You can do WHAT as a nurse? There are so many potential avenues to explore in the nursing world. Many people think working as a nurse means you either work in a hospital or a clinic when in fact, there is so much more to being a nurse. Interested in learning about all the different jobs you could have as a nurse? Great! Keep reading! First, we’ll take a look at some of the more common hospital and clinic roles; which are still REALLY awesome jobs to have! Then, we’ll take a stroll off the beaten path and explore some of the unique and unexpected things nurses can do! Here we go!
I. Work in a Hospital setting
- ICU/NICU/PICU– Nurses provide care for critically ill patients with life-threatening medical conditions or trauma. This job requires an advanced skill set, strong character, and the ability to perform under pressure. ICU nurses may choose adult, pediatric or neonate populations (more about the role of an ICU nurse here: https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/icu-nurse/).
- ER– Nurses work as part of a team with physicians and other healthcare professionals to quickly assess the needs of each patient and prioritize care based on its critical nature. Nurses use quick, decisive thinking and critical skills to stabilize a patient, treat the problem, and discharge the patient after the emergency is over or make arrangements for a longer hospital stay (https://www.snagajob.com/job-descriptions/emergency-room-nurse/).
- Cardiac (Telemetry)– Nurses work with patients that require close cardiac monitoring; including those recently released from the intensive care unit of a hospital. A telemetry nurse must have the advanced critical thinking skills to recognize cardiac arrhythmias, understand potential implications and complications of the arrhythmias, and be able to formulate a plan of care quickly (https://nationaltelemetryassociation.org/choose-telemetry-nursing-next-career-national-telemetry-association/).
- Renal/Dialysis*– Nurses care for patients with acute and chronic renal disease. Dialysis nurses administer dialysis for patients and monitor them throughout the entire procedure. Becoming a dialysis nurse requires extra training and certification (https://nursejournal.org/dialysis-nursing/dialysis-nurse-careers-salary-outlook/).
- Med-Surg– Medical-surgical nursing is the largest nursing speciality in the United States. These nurses care for acutely ill adult patients primarily in hospital units. They are responsible for managing and caring for patients with a wide variety of medical problems and conditions, as well as patients who have recently undergone a surgical procedure (https://www.amsn.org/practice-resources/what-medical-surgical-nursing).
- Neuro/Stroke– Nurses working on an inpatient stroke unit facilitate acute and supportive skilled care to patients who have suffered a stroke. Stroke nurses are skilled in conducting thorough neurological assessments and to use their advanced knowledge, skills, and training to provide high-quality patient care (https://www.rcn.org.uk/clinical-topics/neuroscience-nursing/stroke).
- Ortho*– Nurses care for patients who have suffered trauma or who have had orthopedic surgeries. These nurses are skilled to apply and manage traction, casting, mobility devices, and pain management. (https://www.nursingexplorer.com/careers/orthopedic-nursing)
- Labor & Delivery– Nurses assist pregnant women throughout the childbirth experience. They are at the bedside from early labor through the delivery period and the immediate post-partum period. Mother-baby nurses care for the mother and newborn after the immediate post-partum period until discharge home. (https://www.nursing.org/careers/labor-delivery-nurse/)
- Perioperative/OR– Nurses help plan, carry out, and assess treatment for patients undergoing surgery. There are many different roles for nurses in the peri-op environment including: scrub nurse, circulating nurse, RN first assistant, or PACU nurse (each has unique responsibilities and skill sets). More information found here: https://www.graduatenursingedu.org/perioperative/.
- Quality Improvement– Although providing high-quality care is the responsibility of every nurse, some institutions employ nurses who are dedicated to maintaining quality throughout the organization. Quality improvement is a continuous process that involves all levels of an organization working together across departmental lines to produce better services for patients and their families. Check out what the American Nurses Association (ANA) has to say about quality improvement in nursing: https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/health-policy/health-system-reform/quality/.
- Case Manager– Nurses coordinate overall care for patients in and out of medical facilities. These nurses advocate for the needs of their patients and facilitate a plan of care that will ensure the best outcomes for their patients. (more info here: https://www.allnursingschools.com/specialties/nurse-case-manager/)
- Risk Management*– Nurses are tasked with ensuring the delivery of safe, trusted, high-quality, evidence-based care. Other potential responsibilities include: examining and assessing data to determine the risk of potential loss; ensuring all services at an organization comply with federal regulartory requirements; and incident and adverse event management (https://www.nursebuff.com/risk-management-nurse-jobs-and-how-to-get-them/).
