Nurses play a crucial role in healthcare, from caring for and communicating with patients to assisting physicians during procedures. With the growing need for nurses worldwide, the healthcare sector is leaning toward the expansion of nursing specialties. If you’re looking for one, there are many options available.
While these specialties have similarities, it is essential to research the differences to understand what they entail. It’d be best to choose a specialty based on your knowledge, expertise, and experience. Moreover, you can consult a career advisor to determine which specialty is most suitable for you.
These six specialty career options for nurses can help you decide which one to pursue.
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
These nurses play an essential role during surgery by administering anesthesia or pain medications. They’re also responsible for monitoring patients’ vital signs, making adjustments to the anesthetic plan, and generally observing patients’ condition throughout and after the surgery.
While the requirements to be CRNAs are high, they are the highest-paid nurse specialists due to the demands of the job. If you want to be one, you’ll require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a Registered Nurse (RN) license, and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Nurse Anesthesiology.
A CRNA job growth is possible because of the high demand for anesthesia nurses; hence, it is one of the most sought-after specialties in the field.
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
This specialty is for an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) who works with people of all ages in a family practice facility. The primary role of nurses in this category is to help examine, diagnose, and treat patients throughout their lives from childhood to adulthood, with the primary focus being preventive care.
To become an FNP, you’ll require an MSN degree and an RN license as the minimum requirements. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree, you may need to enroll in a direct entry program for nursing so that you can pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, for those seeking flexibility and convenience in their educational journey, online family nurse practitioner programs offer a valuable opportunity to obtain the necessary credentials while balancing other commitments.
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Psychiatric nurses work in mental healthcare and assist with assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with mental health issues. Some patients you might have to handle in this specialty include those with mood disorders, dementia, depression, anxiety, phobias, and drug and substance abuse.
Some of the other responsibilities you may have to take on include crisis intervention, mental health evaluation, and patient management. In this specialty, you’ll have to constantly collaborate with therapists, social workers, and psychiatrists to care for patients with behavioral issues and mental health disorders.
The qualifications to work as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner are a BSN degree, an MSN degree, a valid RN license, and a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certificate.
- Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP)
As an AGNP, your focus is on elderly patients and the medical conditions they’re predisposed to. This field offers many career growth opportunities because you can offer specialized care in various facilities, like hospitals, clinics, and care homes.
The requirements to become an AGNP include having an MSN degree, an RN license, and a national board nurse practitioner certificate in adult-gerontology acute care or adult-gerontology primary care.
- Nurse Midwife
This specialty is for advanced registered nurses whose primary focus is on pregnancy, postpartum recovery, prenatal care, and childbirth. The responsibilities of nurses in this specialty include providing care for women with reproductive health issues and caring for them during the entire pregnancy up to delivery.
The nurses also care for newborns during the first days after delivery. Some settings you can work in for career growth include hospitals, urgent care centers, clinics, and midwife practices. As a nurse midwife, you can also offer postnatal and antenatal classes.
You’ll need an MSN degree, RN license, and a certified nurse midwife credential to work in this field. Some of the skills you should also possess include compassion, emotional stability, coaching abilities, and organizational skills.
- Trauma Nurse
Trauma nurses assist in emergency rooms and critical care units to offer care to patients in critical conditions or life-threatening and unstable states. During training, trauma nurses are taught to work with other healthcare practitioners to provide care under stressful and urgent situations, including medical emergency response teams.
The primary job of a trauma nurse is to assist with stabilizing and treating trauma patients from incidents such as gunshots, car accidents, and domestic violence. Therefore, the nurse has to evaluate patients, provide blood transfusions when necessary, and prepare for surgery in some cases.
The qualifications to become a trauma nurse include a BSN degree, an NCLEX-RN exam, and a certified trauma nursing credential after two years of experience as an RN. The necessary skills for this field include passion, dedication, and sensitivity.
Conclusion
There are many nursing specialties that you can consider getting into. Each of them has the potential for career development if you’re keen on improving yourself. It’d help to research the specialty you’re interested in, so you can create an effective career plan.
