High-Value Nursing Specialties
Nursing, a field known for its variety, presents new challenges on a daily basis. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the landscape of nursing, introducing a crisis of a scale they had not encountered previously. Nurses demonstrated exceptional commitment throughout the pandemic, standing strong alongside doctors and medical personnel like courageous fighters. With the rapid changes in the healthcare sector, it’s now critical for nurses to stay updated with the latest trends in healthcare. This will allow them to improve their skills in line with these developments, opening up improved career opportunities and enabling them to offer more effective care to their patients.
You should understand that every healthcare facility has different needs, so you have to be flexible. Also, every nursing specialty requires a different skill set, so you need to analyze your interests and make decisions accordingly. Once you are clear about which nursing career path you have to choose, you should earn the relevant degree and work on your skills. You have to keep an eye on the high-demand nursing specialties that can reward you in the long run. Let’s look at some of the high-value nursing specialties in 2024.
Nurse Practitioner
A nurse practitioner is one of the high demanding specialties with a lot to offer in the future. It mainly focuses on diagnosing, preventing, and treating different health conditions. It can be a perfect fit for anyone who wants to establish a promising career in nursing. You can also work as an FNP (family nurse practitioner) to work with a family-focused approach. To manage things without any hassle, look for distance learning opportunities on the internet. In such a scenario, online FNP programs would suit you as you will resume your studies with a part-time job. It will help you bear your educational expenses with ease. According to your choice, you can specialize in different fields as a nurse practitioner, including family, geriatric, psychiatric, and pediatric.
The salary range varies for every specialization you earn. For example, while working as a family nurse practitioner, you can earn around $105,898 annually. Opting for psychiatric and pediatric nurse practitioners can help you make about $123,607 and $105,395, respectively.
Intensive Care Unit Nurses
ICU (intensive care unit) nurses are also known as critical care nurses that help patients and their families during severe health conditions. ICU nurses are supposed to provide moral support to patients by giving them hope during tough times. Intensive care nurses monitor the patients who have suffered emotional trauma due to any incident, extensive surgery, or severe illness. Critical care nurses deal with complex and life-threatening scenarios where they have to maintain their composure.
According to research, critical nurse demand is expected to increase between 2022 and 2026 by 20%. This specialty is growing day by day, so anyone who wants to enter the nursing field should consider this option. The annual salary for ICU nurses is around $72,500 per year. But the figure can vary as different factors are involved in the critical care nurse salary. Experience, qualifications, and type of facility play a pivotal role in deciding the annual pay of essential nurses of care.
Cardiovascular Nurse
Cardiovascular nurses of cardiac nurses assist cardiologists and help patients having different heart conditions. Cardiac nurses also work during heart surgeries and defibrillation. To become a cardiac nurse, you should provide cardiac life support to patients. You have to stay in touch with the family members of patients to guide them on what precautions they have to take for recovery.
As a cardiac nurse, you can explore many employment opportunities in different healthcare facilities. You can offer your services anywhere as per your interest, from hospitals to intensive care facilities, rehabilitative facilities, to medical clinics. Also, such types of nurses work in surgical and cardiology units. They are part of different medical procedures in which they have to monitor heart-related activities and help patients recover from surgeries. The average annual salary of cardiac nurses is around $88,500, based on their experience and qualifications. The demand for cardiac nurses is expected to grow by eight percent in the future.
Emergency Room Nurses
Emergency room (ER) nurses encounter some of the most challenging and stressful scenarios in the healthcare sector. There are different specialties that you can pursue as an ER nurse. You can work as Trauma ER, Flight ER, Pediatric ER, and Transport ER nurse. As a trauma ER nurse, you have to deal with different trauma cases in the emergency room. If you want to work as a flight ER nurse, you need to earn the particular flight registered credential to provide emergency medical treatment to patients during the flight.
As ER nurse, you need to develop critical thinking to act according to the situation’s demand. You may experience injuries and illnesses during your professional career, so you have to prepare yourself mentally. Your single action can save the life of any individual, or it can also put someone’s life in danger. So, you have to be cautious while dealing with such situations and work with a problem-solving approach. You should understand that ER nurses have to act immediately once the patient arrives in the emergency room. On the other hand, in ICUs, nurses have to look after the patients in critical condition after emergency treatment is given to them. The growth rate of ER nurses is expected to increase rapidly by eight percent in the future. The annual median salary of ER nurses is around $51,920.
Before choosing any nursing specialty, it is important to assess yourself to make the right decision. You must understand that scenarios in every nursing specialty are different, requiring different skill sets. You can not perform well everywhere, so take your time before deciding. Do not just go after good salary packages. Think about where you would be the perfect fit to offer your services as a competent nurse. It will help you choose the ideal nursing specialty and accomplish your career goals. With good perks and greater responsibilities also come, so you have to make the best out of every nursing opportunity this year that comes your way.