- Mental Health/Psych*– Nurses work as part of a dedicated healthcare team to expertly assess, diagnose, and treat various mental health and psychiatric disorders. These nurses work and assist individuals, families, groups, and communities, with their mental health needs (https://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3292).
- Clinical Nurse Educator– Nurses are devoted to teaching other nurses and healthcare professionals who work in healthcare facilities. These nurses are passionate about what they do, well-respected, and knowledgable regarding up-to-date best evidence-based practice and guidelines. These nurses are charged with preparing, assisting, and educating the nursing workforce (https://journals.lww.com/nursing/Fulltext/2018/10000/Advancing_the_profession__The_clinical_nurse.13.aspx).
II. Work in a Clinic setting
- Oncology*– Nurses care for patients, families, and communities affected by cancer. Nurses provide education, support, direct patient care, administer chemotherapy, coordinate various aspectes of cancer treatment, and more. (https://nurse.org/resources/oncology-nurse/)
- Family Practice Office– Nurses work in the primary care office setting and complete a wide variety of tasks including triaging patients, managing medications and refill requests, administering immunizations, assisting in common procedures, drawing blood, conducting point-of-care testing, and more (https://everynurse.org/careers/primary-care-nurse/),
- Specialty Office (Cardiac, Pulmonology, Neurology, etc.)– Nurses in specialty office practices have similar roles and responsibilities as nurses who work in the family practice setting, however they manage patient care and information directly related to their specialty (i.e. Cardiology, Neurology, etc.).
- Pediatrics*– The role of the pediatric nurse in the outpatient setting is similar to that of a family practice nurse, however the population is much different… littles! Pediatrics covers children newborn to age 18. Some pediatrician offices will see patients up until age 25. Education is a major aspect of the responsibilities a pediatric nurse has; education for both the child AND the parent(s).
- Occupational Nurse– Nurses deliver care, including health and safety services, to employees of organizations, worker populations, and association groups. These nurses have a focus on health and safety, injury prevention, and evaluation of environmental hazards (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/occupational-health-nurse/).
III. Work Independently
- School Nurse– Nurses have an integral role in the responsibility of keeping children safe, healthy, and ready to learn. School nurses are leaders, care coordinators, community health nurses, and quality improvement nurses (https://www.nasn.org/advocacy/professional-practice-documents/position-statements/ps-role).
- Sales Rep (Pharmaceutical or procedural)– Nurses are committed to learning a medication or product and to travel location to location educating healthcare providers about their product. (https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/become-medical-sales-rep).
- Public Health Nurse– Nurses are responsibly for education, prevention, advocacy, and assessment and evaluation of public and community health. They have a very important role in preventing the spread of disease, as well as, advocating with government authorities to improve access to healthcare (https://www.healthcare-management-degree.net/faq/what-is-a-public-health-nurse-and-what-are-some-of-their-areas-of-responsibility/).
- Correctional Nurse– Nurse cares for and treats inmates and other detainees in correctional facilities and jails. Theses nurses must be able to treat each person with objectivity, dignity, respect, compassion, and sometimes assertiveness (https://everynurse.org/careers/correctional-care-nurse/).
- Home Health Nurse– Nurse responsibilities vary according to the training and organization. Home health nurses provide care to patients within their own home. Nurses administer medication, provide wound care/ dressing changes, assess vital signs, perform assessments, and more (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/home-health-nurse/).
- Hospice/Palliative Care Nurse*– Nurses provide compassionate care to chronically or terminally ill patients. These nurses focus on relieving suffering by providing compassionate physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/palliative-care-nurse/).
IV. Consulting Jobs
- Legal Nurse Consultant– Nurse provides invaluable knowledge, insight, and expertise in consultation to attorneys about medical issues. These nurses function independently and must work well under pressure (https://nurse.org/resources/legal-nurse-consultant/).
