Have you recently finished high school or university and are wondering what nursing careers are available to you? Maybe you are already a working nurse, but are suffering from burnout and would like to change your specialisation?
Read our ultimate list of the 25 nursing careers you should be considering.
Plus, if you aren’t sure how to become a nurse in the first place, there are some resources at the end that could help you.
1. Aged Care
Nursing career in aged are one of the most booming careers due to the aging society. Aged care nurses can work in hospitals, aged care facilities and in community settings. Their roles include observing and communicating with patients to ensure that they are taking medication, taking care of their health and managing any chronic illnesses that have come with old age.
2. Disability Support
Disability support workers are needed in hospitals, specialised care facilities and in home care roles. They are responsible for helping people with additional needs to live healthy, fulfilling lives. They will need to provide medication, manage patient behaviour and treat any needs that are associated with the patient’s condition.
3. Critical Care
Critical care nurses work in intensive care units in hospitals. Patients in intensive care are the most at-risk patients in a hospital, therefore good critical care nurses are highly sought after. They are responsible for treating patients in highly fragile states, and must be able to adapt to rapidly changing patient conditions to have a successful nursing career.
4. Nurse Midwife
Nurse midwives work in hospital maternity wards and deliver babies, provide crucial care to women before, during and after pregnancy, and can perform gynaecological examinations. Midwives have a unique place in healthcare, as their primary patients, both newborn infants and adult women, are so different from each other. Being present during birth is a great privilege, and makes midwifery a rewarding nursing career.
5. Burn Care Nurse
Burn care nurses can be based in both hospitals and home care. Burns injuries can often be far worse than they appear, have a high chance of becoming infected, and can cause long term scarring if treated poorly. Burn care nurses use their expertise to avoid complications and provide superior, specialised care.
6. Neonatal Nurse
Neonatal nurses work in hospitals to provide care to prematurely born infants. Premature babies usually have underdeveloped immune systems and can even be unable to survive unassisted. Neonatal nurses combine the infant knowledge of a midwife with the quick-thinking action of a critical care nurse, which makes this a very in-demand nursing career.
7. Paediatric Nurse
Much like neonatal nurses, paediatric nurses provide care to young children (not just infants) in hospital intensive care or clinical wards. Children have different needs to adults, especially when considering a patient’s overall satisfaction, not just their treatment. Therefore, paediatric nurses will ideally enjoy working with and helping children.
8. Dialysis Nurse
Dialysis is a part of the nephrology medical field, which focuses on proper kidney function. Acute and chronic kidney failure requires dialysis, which simulates the role of a kidney by manually removing the waste from a patient’s body. Dialysis nurses are experts in monitoring the results of dialysis in their patients. This is one of the fastest growing nursing careers.
9. Diabetes Nurse
Diabetes nurses work primarily in home or community settings. Diabetes is both a preventable and manageable condition, but many people don’t understand how to manage it. Diabetes nurses will help administer insulin injections, educate on the correct behaviours to manage diabetes, and teach preventative measures as well.
10. Oncology Nurse
Oncology nurses work in hospitals, clinics and homes to provide specialised care for cancer patients. Whether it’s chemotherapy, radiology or pain management, oncology nurses are appreciated by cancer patients for their ability to limit their pain and discomfort. If you are interested in developing strong relationships with your patients, this is an ideal nursing career.
11. Pain Management Nurse
Pain management nurses play a diagnostic role in healthcare. When a patient suffers from pain, pain management nurses will examine them to identify what’s causing the pain, the severity of the pain, and a recommendation for treatment. They then communicate this information to other nurses and doctors, who can create treatment plans based on this vital information.
12. Orthopaedic Nurse
Orthopaedic nurses work in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and in home care. Patients who are affected by musculoskeletal disorders, which can be genetic or caused by injuries, often require long lasting assistance. This can involve learning new forms of movement, how to complete tasks without normal function, and pain management.
13. Trauma Nurse
Trauma nurses work in hospital emergency rooms and must be incredibly resilient. Emergency rooms can be unpredictable, with patients suffering from any possible injury arriving, and with most patients being in a moderate to severe condition. Trauma nurses need to be able to adapt to constantly changing situations to have successful nursing careers.
14. Cosmetic Nurse
Cosmetic nurses usually work in private or commercial practices. That’s because cosmetic procedures are elective. For example, plastic surgery, botox injection and implants are procedures that enhance a person’s appearance, not save their life. For that reason, cosmetic nurses are much more procedure focused, and less focused on diagnosing conditions.
