Six Advanced Nursing Careers for Nursing Aspirants in 2022

The rapid and potentially high mortality rate from COVID-19 (4.74 million deaths) related spread has worked actively towards awakening human consciousness about celebrating the existence of nurses. The entire world has witnessed the selfless contributions made by the nurses during the viral outspread.

So, if you are also drawn to a nursing career because of a desire to care for, serve, and help patients, I salute you! You will always lie at the heart of healthcare and remain the most-demanded pill for care.

So, what do you do to pursue a career in one of the noblest professions? What are the job options open for you? I have compiled answers to your unresolved queries regarding how to become a nurse and the related nursing career options in this blog.

Classification of Nursing Jobs Profiles Based on Your Preferences

I will explain nurses’ job profiles based on their roles and responsibilities. For example, while some roles are dedicated to evaluating nursing care requirements, other roles are designated to maintaining medical records and administering and monitoring intravenous medication and infusions.

I will let you explore all these responsibilities through a piece of in-depth information in this blog.

So, here are the fastest-growing nursing specialties you can try your hands on:

Registered nurses

As a registered nurse, your responsibility will be to provide intense patient care – coordinate with them emotionally, educate them about their health conditions, and provide them with health improvement advice. Registered nurses usually operate in a team comprising health care specialists and physicians in various settings.

Educational requirement: You need to consider whether a BSN or RN degree would be right for you to become an RN. You must earn a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in nursing to begin working in the field much sooner than other medical professions.

Expected job growth: 15% increase

Relevant certifications: State Nursing License

Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) 

A step ahead of registered nurses, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) specialise in assisting patients with anesthesia during operations.

These highly trained nursing professions make up some of the highest-paid nursing specialties because of the rapid surge in surgical settings.

CRNA is the perfect career for you if you are interested in helping patients manage their plans before and after surgeries.

Education requirement: You can become a CRNA by completing a degree from a graduate-level program to a master’s degree. Plus, you ought to have a Registered Nurse License and one year of experience in the acute care setting.

Expected job growth: A sixteen percent rise

Relevant certification: CRNA certification.

Additionally, you can enroll in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program as a registered nurse to further your education in the field.

Critical care nurse

Critical care nurses remain on the same line as registered nurses regarding educational qualifications. The major difference between the two professions is that critical care nurses receive better-specialized training for handling emergencies.

Choosing this speciality will be the best if you like assisting patients with past traumatic events or life-threatening illnesses. As a critical care nurse, you will have to monitor life support systems in stressful scenarios owing to the severe wounds of patients.

Educational requirement: A bachelor’s of science or associate degree is necessary for you to opt for a career as a critical care nurse. Additionally, you must have a registered nursing license.

Expected job growth: A nineteen per cent increase has been noticed in the job opportunity for critical care nurses

Relevant certifications: You ought to have a certificate in advanced cardiac life support.

Geriatric nursing

Geriatric nurses work exclusively towards treating older patients to give them the much-needed personal care for ailments and maintain their quality of life.

Alongside, geriatric nurses specialize in caring for patients with long-term illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. This is an ideal career for you if you want to help the senior circle with their fundamental needs or need more advanced treatment to improve mental and physical conditions.

Education requirement: You must have a bachelor’s of science degree, a registered nurse license, and a post-grad master’s nurse practitioner certificate to settle yourself as a geriatric nurse.

Expected job growth: A 19-26 percent rise in job opportunities for geriatric nurses has been observed over the past two years.

Relevant certifications: Certification in geriatric nursing

Mental health nurse

It has advanced knowledge of evaluation, diagnosis, and cure of psychiatric disorders that help them provide intense care to mentally disabled patients. Mental health nurses do their part by building effective relationships with patients through mental health services.

An additional duty of mental health nurses is offering counselling services within the nursing discipline. Establishing your career as a mental health nurse would require you to willingly build trusting relationships through correct medications with mentally disabled patients and provide them with an all-encompassing level of care.

Educational requirement: A master’s degree and registered nurse license

Expected job growth: There has been a 31 percent increase in job opportunities for mental health nurses over the past two years.

Family nurse practitioner

If you have relished working with diverse communities dealing with health problems, admittedly, I have always enjoyed working as a family nurse practitioner. Family nurse practitioners are similar to registered nurses with a stepped-up educational qualification. They are advanced practice registered nurses that provide critical care to patients across their lifespan.

These nurses work diligently with patients of all ages to better their lives mentally and physically. The usual duties of FNPs include diagnosing illness, examining patients physically, diagnostic testing, and prescribing medications.

Educational requirements:  A master’s degree in nursing and a license as a registered nurse

Expected job growth: A sixteen percent rise in job opportunities for family nurse practitioners have been noticed.

Relevant certifications: Five hundred supervised clinical hours are required by family nurse practitioner aspirants

There are several other nursing job profiles that you can attain after earning the required educational qualification. These include:

• Travel nurse: As evident from the name, travel nurses work across countries, internationally and nationally, temporarily.
• Operating nurse: Operating nurses, or scrub nurses or perioperative nurses, are responsible for treating patients inside the operating rooms before, during, and after an operation.
• Clinical nurse specialists: Clinical nurse specialists skillfully diagnose illness within their expertise. These nurses handle administration or manage the nursing department.

Also Read: 7 Things You Must Know Before Studying Nursing Education

Employment Sector for Nurses

Several employment opportunities are available for nurses in the healthcare sector. These include;

1. Staff nurse
2. Department supervisor
3. Industrial nurse
4. Assistant nursing superintendent
5. Nursing service administrators
6. The nursing supervisor or ward sister
7. Deputy nursing superintendent
8. Teacher of nursing
9. Military nurse
10. Community health nurse

Salary

Fresher nurses may get a job in the nursing sector with around INR 15000 salaries per month. Nurses who have gained an experience of two to three years may earn INR 20,000 to 30,000 per month. And those with good experience may get a salary over INR 50,000 per month.

In conclusion,

Nursing is one of the civilised professionals in the world. And if you are interested in being a patient’s caregiver, you are just a few degrees away from becoming a nurseand you may also get nursing assignment help online. So, I request you to go through this blog and choose a nursing profession that suits you the best. Here’s wishing you luck in making an informed decision.