What Kind of Nurse Should I Be? Explore Different Nursing Specialties

 If you’re enrolled in a nursing program, whether it be a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), accelerated BSN (ABSN) program, or RN to BSN, you should take time to consider your future career. Ask yourself some questions such as, What kind of nurse should I be? or Which nursing specialties appeal to me?

The healthcare field has a variety of opportunities for nurses. Whether you are just entering the field or preparing to position yourself to potentially pursue career advancement, it is important to narrow down which type of nurse you would like to be. There are distinct types of nursing jobs, any of which you could pursue with an accredited nursing degree and appropriate state licensure. 

In This Article:

• Types of Nurses: Exploring Various Levels
• Different Nursing Jobs in Public Health
• Career Outlook for Nursing Specialties
• Unlock Diverse Nursing Pathways With GCU

Types of Nurses: Exploring Various Levels

First, familiarize yourself with the various levels of nursing. Here is a breakdown of the different levels and the education it takes to reach that level:

• Registered nurse (RN): Those who have an associate or bachelor’s in nursing and pass the NCLEX-RN exam can become RNs.¹
• Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN): This level requires at least a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree to be eligible.² 
• Doctorate-level nurse: A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is the highest level of nursing degree. A DNP-prepared nurse may also pursue a role as an APRN.² Alternatively, they may consider other types of leadership roles.

Registered Nurses

RNs are the main point of contact for many patients. They also frequently work with family members, particularly family caregivers who assist loved ones with serious or chronic health conditions. It is common for RNs to provide emotional support, advocacy and education to patients who are having difficulty in their situations.

Becoming an RN requires compassion and empathy, emotional stability, critical thinking and communication skills.¹ These are just a few of the qualities and attributes of patient care.

Direct Patient Care

As an RN, many job options within the field require direct patient care. These roles include bedside nursing in a hospital, patient care within a private practice office, telehealth experiences in collaboration with advanced providers/physicians and many others. Patient education is also a key component and critical responsibility of all nurses. It promotes patient wellness and preventive care, which is reflected in patient outcomes.

Nurse Leaders

Registered nurses may also have the opportunity to advance into leadership and administrative roles. To be successful within these roles, it is helpful to have strengths in collaboration and team building, mentorship, communication and professional integrity.³

Some common roles and responsibilities of RNs within leadership and/or administrative roles may include the following:

• Managing and supervising others
• Managing budgetary needs
• Project management
• Integrating new policies and procedures

Nurse Anesthetist

On the next level, you will find APRNs. One of these nursing specialties to consider is the role of nurse anesthetist. The primary responsibility of a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) is to deliver anesthesia to patients. They must also ensure the safety and well-being of patients before, during and after procedures.

After administering anesthesia, a CRNA is responsible for closely monitoring the patient’s vital signs and being ready to act if a patient exhibits signs of distress or anesthesia-related complications.

What makes this type of nursing job unique is not only the specificity of administering anesthesia itself but also the strong critical thinking skills and close attention to detail required to perform this task.² Due to the risk for complications, becoming a skilled CRNA requires a lot of training and preparation.

Nurse Midwife

If you enjoy the thought of helping new life enter the world, perhaps a career as a nurse midwife would be right for you. A certified nurse midwife (CNM) provides holistic care and typically focuses on the health of a patient as it relates to preparing them for a healthy childbirth.

CNMs take the entirety of the patient’s health into consideration. This comprehensive approach includes the patient’s physical, mental and psychosocial needs. Additionally, they provide support as women enter perimenopause and menopause.

Some responsibilities of CNMs include the following:

• Providing prenatal education and postnatal guidance
• Monitoring the health of mother and baby throughout the pregnancy and beyond
• Aiding and encouraging during labor and delivery
• Delivering follow-up care after childbirth, including assistance with breastfeeding

The role of the CNM is to bring healthy babies into the world while providing education to promote a healthy life for the mom and baby. This is a unique type of nursing job because of the specificity, which also makes it appealing to those wanting to work with mothers and babies before, during and after birth.

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Clinical nurse specialists (CNS) are another type of APRN who often specialize in a particular area of nursing. For example, a CNS may subspecialize in pediatrics, women’s health, critical care or long-term care.

