The nursing field is a broad spectrum of healthcare professionals who can be experts in everything from legal matters to progressive care and emergency protocols.
Registered nurses in general are expected to experience a 19% increase in job growth through 2022 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. That growth is also expected to spread to other, more specialized areas of nursing which RNs are qualified to transition into. Here are five in-demand nursing specialties professionals can consider.
Certified Nurse Legal Consultant
After working in hospitals, some nurses may decide their career path is headed in a different direction. For those looking to work in office settings or even out of their home, this nursing specialty may provide an option.
Using their nursing expertise, the Certified Nurse Legal Consultant advises lawyers during lawsuits related to medical cases. Duties in this position include research, discovery, reviewing care standards and medical records, preparing reports and tracking down expert witnesses. The median salary for this position is $62,000 per year.
Cardiology/Telemetry RN
Cardiology and telemetry nurses look after patients needing constant care and monitoring. They review medical equipment data to track heart rates, blood pressure, breathing and other vital signs. They often administer medications and interact with patients concerning how they feel. Most patients they assist have suffered a heart attack or are in the process of recovering from cardiac surgery, so knowledge of electrocardiogram equipment is necessary.
Other patient needs typically include monitoring for those diagnosed with sleep disorders and neurological issues. The salary for this position can vary based on location, experience, education and training, but the average salary for this position was $55,000 as of 2015.
Certified Nurse Midwife
Providing healthcare to female patients from prenatal to postpartum days, midwives are involved in every part of the delivery and care process as it applies to childbirth. They can work in a number of environments, but must be able to manage long-term relationships and have extensive experience with out-of-hospital child births. According to the latest salary data from the BLS, the median salary for a certified nurse midwife is $96,970.
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Progressive Care/Step-Down RN
This position involves taking care of patients in need of close monitoring and regular assessments, but are not in bad enough condition to be in the ICU. These nurses often monitor cardiac and vital signs, look for significant changes and intervene in life threatening and emergency situations.
The job outlook for a step-down nurse is positive, with half a million opportunities expected to be created in 2016 alone. Experienced nurses can command higher potential earnings when entering into this position, as the average salary is $75,000.
Certified Nursing Anesthetist
These nurses administer anesthesia to patients under the supervision of an anesthesiologist. Working closely with surgeons, dentists and podiatrists, it is this nurse’s duty to see that anesthesia medications are administered properly.
A master’s degree from a nursing anesthetist program is required in order to be accepted into this growing nursing specialty. The responsibilities of a CRNA are significant and the average salary for this position reflects that with a noticeable jump over the earnings of a typical RN. The highest paying specialty to grace this list, CRNAs earn wages of $166,000 per year on average according to data from Salary.com.
