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Nursing Overview
Source
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/healthcare/nursing/nursing-specialties.htm
Top Five Nursing Specialties
by James Tolles
It's no secret that the pending Baby Boom generation's retirement is
going to put enormous strain on the healthcare industry, but the
importance of having an educated nursing workforce is more critical than
simply filling jobs. Studies at the University of Alberta and the
University of Toronto have found correlations between
baccalaureate-educated nurses and lower patient mortality rates.
Published results from University of Pennsylvania's Dr. Linda Aiken and
her colleagues in the September 24, 2003 Journal of the American Medical
Association found that patients have a "substantial survival advantage"
when treated at hospitals with higher proportions of nurses with
bachelor's degrees or higher.
With government and social impetus behind nursing and education, nursing
career opportunities are on the increase. Here are five nursing
specialties that may offer a satisfying career and an avenue to help
fill a vital social need:
Home Healthcare Services Nurse
Working as a
home
healthcare nurse in private homes, you prepare meals and offer basic
bedside care. You monitor vital signs such as temperature, blood
pressure, and respiration, and even help family members learn basic
nursing tasks. Median
annual earnings are around $35,000 for this nursing position.
Where Do I Start? A
licensed practical nurse (LPN) program lasts about a year, and
should give you access to good job prospects. Demands for geriatric care
are projected to drive up LPN job creation in the home healthcare
services sector.
Staff Nurse
Staff nurses work in hospitals, nursing facilities, clinics, and other
healthcare centers. You can work alongside physicians, surgeons, and
other healthcare providers. You treat and educate patients, as well as
record medical histories and patients' symptoms. You can help perform
tests and analyze results, and you may administer treatments and
medications. Median salary for a hospital
staff nurse is $53,450 per year.
Where Do I Start? A
registered nurse (RN) certification opens the door to staff nursing
jobs and numerous other nursing tracks. Additionally,
bachelor's degree,
associate's degree, or
diploma programs can prepare you for a successful career as a
registered nurse.
School Nurse
School nursing in the U.S. dates back to 1902, although duties have
greatly expanded since then. Today's school nurses provide health
assessment, intervention, and follow-up with children. You help maintain
school compliance with healthcare policies and assure the health and
safety of staff and students. You could also refer students for
additional medical help when hearing, vision, body mass index, and other
issues become inhibitors to successful learning.
Where Do I Start? You should
already have your
RN, and ideally, you have a
bachelor's degree. A
master's degree in nursing can give you career mobility to get into
policy-level decisions. Many school nurses not only have a
Nurse
Practitioner (NP) certification, but an Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse (APRN) certification.
Forensic Nurse
With your
RN certification in hand, you could help solve crimes as a
forensic nurse. A forensic nurse assists in investigations around
sexual assault, child abuse, accidental death, and other traumatic
accidents cases. Forensic nurses also testify about their findings in
court. As nursing specialties go, this career path involves the least
amount of patient contact.
Where Do I Start? Along with an
RN certification and
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a degree program or course
work in
criminal justice or law enforcement can give you an added edge for
forensic nurse job openings. Specialized
forensic nursing certifications are available online.
Legal Nurse Consultant
Registered nurses can merge their interests in healthcare with interests
in the law as legal nurse consultants. Legal nurse consulting involves
analysis of nursing practices and healthcare issues. Acting as a liaison
with attorneys, physicians, and other clients, you can work in law
firms, government offices, hospital risk management departments, and
other healthcare or legal-related places of business.
Where Do I Start? If you haven't
already gotten a bachelor's in nursing, now is a good time to do it with
an accelerated
RN-to-BSN program. Taking course work or double majoring in
criminal
justice can balance out your legal knowledge with your nursing
know-how. The best of all worlds is a
legal nurse consulting certificate program.
Education Looms Larger in the Future of Nursing
With growing healthcare demands, new nurse licensing and types of
education are being created to address these concerns, and it appears
that continuing education is a necessity for nursing careers. If you're
interested in management and policy decisions, a
Master of Science in Nursing should be your next step.
These five nursing career paths are just the tip of the iceberg in
nursing specialties, and while you explore all the different nursing
careers available, remember that education is the cornerstone of this
occupation. With a solid nursing education, you can enjoy good career
prospects and ensure that patients and clients receive the proper care
and help.
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