5 Growing Nursing Specialties

A career in nursing has more possibilities than ever before. This is due in part to advances in technology and to the changing needs of patients.

Nursing research has also contributed to the various career paths that nurses can now enter into once they have joined the field as Registered Nurses. So, what are five growing nursing specialties that could become part of your career path?

Virtual Nurses

Virtual nurses provide care and advice through a smartphone app, over the internet or over the phone. While some illnesses would require more extensive testing, several common illnesses and injuries can be diagnosed without even going into the doctor’s office. Virtual nurses provide the care that patients may need while on the go.

Nurse Advocates

Nurse advocates help patients navigate the complicated world of their health insurance and health care. They help patients to understand their diagnoses as well as advocating for the patient to get the best care possible at an affordable rate. Health care and insurance can quickly get expensive and become difficult to navigate, and that is why nurse advocates are in such high demand.

Nursing Informatics

Nursing informatics becomes the backbone of the nursing field by analyzing data and developing new tools and technology to make nursing more precise. These specialists work with systems and tools to lessen the errors that nurses receive when using them, and they work for better ways to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality. Nursing informatics specialists also serve as a translator between nurses, systems engineers, and analysts.

Nurse Educators

Nurse educators help to prepare the next group of nurses to enter the field. They educate student nurses and help to facilitate training for veteran nurses as new research and techniques become available. Nurse educators provide a vital role as healthcare continues to evolve. The demand for nurses is high, so it’s important to train nurses for the field.

Nurse Midwives

Nurse midwives plan an important role in women’s healthcare. Not only do nurse midwives care for pregnant mothers and deliver babies, they fill the gap in rural areas where women might not have access to primary care services. The demand for nurse midwives is much faster than average with an expected 31 percent job growth through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.