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Opportunities

In the U.S., professionals in the nursing area are respected and independent. In some hospitals, the nurse works without the direct supervision of the doctors. For example, normal deliveries are done by the Mid-wife Nurse, and the doctor only interferes if there are complications. See below some of the nursing careers available in the U.S. In some of the specialties, professional certification is required.

Ambulatory Care: Ambulatory care nurses treat patients of all ages with acute or chronic illnesses or injury on an episodic, outpatient basis. Treatment includes screening, triage, patient education, pain management, case management, discharge planning and other interventions to restore, maintain or promote patients' physical health.

Anesthetist: Certified nurse anesthetists provide anesthesia to patients during surgical or obstetrical procedures, providing preoperative and postoperative care as well. In addition to minimizing pain, nurse anesthetists explain procedures and options to their patients and monitor their vital signs, response and recovery from anesthesia. Certification required.

Cancer Center: Perioperative nurses care for patients before, during and after surgery. The specialty includes scrub nurses (who work directly with surgeons, passing instruments and supplies to them within the sterile field), circulating nurses (who work outside the sterile field), and RN first assistants (who deliver direct surgical care).

Cardiac Rehab: Cardiac rehabilitation nurses work with adults with cardiovascular disease or those who are at risk. Nurses in this specialty promote cardiac wellness by helping patients alter their lifestyles (such as decreasing stress;
eating low-fat, low-cholesterol meals; exercising; stopping smoking) to lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease and its complications and to minimize the lasting effects of past cardiac incidents.

Case Management: The primary role of a case manager is to coordinate the continuity of care and to ensure that patients get the proper treatment at the proper time to maximize health and minimize hospitalization. The nursing case management framework includes assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, and interaction. Case managers can work with patients of all ages and diagnoses, but they usually specialize in a particular area, such as HIV/AIDS, rehabilitation or geriatrics.

Certified Nurse Mid-wife: Certified nurse-midwives provide primary care to women, including prenatal, labor and delivery, postnatal and gynecological care with an emphasis on health maintenance and prevention. Though nurse-midwives generally focus on natural childbirth, they may prescribe drugs and use technology when needed. Certification required.

Clinical Nurse Specialist: Clinical nurse specialists are advanced practice nurses who provide expert patient care, facilitate clinical research to improve patient outcomes and act as role models to less experienced staff. They have advanced clinical expertise in a particular specialty. Depending on that specialty, they may work with patients of all ages and diagnoses. Certification required.

Community Public Health: Although treatment provided by community/public health nurses may be to individual patients, families or groups, the focus is on the population as a whole. Interaction may include epidemiology, environmental health, wellness and health promotion, evaluation of population-focused programs, or health maintenance.

Community Rehab Nurse: Although treatment provided by community/public health nurses may be to individual patients, families or groups, the focus is on the population as a whole. Interaction may include epidemiology, environmental health, wellness and health promotion, evaluation of population-focused programs, or health maintenance.

Critical Care: Critical care nurses care for acutely and critically ill patients of all ages and diagnoses. Care involves complex assessment and high intensity interventions, often involving sophisticated technology. Critical care nurses also attend to the psychosocial and emotional needs of patients, their families and significant others.

Diabetes Education: Diabetes education nurses work with patients who have the disease or are at risk. The goal is to educate patients to monitor their lifestyle (including nutrition, exercise and blood sugar monitoring) to lessen the need for medication and hospitalization as well as to increase health and well-being.

Forensic: Forensic nurses work with law enforcement officials as well as perpetrators and victims of crime. The specialty includes death investigators, correctional nurses, nurse attorneys, domestic violence specialists, human rights advocates and sexual assault nurse examiners. Duties may include collection of clinical evidence, determination of origin or circumstances of trauma, evaluation and alleviation of crime victims’ injuries and rehabilitation of criminals.

Gerontological Nursing: Gerontological nurses care for the physical and psychosocial needs of older adults. They focus on maximizing their functional abilities, as well as promoting, maintaining, and restoring their physical and mental health.

HIV / AIDS: AIDS/HIV nurses deliver educational, therapeutic and supportive interventions for those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. They deal with the physical and psycho-social aspects of the disease, helping patients minimize their pain and maximize their independence. HIV/AIDS nurses also advocate for patients and teach techniques to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Home Health: Home health nurses provide episodic or continuous care in the patient's place of residence for people of all ages and varied diagnoses. Care may include providing patient and family education, monitoring technical interventions, coordinating referrals, and handling other interventions to restore or maintain patients' physical or psychosocial well-being. Nurses may supervise home health aides.

Hospice Nursing: Hospice nurses care for the physical and emotional needs of dying patients and their significant others. Interventions may include pain management, palliative care, symptom management and emotional support.

Infection Control Nursing: Infection control nurses prevent and track the spread of infections by developing and maintaining strict procedures to prevent infections, and by investigating how infections originated and spread. Duties vary greatly depending on setting and could range from implementing immunization programs to developing bioterrorist response protocols.

Intravenous Nursing: Intravenous nurses are experts in infusion therapy, such as providing fluids, nutrition, medication or transfusions. The specialty requires knowledge of pharmacology, infection control and technology necessary to administer IVs, as well as standard nursing practice to attend to the physical and psychosocial needs of patients.

