Fields in Nursing and How they Differ

It’s easy to think of “nursing” as one big career field, but in reality the nursing career is an umbrella that covers many, many specific fields of nursing. Each of those specialties has its own particulars and differences from other fields in nursing. If you are considering a career in nursing, there are literally dozens of career paths that you could choose to pursue.

In addition, there are many different ways to differentiate one field of nursing from another. One of the easier ways to sort out the differences in nursing fields is to sort them by where the job is practiced. Here’s an overview of some of the many environments in which nurses work and how the job of a nurse is different in each one.

Hospital Nursing

When most people think of nursing, they think of nurses in a hospital. It may surprise you to know that hospital nursing is actually expected to grow less than any other segment of the nursing field in the next ten years. Nurses in hospitals will still be a major part of the nursing profession, however, and most nurses will get their training by working in a hospital setting.

Even within a hospital, nurses do many different things. Floor nurses are generally responsible for hands-on patient care under a doctor’s direction. Charge nurses are in charge of managing other nurses and nurses’ aides during a shift. Head nurses are responsible for managing patient care as well as managing the nurses who deliver that care. Nurses in a hospital may work in the operating room assisting doctors, though more and more of those positions now require special training.

Since hospitals are open around the clock, hospital nurses may be required to work overnight shifts on occasions. Other nurses in hospitals, particularly those working in management positions, may work regular Monday to Friday work weeks.

Doctor’s Assistant

Many nurses will work in a clinic or doctor’s office setting. Unlike hospital nurses, who are generally responsible for personal and medical care for patients, nurses in these settings often split their responsibilities between managing patient traffic – making appointments and setting up referrals, for instance – with managing patients themselves – getting patient histories, recording vital signs and getting patients settled in examination rooms.

Doctor’s offices and clinics are only open for specified hours, so nurses who work in those settings seldom have to work rotating or other stressful schedules. In addition, the work is more likely to be routine than working in a hospital setting.

Nursing Home and Chronic Care Nursing

Nurses who work in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and chronic care centers typically work with a group of patients on a mid-to-long term basis. Unlike nurses in hospitals, who usually only work with patients in acute situations, nursing home nurses often work with people who are essentially “well” or who are recovering from illness or surgery. In addition to doing regular personal care, nurses in these settings follow orders from doctors, therapists and dieticians in caring for their patients.

While nursing homes and rehab hospitals are staffed around the clock like hospitals, there is a far bigger differentiation between day and night shifts in nursing homes than there is in hospitals. Due to this discrepancy, it is not uncommon for nurses on night shifts in a nursing home to work that shift long term rather than rotating through it as many hospital nurses do.

Home Health Care and Community Nursing

Home health and community nursing is the one area of the health care industry that is expected to grow faster than any other segment, about 55% by 2016, with an additional 1.6 million jobs. Home health care nurses may work specifically with one patient on a long-term basis, but more often, they visit several patients a day on a schedule that changes from week to week.

Nurses who work in community nursing or in the home health care industry often have far greater flexibility in scheduling than other nursing professions. They may get to pick and choose their patients, or specify which type of patients with whom they prefer to work. Like nurses in other settings, they typically follow a treatment plan written by a doctor or management team, and are responsible for taking vital stats, and performing medical procedures like IV medications, changing dressings and checking wounds for progress.

School Nursing

School nurses typically are responsible for overseeing the health of students in one or more schools. Their job duties often include delivering medications that are prescribed by doctors and doing first aid for students who are injured during the day. In addition, school nurses are sometimes called upon to teach students about basic health and nutrition.

School nurses and other nurses who work for businesses generally have a regular Monday through Friday schedule. In many communities, school nurses split their time among several schools rather than spending their full day at one school.

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