Common Nursing Specialties There is more diversity in the field of nursing than you might expect. There are tons of specialties to consider, and this guide will help you learn about these specialties, their importance, and the need for them in the medical field. Related: Make Your Resume Stand Out! ● Adult nursing o As an adult nurse, you will work with primary health care providers to teach and treat young adults as they continue through the aging process. You will treat both chronic and acute illnesses and may specialize further into different areas. o Some tasks you may be doing include: ▪
Empathy and advice for patients and their families
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Learning a patient's' history
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Conduct patient investigations
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Check and administer medicine and injections
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Preparing blood transfusion and drips
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Assisting doctors with testing and diagnosis
● Family nurse practitioner o Counseling and testing are just a few of the things that you will be doing as a family nurse practitioner. You will be helping people through the aging process as a family, and taking care of them if any illnesses arise. o Some activities of a family nurse practitioner are: ▪
Provide prenatal care
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Specialized care
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Administer anesthesia
● Geriatric nursing o If caring for the elderly is something that you enjoy and would like to pursue, it is a field that needs nurses. You will be treating chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory disorders. Education of the patients and their families is also a service you will provide.
Related: Family Nurse Practitioners o Typical tasks of a geriatric nurse are: ▪
Assisting physicians during procedures and exams
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Medical tests at home or in the office for patients
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Putting a patient care plan in place, setting health goals
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Administering medication based on care plan
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Teaching family members about conditions and self-care for their loved ones.
● Infectious disease nursing o Major health facilities and community health organizations are the places that most commonly need infectious disease nurses. This specialty requires you to to prevent and monitor the spread of drug resistant infections, policy making, education, consulting, and more o More projects and activities: ▪
Communicating nursing research results
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Examine and facilitate solutions to patient care legal issues
● Psychiatric nursing o Working with those who have psychiatric problems to assess their mental health needs and develop plans for patients. Monitoring the treatments that you administer is also an important task for psychiatric nurses. o Some more things that you will do as a psychiatric nurse are: ▪
Crisis intervention and counseling
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Assist with self care activities
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Help patients regain or improve their ability to cope
● School nursing o Working in a school as a nurse will focus on students and staff and their physical well being, and academic success. You can work at either a public or private school, the choice is yours.
Whichever specialty appeals to you the most is just the beginning of the journey of becoming a specialist nurse. Having a diverse understanding of each speciality available to you, will allow you to make the best choice in terms of career path trajectory. Related: List of nursing organizations Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter