What state requirements do I need to be able to become an ICU nurse?

States typically do not have requirements for specialty areas of nurses, but ICUs will have requirements for the staff they hire. First and foremost, you need to graduate from nursing school and pass your NCLEX. Second, ICUs look for nurses that are ACLS and BLS certified (Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Basic Life Support). Many nursing schools will offer or even require both for graduation.

You absolutely can be a new graduate and practice in ICU if the hospital has a New Graduate Nurse program. This usually involves extensive interviews and at least 4 months of on the job training with experienced nurses. These positions usually go to nurses that completed at least their final practicum/clinical/capstone in the ICU setting.

If you already have a job, telemetry and ICU step-down units are great places to begin for a transition into ICU.

As far as I know, there are not any state requirements in any state for being an ICU nurse. Each facility establishes their own criteria for allowing a nurse to work in the ICU or CCU. In general you could increase your chances of by having ACLS certification and experience in Telemetry. At a minimum, you should have experience, not be a recent graduate.
The other factor influencing ICU requirements is the location of the hospital. Example: a hospital in a city generally has a larger pool of nurse candidates to choose from and thus my have tougher criteria. A facility in a rural or remote area with a smaller nurse population may be more flixable in their criteria and willing to take on an RN with less experience or fewer credentials.
Good luck.

Hi Kiara! I'm glad to see that you are interested in being an ICU nurse- It's a great field. You, of course, will need to be an RN first- so get your degree and pass your NCLEX for becoming an RN. Interview for openings as an ICU nurse. At our hospital, we do not always require experience or special education-- but we provide that to you when you are hired. I work in the NICU, but I know that the adult ICU does a similar process- We hire experienced staff preferably, but without experience I will take an applicant and train them. We teach all of our new hires in a special course , all of the specific things we want a person to know and practice for their patient. Best of luck to you in your future!