Labor and Delivery: Perinatal nurses care for the physical and psychosocial needs of women before, during and after giving birth. Duties may include teaching natural childbirth techniques, monitoring pregnancies, providing physical and emotional support during labor and delivery, and promoting healthy mother-child bonding after birth.

Legal Nurse Consultants: Legal nurse consultants use their nursing expertise to help attorneys, clients, investigators, juries and judges understand and interpret medical issues and documents. The role of the legal nurse consultant may include testifying on standards of care in depositions, interrogatories or trials; organizing medical records; or acting as a liaison with other medical personnel.

Med/Surg Nursing: Although most people associate med/surg nursing with caring for patients in a hospital after illness, injury or surgery, the field actually encompasses nurses who care for adults with acute health conditions, whether in outpatient facilities, hospitals or long-term care facilities. Elements of care may include patient education, pain management, case management, discharge planning and other interventions to restore or maintain patients' physical and psychosocial health.

Mother/Baby Couplet Care: Perinatal nurses care for the physical and psychosocial needs of women before, during and after giving birth. Duties may include teaching natural childbirth techniques, monitoring pregnancies, providing physical and emotional support during labor and delivery, and promoting healthy mother-child bonding after birth.

Nephrology Nursing: Nephrology nurses care for patients with renal disease or dysfunction, including those undergoing dialysis or transplantation. They focus on preventing disease, minimizing dysfunction, restoring function, and dealing with both the physical and psychological complications of kidney failure.

Neuroscience Nursing: Neuroscience nurses work across the healthcare continuum to help patients of all ages deal with the physical and psychosocial response to neurological impairments including spinal cord injuries, head injuries, movement disorders, CVAs, and other neurological diseases and disorders. The goal is to maximize function and independence, while minimizing pain and discomfort.

Nursing Executives: Nursing executives provide leadership and direction in designing and managing care, planning and developing policies and procedures, and allocating resources. Through their administrative decisions, they seek to improve patient outcomes and bring about positive staff development.

Nursing Informatics: Nursing informatics combines nursing and computer science. Nursing informaticists use computers to build or implement systems to support or automate nursing care. By collecting, organizing, measuring and representing data, nurse informaticists improve the efficiency and quality of patient care.

Occupational Nursing: Occupational health nurses promote, maintain, and restore workers’ health and safety within their place of business. In addition, they deal with productivity, disability/accessibility, ergonomic, and workers’ compensation issues. In some settings, they may provide emergency care as well.

Oncology Nurse: Oncology nurses care for cancer patients. The Oncology Nurse administers chemotherapy and manages symptoms related to cancer and cancer treatment. All types and stages of cancer, chronic pain. Exposure to new treatment methods, building patient relationships. Being able to cope with death, strong personal belief about life and death, people skills.

OR – OutReach Surgery (Perioperative) Nurse: OR nurses care for the surgical patient through preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative procedures. The OR nurse performs a number of duties, including patient assessment, creating a sterile environment, monitoring patients' mental and physical status, coordination of care and provision of resources.

Diagnoses: General surgery, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery, oncology, urology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, dental, plastic and reconstructive.

Orthopedic Nurse: Orthopedic Nurses care for musculoskeletal problems. The Orthopedic Nurse works with patients on self-care, available resources and support systems.

Diagnoses: Musculoskeletal injuries, arthritis, diabetes, fractures

 
Pediatric Nurse: Pediatric Nurses provide care to children and adolescents. The Pediatric Nurse focuses on the mental and physical aspect of health and illness. Health promotion, disease prevention and helping with management of physical and mental disabilities are just some of the duties of the Pediatric Nurse.

Diagnoses: Acute and chronic problems; ear, nose and throat infections; asthma; development problems.

Perinatal Nursing: Perinatal nurses care for the physical and psychosocial needs of women before, during and after giving birth. Duties may include teaching natural childbirth techniques, monitoring pregnancies, providing physical and emotional support during labor and delivery, and promoting healthy mother-child bonding after birth.

Psych/Mental Health: Psychiatric/mental health nurses promote and enhance the mental health of patients of all ages with acute or chronic psychiatric needs. Intervention may include use of therapeutic interpersonal skills, case management, discharge planning or disaster response.

Respiratory Nurse: Respiratory Nurses promote the pulmonary health of individuals. Respiratory Nursing can be preventive,critical, acute or rehabilitative.

Diagnoses: Cystic fibrosis, respiratory failure, asthma, TB, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

School Nurse: School nurses work with children in their academic setting. They may be responsible for mandated services (such as vision and hearing screening), immunization compliance, emergency care, illness and injury prevention, community relations, health counseling, health education, promotion and prevention. As more medically fragile students are mainstreamed, school nurses may be responsible for tracheostomy care, tube feedings or other care.

Trauma Nursing: Trauma nurses care for patients of all ages requiring emergency care. Using decisive assessment skills, quick intervention and often sophisticated technology, trauma nurses work to restore vital signs, to arrest further loss of function, or to prevent complications or death.