Although nursing is associated with work in hospitals and hospital departments or units, nursing can extend from prisons to planes in any country. The demand for nursing and meeting global healthcare needs is high. The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a December 2010 address said: “The need to reform the education of physicians, nurses, and midwives touches every country. The commitment to improve health, especially for poor and vulnerable groups, has never been greater.”
Common Nursing Specialities
Through specialism, nurses have the opportunity to work in a field that is both of great interest to them and that contributes to meeting nursing demands. Although common career options for nurses may include becoming a/an:
l Adult Nurse
l Children’s Nurse
l Neonatal Nurse
l Prison Nurse
l School Nurse
l Mental Health Nurse
l Dental Nurse
l District Nurse
l Practice Nurse
options are plentiful in other specialist areas, that may may relate to a specific nursing duty, management, medical need, technology, or environment of work.
Other Nursing Specialities
Some less common nursing specialities may include:
l Burn nursing and wound care
l Cardiac nursing
l Case management
l Clinical research nurse
l Correctional nursing
l Critical care or emergency nursing
l Flight nursing or travel nursing
l Forensic nursing
l HIV/AIDS nursing
l Hospice nursing
l Intavenous therapy nursing
l Legal Nurse Investigator
l Neuro-surgical nursing
l Nursing educator
l Nursing informatics
l Nursing management
l Occupational health nursing
l Oncology nursing
l Plastic and reconstructive surgical nursing
l Rehabilitation nursing
l Renal dialysis nursing
l Telemetry nursing
l Transplantation nursing
l Urology nursing
l Utilization management
In the UK, once nursing students have completed their first year foundational programme of study, they have option to specialise during the other three years of study as a college or university while also gaining a nursing work placement in their specialist field. During this period in completing qualification, nurses then apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (MNC) and may also register employment interests with nursing agencies. However, not all follow this intial route of nursing study. Some individuals start by gaining experience as a healthcare assistant in a specific specialism, such as disability or wound care, then later through their employment gain the opportunity to study further to become a specialist nurse.
Questions about specialism in nursing
To work in a specialist area of nursing, individuals do need to gain experience in that nursing field, whether it be cardiac nursing or forensic nursing. Questions to ask when considering a specialism may be:
l Am I committed to or passionate about improving health?
l What environment do I enjoy working in?
l What types of people would I like to care for or educate?
l Am I particularly interested in specific health conditions?
l What are my current qualifications and experience?
l Am I interested in nursing management, regulations or research?
l What field do I currently have nursing knowledge in?
l Do I want to further my knowledge in this field or try a new nursing career?
l How can I build on my current skills?
l What is a good start for me in developing a specialist nursing career?
l Where do I want to take my nursing career and why?
See section on “Different Nursing Areas” for further information about specific nursing specialities.