If you have been thinking about making a career in nursing, you might already know that the needs are diverse, but so are the career options. Nurses get to work in different environments and patients with various medical conditions. Therefore, they can often choose from various specializations to adopt the path that suits their interests and meet the patients’ needs. You might see a nurse who only works in the intensive care unit. In contrast, others might find their job in the cardiology department of a hospital. Interestingly, some of the nurses might also be doing not-so-conventional roles such as helping with robotic surgery tools as well.
No matter your specialization or the work area, one thing clear as daylight is that the nursing career is not short of opportunities. The demand for more skilled nurses is continuously growing. There are more job opportunities than the available number of professional nurses. So, you can expect to be paid high salaries if you find the right specialization for you.
The need for healthcare services is exploding for many reasons, one of them being the growing number of baby boomers who need more medical help. Therefore the demand for nurses specializing in adult-gerontology acute care is particularly experiencing a boom. For community nurses, it is an attractive opportunity to enroll in online AGPCNP programs and meet the demand in their communities. The online programs are specially designed for professionals who want to excel in their careers, take advanced degree courses, and continue working simultaneously. So, for anyone interested, there is no more ideal time than now to specialize in this field.
Importance Of Investing In Education For Nurses
Adding a new degree program meets the requirements of the nursing profession, which is constantly evolving and developing the nurses along the way. Like other medical professionals such as doctors and surgeons, nurses also need to upgrade their skills as they continuously work alongside the doctors. An advanced specialization helps nurses excel in their careers and helps the healthcare industry. Each nursing specialization brings value to the healthcare sector, helping it cure more patients with novel ailments. Here are some more nursing specializations open to you after earning a primary nursing degree.
- Registered Nurse
If you are interested in providing complete and coordinated care to the patients, you must go for the position of an RN. The job of an RN is significant for the healthcare sector because they educate the patients about keeping healthy and the prevention and spread of diseases. In the capacity of a registered nurse, you will work in teams with other healthcare professionals like doctors and other nurses. Therefore, you must know how to work, coordinate in teams, and communicate effectively to convey your concerns and ideas. You must choose this specialization if you are eager to start your career after a primary associate or bachelor’s degree.
Getting your nursing license requires passing the NCLEX exam, but rushing into it isn’t necessary. You can take additional tests and participate in programs to ensure you are fully prepared for the challenge ahead, as the NCLEX is not an easy examination. One useful step to consider is taking the TEAS test, especially if you haven’t done so during your bachelor’s degree program. The TEAS is a standardized test developed by the same company that designed the NCLEX, making it an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the expectations of the NCLEX exam.Preparing for the TEAS is relatively straightforward, given that your education has already equipped you with the necessary knowledge. Additionally, an abundance of online resources are available, including reading materials and practice exams, to assist you in your preparation. A valuable resource is the collection of 680 TEAS practice questions, which can provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the test’s content and structure.
- Cardiac Nurse Practitioner
A cardiovascular nurse practitioner is another type of nursing specialty available to you where you are required to take care of patients with cardiac illnesses. Cardiac issues are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Therefore, cardiac nurses find immense demand for their work in today’s healthcare field. As a cardiac nurse, you will work with surgeons and doctors, help them in surgical procedures such as bypass, pacemaker surgery, angioplasty, etc.
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
A clinical nurse specialist performs a critical role in today’s healthcare system. So much so, it is one of the challenging specialties of the nursing profession often revered in healthcare for their educational specialties. Hospitals need clinical nurse specialists with advanced educational qualifications with masters and doctoral degrees. They are highly paid nurses due to their ability to mentor others and their impressive educational background.
They can help the patient with the treatments that might be beyond the wheelhouse of generalized nurses. The work of CNS is not limited to patient care only; their job duties also extend to the administrative roles, where they work to improve the systems and service delivery. They may not be as noticeable to the general public as RNs and doctors, but they are inevitable in the healthcare industry.
- Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
A certified Nurse Assistant performs the job as is mentioned by their job title. They help the RNs and Licensed Practical Nurse to perform their job to carry out the daily task of a healthcare clinic. They stay with patients at all times. They cater to their everyday needs, such as bringing them food, helping them sit and lie on their bed, taking care of their hygiene, and reporting changes in their condition. You can think about the job of CAN as a go-between the more specialized nurses and doctors. They may seem to be doing the daily trivial tasks. Still, their job as a liaison between doctors and patients is crucial for offering the proper medical care. There are also some limitations in their job. They cannot perform more intensive care duties, prescribe or carry out treatments, change the medications, etc.
- Critical Care Nurse
The job of a critical care nurse is to work in emergencies. Their job is similar to that of an intensive care unit nurse. They both work with patients coming in critical condition. As a critical care nurse, you can be expected to tend to wounds, monitor patients with life support, among other duties. Therefore, if you are interested in caring for patients with critical injuries such as those in accidents and traumatic conditions, you can consider this specialization.
Nursing is a broad field encompassing many career paths and specializations; therefore, a nurse often has a range of options to choose their specializations from. With each specialization, nurses offer valuable service to humanity by curing people hurting from strange and often unheard of diseases. The letters mentioned, along with the name of a nurse, carry immense value to the healthcare system because, with their service to grieving patients, they are considered nothing less than the lifeblood of healthcare.
