The emergence of multiple specializations has enabled nurses to focus on a particular area of practice or patient population by gaining work experience and meeting certain educational and certification requirements.
Nurses who study the right courses that are in demand or specialize in the right field benefit from employment possibilities with more responsibility and autonomy, higher levels of compensation, and opportunities for career advancement.
This video will take you through 10 best nursing courses or specialties for a nursing career that will provide fulfilling work experiences and competitive salaries
1. Neonatal Nurse
Neonatal nurses work in intensive care units that care for infants at risk for complications and in need of specialized care. These include premature newborns and those born with cardiac or other birth defects, genetic conditions, or drug dependency. Neonatal nurses typically care for these infants until they leave the hospital but, in some cases, will provide care beyond the newborn phase.
This sub-specialty of nursing works with newborn infants at risk for complications and in need of specialized care. Neonatal nursing generally encompasses infants who experience problems shortly after birth, but it also encompasses care for infants who experience long-term problems related to their prematurity or illness after birth.
Neonatal nurses typically care for these infants until they leave the hospital but, in some cases, will provide care beyond the newborn phase.
2. Midwife Nurse
Advanced practice registered nurses who specialize in pregnancy, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum recovery can earn certification as nurse midwives. Nurse midwives care for patients from labour through delivery and provide postpartum assistance. They primarily focused on pregnancy care, and also offer general services for women, including gynaecological reproductive and preventive healthcare.
Nurse midwives are APRNs who provide prenatal, family planning and obstetric care. Often, they serve as primary caregivers for women and their newborns. They can also be involved in general wellness care for new mothers and babies, providing education on nutrition and disease prevention. Employment for midwives is expected to grow by 11 percent through 2030, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics making this a good specialty to pursue in nursing.
Advanced practice registered nurses who specialize in pregnancy, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum recovery can earn certification as nurse midwives. Nurse midwives care for patients from labour through delivery and provide postpartum assistance. While primarily focused on pregnancy care, these nurses may also offer general services for women, including gynaecological reproductive and preventive healthcare.
3. Research Nurse
Nurse researchers are scientists who study various aspects of health, illness, and health care. By designing and implementing scientific studies, they look for ways to improve health, healthcare services, and healthcare outcomes. They’re known for posing questions, analysing data, conducting studies and more importantly, discovering new ways to navigate healthcare and illnesses.
They work in a variety of settings including hospitals and research laboratories; however, many researchers teach in academic or clinical settings, and often write articles and research reports for nursing, medical, and other professional journals and publications. Often, you will begin your research career in positions such as research assistant, clinical data coordinator, and clinical research monitor.
While nurse researchers do not provide direct nursing care to patients, they perform important healthcare functions, focusing on topics that impact the field of nursing and save peoples’ lives.
These highly specialized nursing professionals conduct scientific studies, analyse data, and report their findings about illnesses and improving healthcare. They work in a variety of settings including hospitals and research laboratories. While nurse researchers do not provide direct nursing care to patients, they perform important healthcare functions, focusing on topics that impact the field of nursing and save peoples’ lives.
4. Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses work with particular populations or communities. They provide education on health and safety issues among families and communities and assisting them with access to healthcare.
Rather than providing individual patient care, they focus on prevention. They identify health concerns and prioritize safety issues within communities, prepare and implement safety plans, and serve as healthcare advocates.
Instead of waiting for patients to come to them, the travel over sometimes very difficult terrain to actively serve their communities to help improve the health of the population.
5. Anaesthetist Nurse
These APRNs administer anaesthesia and pain medication, observe vital signs, make adjustments, and monitor patients during surgical procedures and in recovery. Nurse anesthetists work with patients of all ages in scheduled surgical operations or emergency procedures. Prior to surgery, they record patient histories and provide information about the types of anaesthesia used in the procedure.
A nurse anaesthetist is a special type of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who is certified and trained in administering anaaesthesia to patients. These APRNs also observe vital signs, make adjustments, and monitor patients during surgical procedures and in recovery. Nurse anaesthetists work with patients of all ages in scheduled surgical operations or emergency procedures. Prior to surgery, they record patient histories and provide information about the types of anaesthesia used in the procedure.
They can provide care in a variety of settings, including hospitals, physician’s offices, rural and medically underserved areas and the military. They can also work in non-clinical settings as a teacher, researcher, or administrator.
6. Psychiatric Nurse
These APRN nurses assess, diagnose, and treat patients with mental disorders. Psychiatric mental health nurses offer services to people who have mood disorders, phobias, depression, or dementia, as well as those struggling with substance abuse issues or other addictions.
In addition to administering medication and therapy, their duties include crisis intervention, mental health assessment and evaluation, and patient assistance. Psychiatric nurse practitioners provide consultation and care to patients suffering with mental health, behavioural health, and psychiatric disorders.
It is the psychiatric nurse practitioner’s responsibility to make an official diagnosis, develop a care plan, implement the plan, and continuously evaluate its effectiveness. When medication and psychotherapy are required, the nurse can prescribe them. With a growing population suffering from mental and emotional health issues, there’s a demand for Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, also known as PMHNP’s, which is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
7. Trauma Nurse
While working in emergency rooms, critical care units, or as part of emergency medical response teams, trauma nurses help take care of patients in critical, unstable, and life-threatening conditions.
These RNs have received specialized training to work with physicians to stabilize and treat traumatized patients. They administer wound care, emergency medications, and IV fluids or blood transfusions; operate life-saving equipment such as defibrillators, and monitor vital signs.
8. Infection Control/Prevention Nurse
Infection control and prevention nurses identify, surveil, and manage infections, diseases, and viruses.
They are typically registered nurses, whos have filled a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic, as healthcare systems need specialized workers to focus on patient case reporting and widespread infection prevention. They work at hospitals, clinics, and community health centres.
9. Geriatric Nurse
Geriatric nurses look after elderly patients and ensure their quality of life is the best it can be. They are Registered Nurses who serve as primary and specialty health care providers under a physician. They are able to diagnose and manage their patients’ often long-term and debilitating conditions and provide regular assessments to patients’ family members.
As the baby boomer population ages, the demand for geriatric nurses has expanded. These nursing specialists work in a variety of settings, from nursing homes, with home healthcare services and in hospice facilities, or running their own private practice.
10. Surgical Nurse
Surgical care practitioners provide treatment in operating rooms, wards, and clinics. Within healthcare organizations, surgical care practitioners are well-established members of the surgery team.
They are trained to perform certain surgical procedures under appropriate supervision and within the scope of their practice. Their primary responsibilities include assisting surgeons and other professionals before, during, and after surgical procedures.