15. Perioperative Nurse
Perioperative nursing is an umbrella term for several sub-specialisations, such as anaesthesia, pre-operative, and post-operative nursing. Broadly speaking, perioperative nurses work in surgery theatres to assist patients in being administered and recovering from anaesthesia, as well as conducting pre-operation examinations. Due to all the different specialisations included, perioperative nursing can be a very lucrative nursing career.
16. General Practitioner
General practice nursing is one of the more well-known community nursing roles. GP nursing is perfect for nurses who enjoy building relationships with patients, as people often keep the same GP all their lives. Care and compassion form an important role in keeping these relationships strong, so GP nurses should enjoy interacting with people if they want to enjoy a GP nursing career.
17. Psychiatric Nurse
Psychiatric nurses work across all aspects of healthcare to treat people suffering from mental illnesses. Mental health patients require very different forms of care than patients that suffer from physical ailments. Psychiatric nurses are well versed in therapeutic communication techniques to ensure that patients remain calm and open to treatment. This is the ideal nursing career if you are interested in psychology.
18. Nursing Administrator
Nursing administrators are the beating hearts of healthcare systems and need a variety of skills not traditionally associated with nursing. They assist with management, admin, recruitment, training, internal communication and other aspects of business management. Nursing administrators keep things organised and are essential in larger hospitals and clinics to keep things running smoothly.
19. Nurse Attorney
Nurse attorneys must attend law school and pass the bar exam, as well as having their nursing degree and registered nurse status. For legal medical matters, nurse attorneys are in high demand because they blend both the legal and nursing knowledge to be an authority on both subjects.
20. Legal Nurse Consultant
Legal nurse consultants aren’t actually legal representatives, but do offer their medical knowledge on a consultancy basis for medical legal matters. While the role does require certification, it doesn’t require the nurse to have passed the bar like a nurse attorney career does.
21. Public Health Nurse
Public health nursing is very distinct from most of the other nursing careers on this list. While most nurses aim to treat illnesses, public health nurses prevent illnesses. Public health nurses often work in communities to provide education and awareness that helps keep people healthy and knowledgeable about their own wellbeing.
22. Health Policy Nurse
Much like a public health nurse, health policy nurses prevent illnesses rather than treating them. However, rather than educating at a community level, health policy nurses advocate for policy and law changes based on their assessments of their current effectiveness. Note, health policy nurses are usually required to have completed postgraduate studies.
23. Nurse Educator
Nurse educators aim to improve how nurses are taught. They create and implement teaching programs in schools and universities based on their experience and knowledge about the healthcare system. This is a very rewarding nursing career if you want to create large-scale change, but you do need a doctoral or master’s degree in nursing.
24. Nurse Researcher
For decisions about healthcare education and policy to occur, nurse researchers must first compile statistics and data based on rigorous research. This is a great nursing career if you are a critical thinker and are passionate about getting to the root cause of problems. Note, while a bachelor degree can qualify you for a nurse researcher role, postgraduate degrees will improve your chances.
25. Travel Nurse
Travel nurses specialise in visiting hospitals with employee shortages, especially in regional areas where hiring new nurses is more difficult. Positions can last for days, weeks or even months depending on the severity of the shortage. If you enjoy travelling, seeing new places and working with different people, travel nursing is ideal. It also comes with a whole host of tax benefits.
Which Nursing Careers You Should Be Considering?
In conclusion, there are many chances in the nursing sector to suit different interests and skill sets. For those who appreciate working with children and want to have a lasting impact during formative years, paediatric nursing is a great option.
Giving care and support to cancer patients while they undergo treatment is the rewarding but difficult career of oncology nursing. Another vital speciality that caters to the complicated requirements of an ageing society is aged care nursing.
In addition, if you love t public health, a career in health policy nursing and nurse researcher might be right for you. Although each of these vocations has its own rewards and difficulties, they all aim to improve patient care and health outcomes.
Whatever route you take, a career in nursing promises to be exciting and gratifying because it is focused on helping others.
How to Become a Nurse?
If you’ve found a nursing career in this list that you’d love to pursue, but you aren’t sure how to get started, here are some resources that can help you.
Discover different types of nursing degrees and courses.
Explore the 10 best nursing universities.
Learn what to expect from a student nurse placement.
Have You Considered a Nursing Agency?
Nursing agencies are a fantastic way of experiencing different nursing fields, locations and styles. Unlike committing to a single hospital, nursing agencies help give you the flexibility to do the kind of nursing you choose.
At Nurses Now, we help nurses like you enjoy the flexibility that only a nursing agency can provide. We have a strong network of skilled and devoted nurses who would love you to join the Nurses Now team.
If you’d like to learn more, visit the Nurses Now website. Or, if you would like to enquire about joining, get in touch with us today.