level care, acute/sudden trauma to the central nervous system (motor vehicle accidents, or tree limb falling on head), brain aneurysms (both ruptured and in-tact), or patients having a sudden onset of changes in their baseline neurological status.
• Pediatric ICU nurses – These nurses work in pediatric intensive care units and provide care to critically ill or injured children.
• Surgical/Trauma ICU – Surgical/trauma ICU RNs mostly care for patients that are critically ill and unstable as they are in emergent need of surgery. They also care for patients who are post-op from procedures like abdominal or urological procedures, procedures related to motor vehicle accidents, or procedures related to acute traumatic incidents or transplant patients (except for heart. Those patients go to a cardiac ICU).

Closely Related Types of Nurses

• Flight nurses– These nurses work with critically ill patients who need to be evacuated by air in order to receive specialized treatment.

3 steps to becoming an ICU nurse

Step 1: Become a registered nurse

The first step to becoming an ICU nurse is to be a registered nurse (RN). Before you become a registered nurse, you have to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from an accredited nursing program. Afterward, you must pass the NCLEX examination.

There are bridge programs that allow you to advance your education level in less time. One example is the ADN to BSN program. To become a more attractive candidate you may consider obtaining an advanced degree like an MSN. There are bridge programs to help cut down on time on school. There are programs such as the BSN to MSN and RN to MSN (if you are already a licensed RN).

Step 2: Accumulate experience

Generally, you will need at least two years of nursing experience in a position specializing in intensive care nursing to become an ICU nurse.

But some ICUs are open to new nursing school graduates. Also, some ICU managers will look for experience in Med-Surg or Intermediate Care if an experienced nurse is looking to transfer within a hospital.

Step 3: Obtain ICU certifications

Because of the challenges and responsibility that come with operating in an ICU, hospitals require various certifications that guarantee they are hiring the best quality nurses. Many nurses who want to advance their careers are now turning to certifications. Additionally, certifications are a great way to increase ICU nurse salaries. Four certifications specifically constitute nursing in critical care conditions:

• CRRN (Adult) – Nurses with this certification can provide adequate care for critically ill adult patients. With this certification, you can work in general ICUs, surgical ICUs, trauma units, transport and flight operations, and cardiac care units.
• CCRN (Adult) – This specialty certification is for nurses who provide direct care to acutely/critically ill adult patients.
• CCRN (Pediatric)- CCRN for pediatrics offers critical care for children. You can work in ICUs, trauma units, transport, and logistics.
• CCRN (Neonatal) -This is a certification for nursing related to newborn critical care. You are certified to work in ICUs, trauma units, transport, and logistics.
• CMC (Adult) – CMC unit certifications are required for nurses involved in cardiac care. These nurses are certified to work in electrophysiology units, heart failure clinics, general ICUs, and home care.

According to the AACN website, eligible clinical practice hours must be completed in a US-based or Canadian-based facility, or any other facility determined to be comparable to US standards of critical care nursing practice.

Note: RNs don’t usually sit for certification until they have at least 2 years of experience in their specialty. Many certifications require a nurse to work a certain number of hours to qualify.

What are additional requirements for ICU nurses?

Continuing education

Once you get a license to practice as a critical care nurse, you should also complete continuing education units. These courses will equip you with the latest knowledge, skills, and medical industry trends. Many employers require you to maintain ongoing education to retain your position.

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What are the salary and career outlooks for an ICU nurse?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for registered nurses is projected to grow 6% between 2021 and 2031. This rate is a fast as the average for all occupations.

The growth is fueled by increasing rates of chronic conditions such as obesity and diabetes and an increase in emerging diseases like the current coronavirus pandemic. The average salary for an ICU nurse is $90,855, according to data from Incredible Health.

FAQs

Key Takeaway

ICU nursing career is one of the most rewarding callings with excellent job growth prospects and higher pay as enumerated above.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 3,080,100 registered nurses in the US in 2020. It is projected that by 2030, there will be a need for an additional 276,800 nurses, and with the aging population and recent COVID 19 pandemic, the number is expected to be higher.