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Types of Nursing Careers

By: Western Schools

Nurses generally fall into seven main groups, depending on place of employment. Well trained nurses are utilized in private practice, hospitals, private residences, etc.

Hospital Nurses
This group encompasses the largest number of nurses. Staff nurses provide bedside, nursing care and carry out the medical regimen prescribed by doctors. Hospital nurses' jobs also entail supervising other nurses and aides. Typically, hospital nurses are assigned to one area specifically it being surgery, maternity, pediatrics, emergency, ICU, or oncology, but their position may warrant a rotation amongst several or all of these areas.

Office Nurses
Office nurses care for outpatients in physicians' offices, clinics, and emergency medical centers. Their job entails assisting with examinations, administering injections and medications, dressing wounds and incisions, assisting with minor surgeries, and maintaining records. Routine laboratory and office work can also be a part of the service.

Nurses That Work in Nursing Homes
Nurses working in nursing homes deal with residents with a wide range of conditions. Much of the job deals with tending to administrative and supervisory tasks, but it also entails hands-on work with residents. These nurses assess the residents' health needs, develop treatment plans, supervise other nurses and aides, and institute procedures. Working in specialty-care units is another facet of this type of nursing career, which entails working in long-term rehabilitation.

Public Health Nurses
Public health nurses work in government and private agencies, including clinics, schools, retirement communities, and other community settings. They focus on populations, working with individuals, families, and other groups regarding health issues such as preventive care, nutrition, and childcare.

Nurse Practitioners
This nurse option stipulates the most advanced career of nurses. Nurse practitioners have the ability to write prescriptions and independently diagnose and treat patients.

Registered Nurses
Registered nurses facilitate health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. They are advocates and educators for patients, families, and communities. In reference to direct care, they observe, assess, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress in patients; assist physicians during surgeries, treatments, and examinations; administer medications; and assist in convalescence and rehabilitation. The career may also warrant constructing and managing care plans, instructing patients and their families about proper care, and help individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their health.

Home Health Nurses
Home health nurses survey their patients' home environments and instruct patients and their families. Home health nurses care for a broad range of patients. They care for those recovering from accidents, cancer, and childbirth. They must be able to work independently and may supervise home health aides.

Occupational Health Nurses
Occupational health nurses provide nursing care at worksites to employees, customers, and others with ailments. They provide emergency care, prepare accident reports, and arrange for further care. They offer health counseling, conduct health exams, and assess work environments to identify potential or actual health problems.

Head Nurses
Becoming a head nurse involves directing nursing activities and are found mainly in hospitals. They plan work schedules and assign duties to nurses and aides, provide or arrange for training, and visit patients to observe nurses and to ensure that the patients receive proper care. They supervise the maintenance of records, equipment, and supplies.

People interested in the profession or in continuing their nursing education may visit the westernschools web site at http://www.westernschools.com/westernsch/default.asp or ANCC site at http://www.nursingworld.org/ancc/.

This article was posted at iReprint.info on 2007-03-03. Webmasters and publishers are free to reprint this article as long as the resource box and all the links remain intact.

About the Author

This article is provided courtesy Western Schools, http://www.westernschools.com/westernsch/default.asp. Western Schools is a nursing studies resource center for those looking for continuing education. The site provides numerous CEU ANCC Nursing Courses written by professionals.