Overview
For more information on careers in this field, click on the appropriate profession(s) in the Career Explorer section of this site.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nursing is among the Top Ten Occupations with the Largest Job Growth.
Nurses promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. They have a unique scope of practice and can practice independently, although they also collaborate with all members of the healthcare team to provide the care needed by each patient as an individual. Nurses are hands-on health professionals who provide focused and highly personalized care. The field has a wide range of career opportunities, ranging from entry-level practitioner to doctoral-level researcher.
Nurses also serve as advocates for patients, families, and communities. They develop and manage nursing care plans; instruct patients and their families in proper care; and help individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their health.
Although an entry-level nurse can find a job with a three-year RN degree, there is a growing national movement to require all nurses to hold a BSN. An increasing number of nursing schools are offering accelerated bachelor's and master's degree programs. There also are a growing number of RN-to-MSN and MSN-to-doctoral programs, designed to meet the increasing demand for more highly skilled nurses in the workforce.
Once you are a professional nurse, you might choose to focus on a particular specialty. There are numerous specialty options -- each of which has its own education/certification requirements and related professional network or organization. These include:
Advanced Practice Registered Nursing
Ambulatory Care Nursing
Business in Nursing
Camp Nursing
Cardiac Care Nursing
Cardiac Cath Lab Nursing
Case Management Nursing
Clinical Nurse Leader
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Community Health Nursing
Complementary Health Nursing
Correctional Facility Nursing
Critical Care Nursing
Dermatology Nursing
Developmental Disability Nursing
Diabetes Nursing
Domestic Violence Nursing
Emergency Nursing
Ethics in Nursing
Family Nurse Practitioner
Flight/Transport Nursing
Forensic Nursing
Gastroenterology Nursing
Genetics Nursing
Geriatric Nursing
Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
Gynecology/Obstetric Nursing
Health Policy Nursing
Hematology Nursing
HIV/AIDS Nursing
Holistic Nursing
Home Health Care Nursing
Hospice/Palliative Nursing
Independent Nurse Contracting
Infection Control Nursing
Informatics Nursing
Infusion Nursing
International Nursing
Labor & Delivery Nursing
Lactation Consultation
Legal Nurse Consulting
Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN)
Long-Term Care Nursing
Managed Care Nursing
Medical-Surgical Nursing
Military and Uniformed Service Nursing
Missionary Nursing
Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing
Nephrology Nursing
Neuroscience Nursing
Nurse Anesthetist
Nurse Attorney
Nurse Educator
Nurse Legislator
Nurse Life Care Planning
Nurse Midwife
Nurse Practitioner
Nurse Researcher
Nursing Advocacy
Nursing Entrepreneur
Nursing Executive and Nursing CEO
Nursing Manager and Nursing Administration
Nursing Quality Improvement
Nursing Writer, Author, or Historian
Occupational Health Nurse
Oncology Nursing (Cancer Nursing)
Operating Room Nursing (Perioperative Nursing)
Ophthalmic Nursing
Orthopedic Nursing
Otorhinolaryngology Nursing (Head and Neck Nursing)
Overseas, Development, Volunteer, Missionary or Refugee Nursing
Pain Management Nursing
Parish Nursing
Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Pediatric Nurse
Perianesthesia Nursing (Recovery Room Nursing)
Perinatal Nursing
Plastic Surgery Nursing
Poison Information Specialist
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Psychiatric Nursing
Public Health Nurse
Pulmonary Care Nursing (Respiratory Nursing)
Radiology Nursing
Registered Nurse (RN)
Rehabilitation Nursing
Reproductive Nursing
Rheumatology Nursing
School Nursing
Sub-Acute Nursing
Substance Abuse Nursing
Supplemental/Agency Nursing
Surgical Nursing
Telemetry Nursing
Telephone Triage Nursing
Toxicology Nursing
Transcultural Nursing
Transplant Nursing
Trauma Nursing
Travel Nursing
Triage Nursing
Urologic Nursing
Vocational/Licensed Practical Nurse
Wound & Ostomy Nursing
An excellent source of information about careers in nursing is DiscoverNursing.com.
You can download, save and print a PDF of this overview:
Nursing Overview PDF 16 Dec 2008 [pdf, 446 KB]
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