The Many Types of Registered Nursing Jobs
Registered nurses have a very large variety in terms of what types of nursing jobs they can do. They can choose to specialize and work with a specific group of patients. For example, an RN who wants to work with children would be a pediatric nurse. They can choose to work in specific areas in the hospital, for example, as surgical nurses. RNs can specialize in a specific health problem, like cancer or diabetes. Or they can choose to work on a specific body system, like the cardiovascular system, and help patients with heart problems. Nurses can also decide if they want to work in a hospital, doctor's office, or completely different setting.
No matter where they work, registered nurses help evaluate and treat patients, as well as educate them. They can be involved with any aspect of a patient's care, from writing down his or her symptoms to doing lab tests and giving treatment. A registered nurse can work in any doctor's office. There, the nurse would be writing down patients' symptoms and histories, and taking patients' blood pressure, temperature, and other "vital signs." The nurse might help a doctor do minor surgical procedures. He or she might dress wounds and put on splints. The nurse might do a lot of patient education, like helping people with high blood pressure and diabetes learn how to better handle their illnesses. In a large practice, an RN would also help educate the clinic assistants and other aides.
Most RNs work in hospitals. Scrub nurses work in surgery. Obstetrical nurses work in "labor and delivery" which is where babies are born. Pediatric nurses work in the ward with sick children. There are nurses that specialize in taking care of premature babies, and they work in the NICU, which stands for neonatal intensive care unit. Nurses can work in wards where adult patients are recovering from medical or surgical problems. They can work with the sickest of patients in the intensive care unit, or ICU, or with the sickest cardiac patients in the CCU, the cardiac care unit. Nurses in any of the critical care areas have to be able to follow the multiple ways patients are monitored via telemetry. They will be watching blood pressure, breathing and heart rhythms, among other things. Hospital nurses can also work in the emergency room (ER) where they have to do a little bit of everything.
Nurses can work with patients and illnesses that require a lot of education for the patient. Diabetic nurses help patients with diabetes monitor their blood sugar, handle their insulin shots, and eat properly. Patients in kidney failure need nursing care as they undergo dialysis, and they also need to be educated about how their diet must be changed. Addictions nurses can help all kinds of addicts recover and maintain sobriety. Ostomy nurses can help patients learn to take care of surgical openings in the abdomen made to eliminate waste products after certain surgeries.
There are nursing jobs in other places. Transport nurses accompany critically ill patients on helicopters or airplanes to other locations to get treatment. Home healthcare nurses help take care of people in their homes. Hospice nurses specifically provide care to people who are in the last months of their lives.
These are only some of the types of jobs for registered nurses. Entry-level positions are available to RNs who trained in any of the three ways - getting an ADN, a BSN, or a diploma. Nurses with BSNs have more jobs available to them when they first enter the workforce. Many of the specialty nursing positions require extra training and certification. As nurses gain experience they can take on more difficult jobs, and they can work their way up to administrative positions.
Nurses who want to do significantly more need more education. They can get master's degrees in nursing, or they can get trained as advanced practice nurses. There are four advanced practice areas at the current time: clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners who provide direct patient care, nurse midwives (who deliver babies), and nurse anesthetists (who give anesthesia during surgical procedures).
This is by no means all the types of nurses there are. As time goes by the list gets longer. In the future RNs can expect to be able to work in any area of healthcare.
Published: 2009-09-14
