There are many different places to look for nurse jobs whether you're a registered nurse, have only earned your nursing assistant certificate, or are simply working as a licensed practical nurse. These three different career options open you up to different experiences in the nursing field. The certified nursing assistant (CNA) can qualify for assistant-type nurse jobs that are basically only designed to help get your feet wet in the career. A licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN) has more autonomy than a nursing assistant as this role can fulfill more duties and jobs as a nurse. However, the registered nurse (RN) has earned a bachelor's degree or even advanced certificates in nursing, and this opens the RN up to even more nurse jobs.
General Medical Hospitals
Hospitals, both public and private, are perhaps the largest employer of nurse jobs among all the different work settings for nurses. A general medical hospital generally has jobs as a nurse in many different units or wings. For example, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of hospitals is where many specialized nurses work even though those who have earned only a BSN with no specialty also work here. The ICU, though, requires a different, more compassionate personality to fill these nurse jobs as many will have to deal with sadness and grief when the patients of family members die in this unit.
The Emergency Room
On a similar note, the emergency room of hospitals can also be filled with the same type of excitement and adrenaline that you may feel in an ICU. Once again, a general RN can qualify for these jobs as a nurse in the ER, but those who have earned a Critical Care nurse designation may be a little more qualified as these individuals have gone through advanced training to work in this type of setting.
Other Hospital Units
There may be other hospital units that may exist as well that have opportunities for nurse jobs. For example, the bariatric wing of some specialty hospitals require that nurses deal with patients who have undergone weight loss surgery. In all cases of working in hospital wings or units, though, the jobs as a nurse in this type of general hospital work settings allow the nurse to experience a broad range of situations and fulfill many duties.
Specialization Options as a Nurse
One of the most helpful educational routes you can take if you want to find nurse jobs is to specialize. Specialization can take many forms, such as pediatrics or even geriatrics. However, specializing in your nurse education may allow you to seek jobs as a nurse in these specialty healthcare settings from the beginning after graduation. These specialties may be even helpful to your nursing career as you'll be able to deal with only a certain group of patients that require specialized attention instead of caring for a mixture of illnesses that may only serve to dissuade you from the nursing field altogether.
Apart from pediatrics which allow you to work in nurse jobs at pediatrician doctor's offices as well as children's medical hospitals and centers, there are plenty of other specializations as well. One of the other specialized jobs as a nurse that you can get is by taking advanced training in psychiatric care. A psychiatric nurse works in a mental health care facility, in crisis centers, psychiatric hospitals, or other community mental health care centers. These individuals work directly with a psychiatrist to help form and carry out a patient treatment plan; they may even lead group therapy. A women's health specialty in nursing qualifies you to work in the labor and delivery unit in women's care centers.
There are definitely a wide variety of nurse job work settings that you can work in during your career in this healthcare field. With specializations ranging from a Critical Care nurse all the way to a Psychiatric Nurse, earning a bachelor's degree in nursing in addition to obtaining a specialization may be the best career route for you to choose.
