A nursing degree is one of the most valuable degrees that you can elect to get these days. There is always demand for nurses in every part of the US, and you will be able to enjoy a flexible work schedule, great pay, and really good options for growth in your career.
If you have been thinking about becoming a nurse, you might be wondering what kinds of nursing positions you can choose from. There are many ways to use your nursing degree, and not all of them have to include direct patient care. Nursing is a very broad description for a wide array of unique jobs.
If you are ready to learn more about the careers that you can choose with a nursing degree, you need to read on!
Careers You Can Choose with a Nursing Degree
1. Certified Nurse Midwife
If you have always wanted to be a nurse who cares for babies and mothers in labor, then this is a great choice for you to make. As a certified nurse-midwife, you will specialize in prenatal care, labor and birth, and also postpartum care. Midwifery can offer you the chance to make a big difference in the lives of the mothers that you are caring for without having to hand them off to a doctor when they are ready to deliver.
Certified nurse-midwives are licensed and trained to be able to order labs and x-rays, make medical diagnoses, and more. This means that you will be able to provide the care that a doctor would without having to choose to be a doctor.
2. Critical Care Nurse
This is one of the best-paying jobs under the nursing umbrella. This is also a fast-paced and high-energy environment that is perfect for some people. You might spend your days diagnosing patients, working on care plans, and helping care for patients that are fragile and in need of extra attention. These are critically-ill patients, and they require a high degree of attention to detail related to their care.
You might end up providing emergency life-saving care at times, and you will be kept busy each day, making sure that every detail of your patient’s care is correct. This is a very important job within the nursing field and one that is always in demand.
3. Nurse Management
If you are not interested in being on the patient care side of the nursing world, you can elect to pursue a nursing management job. These positions are in charge of hiring new nurses, working out work schedules, working with other hospital or clinic teams to improve patient care workflows, and more!
Nursing managers are the backbone of their department, and they make all of the choices that lead to the patient care structure in their area. This means that you can directly impact and improve the care on your floor or in your clinic, and you can free nurses up to do their jobs caring for patients. Nursing management is also very well-paid, which can help you to be motivated to select this job for your needs.
4. Nursing Instructor
If you love teaching, you might want to be a nursing instructor. This is a great way to give back to the future generation of nurses, and if you love to teach, you will have lots of opportunities to do so in this job role. Some of the positions require that you teach in the classroom as well as on the floor, so you will have a wide variety of job tasks to do each day.
This is a really beneficial and critical job that always has positions open around the US. You will be able to decide what kind of nursing college or school you want to work for, and you will be able to help train and prepare new nurses to enter the profession. This is a rewarding and well-paid position that is perfect for those who love to mentor and teach.
5. CNA
A Certified Nursing Assistant is essentially a paraprofessional role that is specific for those wanting to act as an assistant to a registered nurse or a vocational nurse. This care is directed by a patient care place that the RN created, and these positions collaborate closely to provide patient care.
CNAs are well-paid, and they might be tasked with all kinds of patient care within the hospital or clinic setting. There are many basic care items that a CNA will be asked to provide, but this position is more highly trained than other nursing positions. This means that CNAs will provide a more detailed level of care than a regular nurse is allowed to give.
6. Nurse Practitioner
A nurse practitioner works with doctors to provide a higher level of care for patients than regular nurses are allowed to provide. This is a position that allows you to diagnose and order tests, prescribe medications and teach and collaborate with patients on their care plans.
This is a step between a doctor and a regular nursing position and offers you the chance to treat patients without having to seek a doctor’s degree. You will be able to follow your patients’ care plans and provide more advanced and involved attention to their cases.
Nursing Offers You Lots of Opportunities
A nursing degree will allow you to access many unique career paths. You can choose to work in many settings, and you might want to work as a travel nurse or in nursing management. There is no shortage of exciting and well-paid career paths within the nursing field that you can choose as your focus.
If you are ready to make a move to a career that will change your life and help you to make great money, you will want to pick a nursing degree. You can help others, grow your skills, and create a career that will be interesting and special for all of the years that you are working.
