A nursing career can be a fulfilling journey that allows you to make an impact on people's lives. It’s an interesting path, too, and full of opportunities for growth.
For example, you might decide to pursue nursing specialties, like mental health or neonatal nursing. By choosing a specialised career path, you can tailor your nursing career to match your unique skills and interests.
We've rounded up five nursing specialties that focus on specific types of patients. Not only do these specialties benefit both personal and professional growth – they also play an important role in the future of healthcare.
1. General practice nurse
Education: you’ll need to complete a university nursing degree or a nursing degree associate program to qualify as a general practice nurse (GPN).
Length of training: programs and courses usually last a minimum of three years.
Employment locations: general practices, private practices, hospitals, home health services.
General practice nurses (GPNs) work with primary healthcare teams to help deliver care in general practices. Your duties might include obtaining blood samples and assisting doctors in GP surgeries. General practice nurses don’t need any specialist certifications, but some employers ask new GPNs to complete their own additional training.
To be successful as a general practice nurse, you need to have a general interest in nursing and medicine. This is an ideal path if you want to move forward in your nursing career but don’t know what to specialise in quite yet.
2. Mental health nurse
Education: you’ll need to complete a university nursing degree or a nursing degree associate program to become a registered mental health nurse (RMN).
Length of training: programs and courses usually last a minimum of three years.
Employment locations: hospitals, psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation centres.
Mental health nursing is ideal if you're interested in and comfortable working with mental illnesses. In many circumstances, you’ll work with the same individuals over time, rather than working with different patients every shift.
You'll build trusting relationships with people to gain insight into their situations. To be successful in this role, you should have strong communication skills and genuine interest in supporting people’s mental health and emotional needs.
As a mental health nurse, you’ll also be trained to identify whether someone in your care is at risk of harming themselves or another person. You’ll typically work with other care professionals in a wider mental health team, including psychiatrists, therapists and GPs.
3. School nurse
Education: you’ll need to complete a university nursing degree or a nursing degree associate program. You also have to complete a Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – School Nursing (SCPHN - SN) training programme.
Length of training: university nursing courses typically last a minimum of three years. School nursing certification courses have both full-time (52 weeks) and part-time options available.
Employment locations: schools, nurseries, universities.
One of the most underappreciated nursing specialties is school nursing. As a specialist community public health nurse (school nurse), you’ll work with school-aged children and their families. In your role, you’ll assess risk factors and improve overall well-being for all the young people you work with. You might also perform basic vision and hearing assessments.
School nursing could be your ideal specialty if you want to make an impact on children’s lives without the intense medical focus. While some aspects of the job revolve around physical health, the majority of your role will be to support, guide and educate children and families.
4. Neonatal nurse
Education: You’ll need a university nursing degree or a nursing degree associate program to qualify as a registered neonatal nurse. You might also need to take specific training modules on different aspects of neonatal nursing.
Length of training: programs and courses usually last a minimum of three years.
Employment locations: hospitals, neonatal intensive care units, home health services.
If you’re interested in caring for newborn babies who are sick or premature, neonatal nursing could be for you. Premature babies often experience complications like respiratory problems or nutritional deficiencies.
Newborn babies require a very high level of care, so you’ll likely be working in intensive care and high-dependency units. However, some neonatal nurses work in outpatient centres to provide care and support after babies leave the hospital.
As a neonatal nurse, your daily tasks could include preparing medications, monitoring fluids, and recording observations. You’ll likely work with a broad team of paediatricians, dieticians, midwives and other neonatal nurses.
If you enjoy being a neonatal nurse, you might later decide to go back to university to get a master’s degree and become an advanced neonatal nurse practitioner.
5. District nurse
Education: you’ll need to complete a university nursing degree or a nursing degree associate program to become a registered district nurse.
Relevant certifications: programs and courses typically last a minimum of three years.
Employment locations: home health services.
District nursing might be the right path if you want to work with individuals in a home-based setting. As a district nurse, most of your patients will be elderly, but age ranges can vary depending on where you work. Many of these patients are recovering from surgery or have just been released from the hospital. District nurses also care for patients who have physical disabilities or are terminally ill.
To be successful as a district nurse, you should be able to both support and educate your patients. Your role is to teach patients how to care for themselves while also guiding and supporting them throughout everyday tasks.
You might work by yourself or as part of a group, like social services, voluntary agencies and other private or NHS organisations. District nursing plays a vital role in reducing hospital admissions and readmissions.
Working with Florence
No matter which specialty you choose, you can use Florence to find shifts that work for you. You can use our simple app to book shifts at home or on the go, track hours, submit timesheets and much more.
Florence app benefits include:
- High hourly rates.
- Shifts in various health and social care settings (including NHS trusts).
- The choice to receive up to 60% of your pay after your social care shift ends.
- Free training with Florence Academy.
- 24/7 support from a friendly team.
Wrapping up
Nursing is a rewarding and fulfilling career because you get to make a direct impact on patients’ lives. If you want to, you can choose a specialty that aligns with your interests and take additional training to gain the right skills.
The five nursing specialties we’ve listed above are great options to consider when narrowing down your nursing career path. Always keep an open mind – you never know what specialty will spark your interest and success!
Florence can help you find flexible shifts near you, take essential training courses, and improve your work-life balance. Find out more and sign up today.
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