- Telehealth– Nurses deliver healthcare service through any telecommunications medium. These nurses utilize technology to its best advantage to evaluate patients and assess their physical status and needs (https://www.rn.com/nursing-news/healthcares-future-is-here-meet-telemedicine/).
- Forensic Nurse Consultant– Nurses provide compassionate care to victims of neglect, abuse, or violent crime. These nurses work with pathologists and coroners to gather medical evidence and provide expert testimony in court (https://nurse.org/resources/forensic-nurse/).
- Nurse Writer– Nurse utilizes knowledge and expereince to write and contribute content for educational materials, articles, historical books, or even movie scripts and/or books (https://nursing.jnj.com/specialty/nursing-writer-author-or-historian).
V. Administrative/Academic Setting
- Administrator/Manager*– Nurse managers make vital decisions that assist and coordinate patient care. They monitor and influence staffing, recruitment, budgeting, mentoring, staff development, and ensure organizational policies and goals are being met (https://onlinenursing.duq.edu/blog/roles-nurse-manager-leading-nursing-profession-future/).
- Nurse Educator– Nurse educators obtain advanced degrees to teach and train future nurses. They serve as faculty members and transfer their knowledge and expertise to the next generation of nurses (https://www.registerednursing.org/nurse-educator/).
- Nurse Informatics Specialist– Nurses play a vital role in health informatics, where healthcare and technology combine. Nurses may assist with the transition from paper to electronic medical records (EMR), develop evidence-based standards of care based on current research and technological availabilities, analyize EMR’s to assess for potential areas of advancement, and more (https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/msn-nursing-informatics/resource/what-does-a-nursing-informatics-specialist-do).
- Nurse Navigator– Nurse navigator roles and responsiblities vary depending on the specific organization, speciality, or department at which the navigator works. The goals of nurse navigation include advocating for patient’s healthcare needs, educating patients about their disease, providing patients with clinical resources, addressing barriers to care, and so much more (https://nurse.org/articles/nurse-navigator-career-path-salary-job-description/).
VI. Niche Nursing
- Research Nursing– Nurse assists with the evaluation, creation, and perfection of new and old treatments, medications, and other therapies. Along with doctors, specialists, scientists, and other professionals, they are the driving force behind healthcare related research (https://everynurse.org/careers/research-nurse/).
- Military Nursing– Nurses who are contracted to provide medical care to military members in clinics or military hospitals (read all about this here: https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/military-nurse/).
- Flight Nurse– Nurse provides acute, hospital level care as they transport patients via aircraft. This is a fast-paced setting that requires strong, confident, capable nurses (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/flight-nurse/).
- Cruise Ship Nurse– Very similar to hospital and office type nursing, but with an awesome traveling location! Read about it here: https://www.proseastaff.com/medical-vacancies/cruise-ship-nursing-jobs.
- Parish Nurse– The parish nurse integrates all aspect of providing healthcare with the religious community. These nurses focus on health education, personal health counseling, organizing health support groups, and more (https://www.allnursingschools.com/specialties/parish-nurse/).
- Camp Nurse– Nurses provide basic nursing care in the setting of school, summer, or teen camps. This can be a summer camp, week long camps, or more long-term camps (https://www.campnurse.org/).
- Travel Nurse*– Travel nurses provide healthcare in ANY setting. These nurses choose a specialty and travel to provide care wherever they are needed. This can be across a city, state, or even across the U.S. (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/travel-nurse/).
- Long-term care nursing– Nurses in long-term care provide compassionate care to residents in long-term care facilities. Various roles and responsibilities include medication administration, assessments, wound care, etc. (https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/long-term-care-nurse/).
As you can see, there are so many different opportunities available for nurses (I know I didn’t even list them all)! If you do decide that nursing is for you, or if you are a nurse and are looking to branch out, I hope this list provides you with helpful information. At the very least, I hope this has given you some food for thought.
Thanks for reading!
Amy
Dr. Amy Lask is a seasoned Hematology/Oncology Nurse Practitioner and nursing instructor for both graduate and undergraduate nursing programs. Read her inspiring story “From Cancer Patient to Oncology Nurse Practitioner.” Feel free to send Amy a message here.
*Inpatient AND outpatient specialty
**This list is a brief overview of various nursing roles. Specific responsibilities and education requirements may vary between institutions.
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