Registered and practical nurses work in hospitals and outpatient facilities to provide care to patients. They administer medications, monitor patients’ conditions, and obtain records for communication purposes. They also give direction and supervision to hospital nurse aides and home health aides. Today, the healthcare industry is becoming complex and specialized. Nurses are now looking for a steady and gratifying career beyond the traditional opportunities and hospital setting. There are several different nursing career options available with a registered nurse. They are, legal nurse consulting, military nursing, forensic nursing, travel nursing, surgical nursing, holistic nursing and informatics specialist.
Legal nurse consulting:
This is a career beyond the bedside. One can use his/her nursing expertise to become a consultant for many organizations, including law firms, hospitals, insurance companies, government organization, etc.
How to become a legal nurse consultant? The answer is very simple. A nurse should have several years of clinical expertise, should be registered, and should have knowledge about law. There is a great scope to apply nursing expertise in medical malpractice, product liability, and civil rights and personal injury cases.
Travel nursing:
Beyond just the normal nursing occupation, there’s also the opportunity to travel. This is a great career option for the nurses who want to explore new locales. Before working in this area, a registered nurse should have at least one year experience in a hospital setting. One can contact a travel nurse staffing agency to get a job. If you’re interested in practical nursing, learn more about online programs here.
Informatics Specialist:
Nurses passionate about technology can work as a nursing informatics specialist. This is a growing field like other nursing specialties. Being bilingual is most advantageous in this field. An informatics specialist plays the chief communicator role between nurses, patients, and healthcare providers.
Military nursing:
After completing the nursing education and getting registered, one can become a military nurse or an officer. This is a great profession that protects the nation and supports the troop both at home and abroad. A nursing career in the armed forces provides a great opportunity to learn new things, travel around and military healthcare techniques. The most exciting thing about this profession is, working in dangerous locations.
Surgical nursing:
This is a profession where a nurse performs some dangerous tasks right from preparing patients before surgery to assisting the surgeon during operation and recovery. They serve patients in every step including monitoring signs, alleviating discomfort and comforting anxious patients.
Apart from the above, forensic nursing and holistic nursing are the two important career options for the registered nurses. These are the growing fields of nursing like LNC, surgical and travel. Check out LNC how to learn the necessary skills and knowledge required for enhancing your nursing career.
In today’s hospitals and extended care facillities a nurse assistant is an important part of a healthcare team that includes many personnel outside of nurses. In the quest to make a profit from providing care many hospitals in the United States have reduced their nurse to patient ratios, requiring one nurse to take care of as many as twelve or fourteen patients at a time. In order for good care to be provided to those patients a nurse assistant is needed to provide the routine care so that the nurse can focus on tasks only he/she can do, such as care plans, nursing assessments, administering medication, and assist in surgery room preparation.