The core role of a nurse is to assist medical experts and care for patients. There are a variety of ways that nurses can fulfill this role.
As a qualified nurse you can choose to specialise in one of the following areas of healthcare:
Dental Nurse
Dental nurses assist dentists and other dental care professionals in every aspect of dental care. Nurses will be expected to perform administrative duties that relate to the patient, including records management and note taking.
Dental nurses also need to understand healthcare policies in order to implement health and safety protocols in the practice.
Surgical Nurse
A surgical nurse is responsible for assessing patients and reporting on the physical and emotional requirements of the patient. They are equipped to design and develop health care plans and educate the broader public on healthcare issues.
Surgical nurses work closely with surgeons during operations and provide support to patients before and after surgical procedures.
Registered Nurse
These medical professionals are trained to care for patients who suffer “from acute or long term illnesses.” Registered nurses administer medication and injections while providing support and information to patients and family members.
They are also responsible for “maintaining high clinical standards” in the ward.
Paediatric Nurse
As a paediatric nurse you will have to prepare patients for operations and procedures. This includes “recording pulse, temperature and respiration and keeping accurate records of these observations.”
Paediatric nurses are also trained to set up drips and blood transfusions.
The majority of registered nurses work in hospitals and can choose from being an obstetrician-gynecologist nurse (OB/GYN), which includes working with women giving birth or a cardiac nurse (CCRN), which includes working with heart patients.
There are also other types of nurses that work within hospital settings including pediatric critical care nurse (PCRN), medical surgical nurse (MSN), bedside nurse (BSN) etc.
