A career in the healthcare industry can be extremely demanding, exceptionally rewarding, and require a great deal of dedication on a constant basis. 

As a nurse, you will no doubt find this concept incredibly familiar, as working long hours and putting your patients is simply part of what contributes to a diverse and important role in an essential field of work.

Nursing can provide a wealth of career opportunities, room for professional and personal development, and areas in which to specialize. 

There are a great number of options worth considering if you felt like you wanted to strive to take your career in an exciting direction, so if you did not know where to start looking, here are some points to hopefully help you embark on the next part of your professional journey. 

Turning Towards Education

Many opportunities will require specific qualifications and advanced nursing degrees, so making sure to always keep learning in any way you can is vital in developing your existing skillset and preparing yourself for what the future might have in store. 

Thanks to remote learning opportunities, studying while you work is perhaps a more viable option than it ever was in the past, as the flexibility and quality offered by educational institutions such as Carson-Newman University can allow you to complete courses without putting your work on hold. 

Sometimes, obtaining a qualification is the best way to open up new opportunities for yourself, particularly in the world of nursing, when many of the highest-paid and most prestigious roles require a post-master’s degree and a host of experience to carry out. 

Searching for New Opportunities

A career in healthcare can be a competitive one, which might mean taking an active approach to uncovering new opportunities and seeking them out whenever you feel as though you might have the slightest chance. 

For example, striving to make important professional connections through networking sites, events, or volunteering jobs are all factors that can contribute towards opening up new avenues in which to take your career. 

Another good way to expand your perspective is to take part in work placement opportunities, whether this is in the form of shadowing or even an internship on the side, any additional experience you can gain can work towards helping you find the ideal role in the future. 

Environment

Nursing is by no means confined to the hospital environment, so it may be worth your time to think about the variety of locations that might require your particular professional skillset. 

This might include nursing homes, laboratories, or all throughout the local community if you decide to become a public health nurse. 

There are so many different specializations to choose from, thinking about which part of your nursing job excites and fulfills you the most is a good place to start, as this will likely inform the type of working environment you will eventually end up in. 

Considering Your Interests

Many specializations differ wildly, and there are certain roles available for a vast range of individual skill sets and passions, so to start getting a clearer picture of the path that will work for you, it is worth asking yourself questions such as: 

• Do You Enjoy Working Closely with Patients? – If personally tending to your patients is what you find most rewarding about the job, it might be worth thinking about a role that enables you to utilize your empathy, communication, and interpersonal skills. 
• Do You Want to Make a Positive Change to Healthcare? – If you would rather work behind the scenes and take an overarching view of how the healthcare industry carries out its practices, many important roles work with data and statistics or consulting and training positions that could suit you perfectly.
• Do You Handle Pressure Well? – There is certainly no lack of high-pressure nursing opportunities if you flourish under the weight of immediacy and responsibility. Conversely, there are many other roles that require less urgency and take place in low-stress environments if you feel like you need to take a quieter direction. 
• How Long are You Willing to Spend Training? – This is an important question to bear in mind, as many roles can require you to dedicate a huge amount of time to training and studying. Thinking about how long you can afford to stay in training and whether or not the end result is worth it can help you make your final decision. 

This is not an exhaustive list, but it should help you to get the ball rolling in your hunt for the perfect specialization. Ultimately, only you know best, but it helps to spend a little time introspecting now and again. 

Below are some ideas for specific roles that you might find interesting. 

Family Nurse Practitioner

If you love offering support, care, and guidance for families in your nursing career, an FNP could be the best direction for you. 

The role can be laden with truly fulfilling experiences, and some of the regular duties include caring for children, performing physical checkups, putting together medical reports, and writing up care plans. 

This specialization could be a great fit for people who can practice effective communication and make decisions that will directly and positively affect the lives of your patients. 

Orthopedic Nurse

If you enjoy taking a first-hand approach to help patients with their recovery process, training as an orthopedic nurse can put you right by their side on their journey towards getting better. 

You will also use therapeutic methods and help educate patients on how best to recuperate from their injuries, and seeing their trajectory of healing can be a wonderfully rewarding moment. 

Nurse Educator

Inspiring the next generation of nurses and ensuring that they receive the best training possible is an important role and falls partially under the remit of a nurse educator. 

This is a superb position for anyone who wants to do their part to help shape the healthcare industry from the inside out and make sure that there are some highly skilled nurses ready to tackle any challenge thrown at them. 

 

Of course, there are many other roles available within nursing, ranging from the general to the specialized; however, the three mentioned above are perhaps the most common and most in-demand that should be one of the first roles you consider.