Choosing a nursing specialty requires a certain amount of self-assessment, evaluation, and research as you have many options to pick from. The choice you make will lead you to different benefits, patient types, and work environments. Therefore, you need to play by your strengths and decide where you would like to see your career go.
A specialization degree will polish your skills knowledge and provide you with the expertise you need to carve out your niche in healthcare. However, with so many options like forensic nursing, clinical nurse specialist, or even an ER nurse, you may find yourself in a labyrinth of confusion. To help you find the most suitable degree, here are some thoughts worth considering:
1. Evaluate how well you work with people
Within the healthcare sector, you will meet a diverse crowd of people. You will interact with your colleagues, converse with supervising doctors, speak with patients and relatives. The conversations you will have are necessary to design a diagnostic route and ensure positive healthcare outcomes. Suppose you are willing to have detailed discussions, periodically deal with difficult patients and comprehensively explain a prognosis. In that case, you should become a Family Nurse Practitioner.
As an FNP, you will provide primary healthcare services such as prescribing medicines, treating injuries, and conducting routine physicals with patients of all ages. Look into enrolling in a Master of Science in Nursing FNP online program, which will provide you with the relevant skills, knowledge, and expertise to be a stellar FNP. Your patients will be satisfied, safe, and feel informed in your capable hands.
But perhaps you like to work exclusively work with children and adolescents. In this case, you should set your sights on becoming a pediatric nurse. This is another specialization that requires high-functioning people skills. By performing physical examinations, diagnosing illnesses, and developing treatment routes, you will ensure that young adults get quality healthcare and feel listened to.
2. Deduce how you perform under pressure
Working in the emergency room or the ICU can be very intense. You will have to care for injured patients wheeled in from an accident, rescued from a traumatic incident, or maybe collapsing because of a stroke. You do this by acting fast to bandage wounds, strap the patient on an emergency life support, and stem the bleeding within seconds.
These chaotic scenarios can give anyone cold feet, but you can consider yourself made for the emergency ward when you can look after patients without breaking a sweat. Consider specializing as an ER nurse if you are willing to work with patients by monitoring vital signs, performing an EKG, and assisting emergency surgeries.
You may also investigate becoming a Critical Care Nurse if you want to work in an ER and ICU dealing with more severely injured patients. If you can deal with the pressure and feel called to work, climb aboard.
3. Consider becoming a mentor
Nursing is not limited to working alongside patients and assisting doctors. You can also occupy mentorship positions where you manage, educate and train nurses to prepare them for their role as healthcare practitioners. So, you can consider becoming a Nurse Educator.
Pursuing this specialty will transform you into a teacher. Instead of taking care of patients, you will work with nursing students. However, you will need to acquire a Master’s Certificate in Education. To become an educator, you should be prepared to go the extra mile and have excellent analytical and communication skills.
On the other hand, if you don’t want to teach but still want to manage and mentor nurses, you should become a Nurse Manager. This specialty will take you to the forefront of overseeing patient care, making hard choices about budget cuts, and designing work schedules to delegate effectively. Even without being next to patients, you will still do plenty for them.
4. Figure out how you handle the responsibilities of surgery
Surgical rooms are stressful working spaces where you need to focus on one case at a time. This means you need to know how to cancel out the noise, monitor the patient, and ensure the procedure is happening safely. Working in surgery also includes counseling patients before and after the procedure while following up with them to track their healing progress.
If you wish to work with patients in a highly complex surgical capacity, you should become a Perioperative Nurse. As a surgery specialist nurse, you will also prepare the surgical room and assist surgeons by preventing excessive bleeding during the procedure. In some cases, you will need to speak to a patient following their surgery and check on their emotional well-being.
Another vital role you could play during surgeries is monitoring a patient’s vital signs and administering the right level of anesthesia. Too little anesthesia can cause a patient to wake up mid-surgery, while too much can be detrimental to the patient’s health.
By becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, you will have the skills to administer the correct dosage of anesthesia and avoid complications. Post-surgery you will ensure the patient is lucid, not disoriented, and has come back to their senses healthily. You will also be trained to know exactly how to proceed if a patient is unresponsive.
5. Look for a diverse work environment
Healthcare is not limited to working in one type of environment. You don’t have to become a nurse and stay in your home state, working at the same hospital for the rest of your life. If you consider yourself a free spirit and enjoy helping larger communities instead of selective patients, you should become a Public Health Nurse.
Your specialty will enable you to work with several communities at a time, researching infectious diseases and providing the necessary medical help. You may even encounter unusual conditions such as sickle cell anemia, widespread in African American communities, with one case every three African Americans.
On the other hand, if you like crossing state lines and working for different hospitals, remote clinics, and small healthcare facilities, become a Travel Nurse. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn your love for traveling into a career.
As a traveling nurse, you will render your services when needed. For instance, when there is a high patient influx, the hospital needs your expertise. Since you are on the go, the healthcare facility that hires you will cover accommodation and expenses.
Conclusion
By pursuing a nursing specialization, you get to determine the new trajectory of your career. Each specialization degree will take you down unique paths. Now that you know which specializations await, go out and pick the one closest to your heart.
