subject: Differentiating Between Nursing Careers. [print this page] Nurses are provided with an array of career fields to enter. Making a decision on a nursing career is not always easy. There are many different categories of nursing within the different areas of nursing. Each field of nursing has different education requirements. After certification, you will take courses that relate to your field of nursing. Most nursing careers are a combination of education plus practical experience that you will have when you begin your career.
To be a nurse in any category you will need to have a passion for helping others and a deep desire to be part of making healthier lives for your patients. Nursing is a profession that requires a strong work ethic. There are numerous and stressing daily functions that need to be carried out. Hard work, analytical skills and a passion for work is required to work in this career field.
Different roles of nursing
One way this happens if by the level of the education or the level of certification that the nurse possesses. Advanced practices of nurses include RN, MSN and LVN. The advanced practice nurses include the APRN or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses who have the RN certification and have continued on to the level of Master's degree or even higher. Nurses in advanced studies wish to obtain as much knowledge and education as possible in their career field. Pediatrics, anesthesiology and oncology are small examples the fields they may practice in. The advanced practice nurses are among the higher paid in their field of expertise. Nurses yearly salaries average between forty and sixty thousand dollars. The top nursing positions are paid between seventy-five and one-hundred thousand dollars.
Nurses work in different types of specialty fields. Geriatric nurses work with elders and Pediatric nurses car for any child usually under the age of 18.
Prominent specialty fields consist of gastroenterology, surgery, OB/GYN and various other categories. School, flight and hospice nurses have different locations to practice at. Emergency rooms (ER), operating room (OR) and the neonatology intensive care unit (NICU), all have nurses that specialize in these fields.
Every category of nursing will require higher education and experience to become specialized. Extensive education, time and money all play a role in having a desired career in nursing.
