CO U R S E S & C A REERS
What should I specialise in?
As mentioned earlier, there is an overall shortage of specialist nurses. As such, they are very much in demand
as the world of medicine advances. Your chosen specialisation should be in line with your interest but you
must know that there are about 104 different specialisations for the field of nursing alone! As such, you
should learn about each specialisation to know what are they all about before determining which ones you
are most interested in as well as offer a bright career prospect. Some specialisations include cardiac care nurse,
intensive care nurse, clinical nurse leader, ambulatory care nurse, occupational health nurse, nurse educators
and certified nurse midwife. Here are some specialisations that you can consider:
Critical Care Nurse
Critical care nurses care for
critically ill patients. You can choose
to focus on adults, children or
babies. They can also work out of
outpatient centres, flight units
and nursing homes.
Family Nurse Practitioner
Family nurse practitioners serve
as their patients’ sole provider of
healthcare. They diagnose illnesses,
prescribe medication and conduct
tests, and can even run their
own private practices.
Nurse Anaesthetist
Reported to be one of the highest-paid
nurses in the profession as well as being the
most in-demand, nurse anaesthetists administer
anaesthesia and anaesthesia-related care to
patients before, throughout and after their surgery.
They are highly paid and highly trained to face
varied situations, so the route to becoming
one is intensive and challenging.
Nurse Educator
Nurses who love teaching
can choose to be nurse
educators, to teach students in the
ADN or BSN programmes. They can
also write grant proposals and conduct
research to help retain clinical
standards in the nursing
profession.
Pain Management Nurse
Nurses specialising in this field care
for patients who experience acute or
chronic pain. They will assess the cause
of the pain and show the patients how
to manage it through medication and
alternative ways.
Routes for Specialisation
Once you have chosen your specialisation, you need to
obtain one or more of the following:
Master’s Degree (MSN)
The Master’s programme offers paths to be advanced
practice nurses, nurse administrators, and nurse
educators. Most nurses choose this route.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
PhD programmes are research-focused; graduates
typically teach and/or conduct research.
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
These programmes focus on clinical practice or
leadership roles.
That pretty much covers everything you need to know
about the pathway to nursing, from the attributes needed
right up to the specialisation. With these spelt out for you,
you can make well-informed decisions on your career.
Did you know?
Nurses don’t just work
at hospitals. 34 types of
nursing specialisations
let you work outside the
hospital, 68 specialisations
are research-oriented and
37 specialisations are
managerial positions.