Which Type of Nurse Do You Want to Be?
When you think about nursing, do you automatically think of hospitals? You aren’t alone in that thinking but the fact is that only about 50 percent of nurses work in hospitals. Nursing is an amazing field with so many great career opportunities and so many different types of jobs to choose from. For instance, did you know that some nurses don’t ever work around sick people?
Not only are there hundreds of different types of nursing jobs, but the possible work locations are as varied as the jobs. If you’re thinking about becoming a nurse, aren’t you happy to know that you have so many options? Not many people know just how diverse the nursing field really is, so if you want to learn more, let’s get started.
Here’s an overview of just some of the great places that you can work as a nurse.
- In a company or corporation: Did you know some large companies employ nurses? They help identify and treat illness of the company’s employees as well as aid in any emergency situations that arise.
- At an agency: Did you know there are agencies who employee a large number of nurses on a contract basis? Those who work for a nursing agency usually have great control over their own schedules and get to work in a variety of health facilities.
- In hospitals: The most common type of nurse employment, these nurses work closely with both doctors and patients. They help doctors in administering medications and treatments, attend to patient charts, and keep the doctor informed about any changes in the patient’s health. They also stay in constant communication with patients and the patient’s family and keeps them informed about what’s going on at all times.
- In a doctor’s office: Most doctors’ offices will keep a nurse on staff to help with many different daily functions needed to make the office run. They check in patients, chart their vitals, and organize the paperwork as well as administer medications after the patients have been seen by the doctor
- In a nursing home: These nurses work with the elderly or those who can no longer take care of themselves because of some tragedy or illness.
- In the world: These nurses travel from job to job working wherever they’re called to. They may switch facilities on a weekly basis or even spend two months working at one location before going to the next.
This gives you some information about nurses who work in more traditional nurse settings, but what about those who work in non-traditional work settings? You may be surprised to know that nurses also work in:
- Schools
- Prisons
- Courtrooms
- Spas
- Government offices
- The military
- Cruise ships
- Police forensic labs
- Ambulances
- Helicopters
And you thought nurses just worked in hospitals, right? Are you surprised to know that as a nurse you’ll have so many different job types available to choose from? Makes it rather exciting, doesn’t it. But don’t limit yourself to just these because there are so many more.
Finding Your Niche
Many nurses find that once they start working in the field, they become interested in one area of medicine. Many nurses hone in on that interest and decide to concentrate all their efforts in that one area – this is called specialization. Whether you love to work with newborn babies or the fast paced ER, specializing is a very exciting career path within nursing. Some of the most common specialties include:
- Critical Care Nurse: Works in special care units in hospitals and deals with trauma and life-threatening illness or events.
- Midwife Nurses: Able to deliver babies without a doctor present either in a hospital or out of the hospital setting. A midwife’s main goal is to help childbearing women have a natural birth experience.
- Neonatal Nurses: Cares for newborn babies up to 28 days old.
- Anesthesia Nurse: Works with doctors and dentists to help with the administration of anesthesia.
- Emergency Room Nurse: Works in the emergency room helping patients of any age with any kind of problem you can imagine.
- Cardiac Nurse: Works with doctors to help patients who are experiencing heart problems.
- Pediatric Nurses: Works with children of all ages up to 18 years old. They work both on prevention and care.
- Urology Nurses: Works with patients who are experiencing urology problems of all kinds.
These are just some of the specialties to consider. In fact, there are over 300 different specialties within the nursing field. So, whether you want to work with women, children, in or out of the hospital, it will all be possible as a nurse.
As you can see there are endless possibilities for nurses working in the industry. Not only do nurses perform a wide variety tasks and jobs, they are needed in a multitude of different facilities and industries. Once you’ve started down the path of becoming a nurse, you’ll be able to plan and go down any of these specialized paths that you want. If you’re ready to get started, don’t wait another day. There is a perfect nurse job out there just waiting for you.