What is a burn center nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Theresa Buxton PhD, RN, CNE
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a burn center nurse. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.58 an hour? That's $65,688 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 195,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Burn Center Nurse?

D

Dr. Theresa Buxton PhD, RN, CNE

Nursing Department Chair, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Some of the most important skills to hone over the next three years is communication, time management, and self-care.

Communication is important because nursing is a team sport. If you need help, ask early. If you see a change in your patient that worries you, ask someone to weigh in. Communicate clearly with other nursing colleagues.

Time management is an important skill to learn but takes practice. Time management is a combination of knowing how long tasks should take and what happens when priorities shift.

Self-care is needed to learn to balance your time away from work with time on the job to keep you whole in mind, body, and spirit.
ScoreBurn Center NurseUS Average
Salary
5.1

Avg. Salary $65,688

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
10.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.3
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 8.90%

Black or African American 11.47%

Hispanic or Latino 9.31%

Unknown 4.28%

White 65.60%

Gender

female 86.09%

male 13.91%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress Level
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
9.1

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Burn Center Nurse career paths

Key steps to become a burn center nurse

  1. Explore burn center nurse education requirements

    Most common burn center nurse degrees

    Bachelor's

    40.9 %

    Associate

    33.6 %

    Master's

    7.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific burn center nurse skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Patients35.73%
    Direct Patient Care6.92%
    Acls6.70%
    Infection Control5.20%
    CPR4.68%
  3. Complete relevant burn center nurse training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New burn center nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a burn center nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real burn center nurse resumes.
  4. Obtain the necessary licensing

    Becoming a licensed burn center nurse usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed burn center nurse in most of states. 43 states require burn center nurses to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.
    State
    ascdesc
    Education
    ascdesc
    Exam
    ascdesc
    License Url
    ascdesc
    AlabamaDegree requiredState exam requiredLicensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
    AlaskaDegree requiredThird-party exam requiredNurse, Licensed Practical
    ArkansasDegree requiredThird-party exam requiredLicensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
    CaliforniaDegree requiredThird-party exam requiredLicensed Vocational Nurse
    ColoradoDegree requiredThird-party exam requiredLicensed Practical Nurse
  5. Research burn center nurse duties and responsibilities

    • Manage chemotherapy and other specialty infusions for outpatients including education and side effect management.
    • Administer infusion therapies and manage adverse reactions including chemotherapy, blood products, immune modifiers and antibiotic therapy.
    • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
    • Coordinate care with physicians and therapy departments to further patient post-op rehabilitation.
  6. Prepare your burn center nurse resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your burn center nurse resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a burn center nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Burn Center Nurse Resume templates

    Build a professional Burn Center Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Burn Center Nurse resume.
    Burn Center Nurse Resume
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  7. Apply for burn center nurse jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a burn center nurse job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Burn Center Nurse Job

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Average burn center nurse salary

The average Burn Center Nurse salary in the United States is $65,688 per year or $32 per hour. Burn center nurse salaries range between $43,000 and $98,000 per year.

Average Burn Center Nurse Salary
$65,688 Yearly
$31.58 hourly

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How do burn center nurses rate their job?

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Burn Center Nurse reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2022
Pros

How employers and our patients or clients appreciate what we do for them

Cons

What is there not to like? It's such a rewarding job!


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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2021
Pros

Caring for patients

Cons

Staffing ratios, unfairness, constant expectations. Healthcare is a business but doesn’t treat nurses like business employees


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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

helping people and saving lives

Cons

the pay is not good not enough for the lifestyle I would like to live


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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