The day-to-day responsibilities of a clinical nurse specialist differ, but here are some common duties they may encounter:⁴

• Treating patients
• Developing plans to address health problems
• Promoting healthy living
• Guiding and leading other nurses
• Conducting research

Clinical nurse specialists are important in the field of healthcare because their specialization and unique skill sets allow them to serve those around them through mentorship and leadership.⁴

Nurse Practitioner

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are another type of APRN. These nurses may choose to specialize in a specific area, such as pediatrics or family care, adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner or mental health. NPs work with patients from newborns to the elderly, with many of them providing primary care.

Responsibilities of an NP may include:

• Performing standard comprehensive examinations
• Diagnosing illness and injuries
• Ordering and interpreting various diagnostic tests, such as X-rays and EKGs
• Providing guidance and management for chronic health problems
• Prescribing medication and other treatments
• Educating patients and their families

Nurse Executive

Nurse executives are at the highest administrative level regarding the types of nurses. They are charged with ensuring that all aspects of nursing care within the organization are running properly.

If you’re interested in pursuing advancement as a nurse executive, you will need to explore MSN programs, as that is typically the minimum educational requirement for this position. Many nurse executives have DNPs or various post-graduate certificates as well.⁵

Some of the responsibilities of a nurse executive include:

• Implementing organizational mission and values
• Developing and shaping healthcare policies
• Designing and managing patient care delivery models
• Leading, directing and motivating nursing personnel

What makes nurse executives unique is that they are typically behind the scenes. Even though they may not be as patient-facing as others, their influence is indirectly felt by employees and patients alike throughout their organization.

Different Nursing Jobs in Public Health

Although many nurses enjoy hospital-based nursing, there are also alternative careers for RNs, such as public health nursing. Much like hospital nursing, where there are specialties in different areas, public health offers many specialization possibilities. 

When thinking of public health nursing, many think of the visiting nurse, which is one possible role of this workforce. However, there are a variety of visiting nurse services under the public health nursing umbrella, including but not limited to:⁶

• Maternal-child health
• Home health
• Hospice
• Palliative care
• Hospital-at-home programs

Within these specialties, there are a variety of positions comparable to similar positions in hospital-based nursing, such as those of educators, quality and safety specialists, managers/administrators, epidemiology/infection control and researchers, to name just a few.

Additional specialties such as geriatrics, veteran care or pediatrics can also be found in the above mentioned fields.

The key to public health nursing is its focus on public or community health. It does not include acute care nursing, which is a different specialty.

Requirements for Public Health Nursing Specialties

In most cases, a minimum of a BSN is required for public health nursing positions. For leadership/specialty roles, nursing experience with advanced education is preferred. For example, an aspiring public health nurse leader might earn an MSN with an Emphasis in Public Health Nursing.⁵ 

These MSN degree programs focus on applying different models and theories, gathering and interpreting data and affecting change. Future public health nurses will be taught to examine patterns, distribution and social determinants of public health issues, as well as how to navigate health policy.

Public health nurses are charged with engaging stakeholders and advocating for patients and their entire communities. They can use their voices and training to work toward improving health policies, delivering education and creating innovative models of care to better meet the needs of patients and communities.

Career Outlook for Nursing Specialties

The nursing field as a whole is experiencing sustained growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth for RNs is expected to be 6% from 2023 to 2033, faster than average. This accounts for an estimated addition of 197,200 new jobs in the field during this time.⁷

According to the BLS, the job growth rate for most types of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners is expected to be 40% from 2023 to 2033, much faster than average. At this rate of growth, healthcare employers expect to hire about 141,200 new APRNs, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners.⁸

Unlock Diverse Nursing Pathways With GCU

Grand Canyon University offers a wide range of nursing degree options for students who want to prepare for a career in healthcare. If you are not already a licensed RN or a working nurse without a BSN, you can apply to our traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing or our ABSN degree program. Lastly, our ABSN program is designed for individuals with a non-nursing background who wish to switch careers to the nursing field. Fill out the form on this page to learn more and get started on fulfilling your nursing aspirations.