Five Nursing Specialties That Offer Promise and Excitement

It is no big secret that the upcoming retirement of the Baby Boomers willput enormous strain on the health care industry. While this may not be greattimes for hospital management, qualified nurses are in high demand and enjoymany job benefits including sign on bonuses, tuition reimbursement, andretention bonuses.

There are hundreds of career avenues for nurses, but here are five careerpaths that show an especially high social need and can offer nurses bothfinancial and career satisfaction.

When you work as a home health care nurse in private homes, you preparemeals, offer basic bedside care, and emotional comfort. You track vital signssuch as blood pressure, respiration, and pulse. You can help family memberslearn basic nursing tasks.

The average income for a home health nurse is about $35,000 for this nursingposition. To work as as a home health care nurse, you need to become a licensedpractical nurse (LPN). You can attend a community college or vocational schoolsfor about a year. The need for geriatric care is projected to drive up thedemand for LPNs and should offer you good job prospects.

Staff nurses work in all the places you normally think of when you think ofnurses like hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices. As a staff nurse, yougenerally work alongside physicians in all specializations. You record medicalconditions, treat patient symptoms, perform tests and analyze their results.You also administer treatments and medications. The median salary for ahospital staff nurse is about $53,500 per year.

To open the door to a staff nursing career, you need a registered nurse (RN)certification. To get there you need to earn bachelor of science in nursingdegree (BSN) , an associates’ degree in nursing (ADN), or graduate from acertificate programs. With a more advance degree, you have more job options andyou are more likely to get a job at a higher caliber facility.

Much has changed since 1902 when school nursing began in the United States.A school nurses’ duties have greatly expanded since then. Today’s school nurseprovides health assessment, intervention, and follow-up with students. Youensure the health and safety of the schools staff and students by helping tomaintain the school’s compliance with health care policies. School nurses canalso refer students for more medical help when hearing, vision, and otherissues become inhibitors to successful learning.

Generally, you should already be a Registered Nurse (RN), and ideally, youshould also hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Furthering a career in thisfield, a master’s degree in nursing or a MBA in health care will provide youcareer mobility and offers of policy-level positions. Many school nurses holdnot only a Nurse Practitioner (NP) certification, but an Advanced PracticeRegistered Nurse (APRN) certification.

Help solve crimes by becoming a forensic nurse. If you hold your your RNcertification you can begin a career in forensic nursing.. Forensic nursesassist in criminal investigations of accidental death, sexual assault,homicide, and other criminal cases. Then, forensic nurses testify about theirfindings in court. When specializing in this field, you will spend the leastamount of your time in patient contact.

You must hold a current RN certification, and a Bachelor of Science inNursing degree. Further course work or a degree in law enforcement or criminaljustice will offer you an added edge for forensic nurse job openings.Specialized forensic nursing certifications are available online.

If you have an interest in law and if you are a registered nurse you canenter the lucrative field of legal nurse consulting A legal nurse consultantacts as a health care liaison with attorneys, physicians, and other clients.Legal nurse consultants are needed in law firms, government offices, hospitalrisk management departments, and other health care or legal-relatedbusiness.

Probably the quickest path into this profession is to earn a legal nurseconsulting certificate. Otherwise an RN certification, or ideally a bachelor ofscience degree in nursing, and a solid educational background in the legalsystem is necessary to become a legal nurse consultant. Earning a criminaljustice degree combined with a degree in nursing will open the doors toemployment in the nurse consulting field. If you haven’t already gotten abachelor’s in nursing, there are accelerated RN-to-BSN program.

The rapid growth in the health care system is opening up many new nursingprofessions and opportunities. The educational system is adapting by creatingcourses and degrees to meet the challenges. To help meet the social needs andtake part new and advanced career opportunities, continuing your education is anecessity.

There are many avenues from accelerated programs, to online degrees, tovocational schools to help you meet your career goals.

These five nursing career paths are just a few of the hundreds of newnursing specialties that you can explore. With a solid nursing education, youcan help meet the social need for more nurses while enjoying great careerprospects for a long time to come.