Five nursing specialties you need to consider
Looking for a nursing career that’s uniquely you? Nursing can take you in lots different directions – here are five nursing specialties that you can pursue.
1. Aged care nursing
Nursing care of older people is an in-demand nursing specialty due in large part to Australia’s rapidly ageing population. Older people often have complex health care needs and require compassionate and highly skilled care to support them through this stage of their lives.
As an aged care nurse, you might work in a nursing home, a residential care facility, a hospital or as a home-based private nurse, delivering compassionate person-centred care for people with a range of chronic, acute or degenerative conditions. You may be required to provide expertise in pain and medication management, emergency response, infection prevention and control, palliative care, and rehabilitation for people recovering from medical procedures and falls.
2. Mental health nursing
Mental health nurses care for people with a range of mental illnesses, such as mood disorders, psychotic disorders, substance use disorders and others.
As a mental health nurse, you’re an important part of a multidisciplinary care team, working alongside other health professionals like psychologists, psychiatrists and GPs to deliver strength-based, recovery-focused and trauma-informed nursing care. In addition to caring for patients, you’ll also work closely with carers and families. Mental health nurses work in hospitals and local health centres, as well as in a range of community and home-based settings.
In mental health nursing, you are the therapeutic instrument. By your interactions, your knowledge and skill, you can change lives, families and communities. To have a career in mental health nursing, is to have a career of knowing, understanding and caring for people.
- Dr Joel Zugai, Lecturer and Subject Coordinator (Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing), School of Nursing and Midwifery
3. Child and family health nursing
If you’re passionate about nursing as a skill for the greater good, child and family health nursing can support and transform the health of children and families, particularly those who are vulnerable to poor health outcomes.
Your work will include delivering family-centred care and education that supports families’ physical, emotional, social and cultural needs, either in a hospital, community or home-based setting. You’ll emphasise good health practices, support development, enhance parenting practices and family resilience, and identify and manage a range of existing and prospective health and developmental challenges.
4. Perioperative nursing
Keen for a career in surgery? Perioperative nursing encompasses a wide range of nursing roles, including anaesthesia nursing, pre-operative and education nursing, and post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) nursing, among others. It’s a specialty that’s all about caring for patients undergoing surgical procedures – but it’s not just limited to the operating room.
As a perioperative nurse, you’ll engage with patients at the pre-admission stage, care for them during surgery, and provide clinical support in the post-operative setting. In addition to supporting patients, you’ll also work closely with their families and carers, helping them navigate the hospital experience and keeping them informed and supported throughout.
Perioperative nursing is a fast paced dynamic specialty unlike any other. Working both autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary and collaborative team, perioperative nurses have the opportunity to work with state of the art equipment whilst caring for their patients when they are at their most vulnerable, advocating and protecting them at all stages throughout their perioperative journey.
- Judy Smith, Lecturer and Subject Coordinator (Perioperative Nursing), School of Nursing and Midwifery
5. Critical care nursing
If you’re looking for a fast-paced career, life as a critical care nurse is hard to beat. Also known as emergency nursing, critical care nursing is focused on administering urgent medical care to people suffering from traumatic or life-threatening illness or injury. You’ll assess symptoms, triage patients and deliver rapid, responsive clinical interventions such as administering medications, performing CPR and caring for serious wounds.
Critical care nurses work in critical care, intensive care and emergency settings in hospitals and beyond, with opportunities for niche employment roles with organisations - like the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Air Ambulance (for dual qualified Registered Nurse/Midwives).
Becoming a specialist nurse
Choosing a nursing specialty is one thing, but how do you go from nursing student to a specialist in your chosen field? As well as equipping you with fundamental nursing skills, the UTS Bachelor of Nursing will also give you a choice of specialties to explore in your third year of study. This is a great opportunity to start thinking about life beyond university – what are your passions, where do your skills lie, and how do you bring the two together in a single, rewarding career?
Our Introduction to Specialty Practice placement will help you build specialist skills and experience in a niche area of health. For example, you might choose:
- Aboriginal health
- aged care
- community health
- critical care
- child and family health care
- global health (subject to availability)
- mental health
- paediatrics
- palliative care
- perioperative care
- reproductive maternal and child health care (subject to availability)
- substance use disorders (subject to availability)
- women’s health
Most nursing graduates will complete a hospital-based transition to practice program. These programs give you 12-18 months of supported clinical experience and the opportunity to try out different nursing disciplines by completing 2-3 clinical rotations before you commit to a particular pathway. However, this isn’t the only way into a career – you can also apply for nursing positions without completing a formal program and build specialist expertise while you’re on the job.
Taking the next step
If you’re keen to back up your clinical skills with an academic qualification, or if your goal is to work as a clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator, consultant or other advanced nursing practitioner, in advanced practice, postgraduate study is your friend. For example, you could complete master’s-level courses in advanced nursing and palliative care, or a shorter qualification in specific areas of practice, like diabetes education and management, critical care, perioperative, or anaesthetics and post-anaesthetic care unit nursing. You can also progress to a nurse practitioner qualification once you’ve completed postgraduate studies in your chosen nursing specialty.
The good news? You can return to university at any point, which means you can keep expanding your professional aspirations throughout your nursing career.
