What Are All the Types of Nurses?
There are a lot of different ways to enter the field of nursing and even more career options available to nurses. To help you figure out what path you want to take, here’s an extensive list of every nursing career and specialty available to you. Get ready to scroll!
What Are the Different Types of Nurses?
In order of nursing level, starting with the lowest and going to the highest, here are the different types of nurses:
1. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Median salary: $36,220 per year or $17.41 per hour (BLS)
- Career outlook: 4% growth from 2022 to 2032
- Education requirements: State-approved training program
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Job duties: Gathering bedside supplies, assisting patients with ADLs, assisting with medical procedures, answering patient calls, and obtaining vital signs.
2. Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Median salary: $54,620 per year or $26.26 per hour (BLS).
- Career outlook: 5% growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: Accredited practical nursing certificate program, which is usually offered at community colleges and takes about a year to complete.
- Job duties: Provide patients with essential care, including eating, drinking, and bathing, as well as taking blood pressure, inserting catheters, and recording vital signs.
3. Registered Nurse (RN)
- Median salary: $81,220 per year or $39.05 per hour (BLS).
- Career outlook: 6% growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: ADN, BSN, or RN diploma.
- Job duties: Care, education, and coordination of sick and dying patients. Responsibilities include assessing patients, administering medications and treatments, and collaborating with other healthcare providers. Responsibilities include assessing patients, administering medications and treatments, collaborating with other healthcare providers, educating patients and families on disease processes and management, and assisting with procedures.
4. Labor and Delivery
- Salary: $96,039 per year or $46 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Optional Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB) certification through the National Certification Corporation.
- Job duties: Timing contractions, monitoring both the baby’s and mother’s vital signs, administering medications, aiding in inducing labor, and identifying and assisting with handling complications.
5. Pediatrics
- Salary: $134,328 per year or $65 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Job duties: Administering and educating about vaccines, administering medications, performing assessments, creating nursing care plans, assisting healthcare professionals with tests and procedures, monitoring vital signs, and documenting observations and findings.
6. Neonatal ICU Nurse
- Salary: $126,592 annually or $66 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Optional certs include CCRN® (Neonatal), RNC Certification for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, and Care of the Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonate Subspecialty Certification (C-ELBW).
Job duties: Treat critically ill neonates and newborns, monitor vital signs, give medications, record newborn’s recovery and progress, change diapers, and calm distressed babies.
7. Oncology Nurse
- Salary: $82,535 annually or $40.00 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation offers 6 certs, including Oncology Certified Nurse (ONC®), Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON®), and Blood and Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse (BMTCN®).
- Job duties: Administering medications (e.g., chemotherapy), caring for patients after oncologic surgeries, developing and implementing care plans, and performing assessments on cancer patients.
8. Emergency Room Registered Nurse
- Salary: $83,503 per year or $40 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Optional Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
- Job duties: Administer blood products, medications, and vaccines; clean and dress wounds; set broken bones; triage patients, and aid trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, and sexual assault care.
9. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Registered Nurse
- Salary: $92,568 annually or $45 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Adult Critical Care Nurses (CCRN) from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
- Job duties: Administer medications, evaluate vital signs, respond to changes in patient conditions or medical emergencies, clean and bandage wounds, and identify patients’ ongoing needs.
10. Surgical Registered Nurse
- Salary: $65,299 per year or $35.44 per hour (Payscale).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR), Certified Foundational Perioperative Nurse (CFPN), or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CNAMB).
- Job duties: Surgical nurse responsibilities change per role, from scrub and circulating nurses to OR directors and med-surg nurses.
11. Operating Room Registered Nurse
- Salary: $134,966 per year or $65 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Optional Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CMAB) from the Competency and Credentialing Institute.
- Job Duties: Prepare OR equipment and verify its functionality, monitor patients during operations, assist surgeons, and provide pre and post-operative patient care and education.
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12. Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Registered Nurse
- Salary: $84,928 per year or $41 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Optional Certified Post-Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN) from the American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification.
- Job duties: Diligently monitor patients as they come out of sedation and take immediate action if there are any complications.
13. Trauma Registered Nurse
- Salary: $134,966 per year or $65 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
- Certifications: Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®) certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
- Job duties: Care of patients with major injuries (e.g. car accident, stabbing, or shooting victims), giving CPR, patient monitoring, starting IVs, and administering medication and blood products.
14. Nurse Practitioner (NP)
- Median salary: $124,680 per year or $59.94 per hour (BLS).
- Career outlook: 45 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: MSN from an NP program.
- Job duties: Varies by NP specialty, but generally, they prescribe medication, examine patients, order diagnostic tests, diagnose illnesses, and provide treatment.
15. Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)
- Median salary: $122,450 per year or $58.87 per hour (BLS).
- Career outlook: 6 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: MSN from a CNM program.
- Job duties: Deliver babies, provide prenatal and postpartum care, perform routine check-ups for pregnant patients, perform annual exams, prescribe medications, and offer patient education.
16. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
- Median salary: $205,770 per year or $98.93 per hour (BLS).
- Career Outlook: 9 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: Current - MSN, DNP, or DNAP from a CRNA program. By 2025 - DNP or DNAP from a CRNA program.
- Job duties: Care for patients under anesthesia, identify patient risks, administer anesthetic and patient medication, and educate patients and families.
17. Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Median salary: $87,359 per year or $42 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Career outlook: 38 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: MSN from CNS program.
- Certification: ACCNS‐Neonatal, ACCNS-Pediatric, and ACCNS-Adult-Gerontology from AACN Certification Corp and Adult-Gerontology CNS (AGCNS-BC) from ANCC.
- Job duties: Assist with evidence-based practice projects and research; educate patients, families, and communities; provide transitional care; assist nurses with patient care as a resource.
18. Nurse Educator
- Median salary: $78,580 annually (BLS).
- Career outlook: 7 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: MSN from a nurse educator program
- Job duties: Develop lesson plans, teach courses, oversee students’ clinical practice, maintain clinical competencies, and mentor students.
19. Nurse Administrator
- Median salary: $104,830 per year or $50.40 per hour (BLS).
- Career outlook: 28 percent growth from 2022 to 2032.
- Education requirements: MSN with business & administration focus
- Job duties: Specific duties vary by nurse administrator role; Commonly, they manage day-to-day nursing operations, budgets and financial planning, and staff schedules, create operational strategies, and interview and hire new staff.
20. Clinical Nurse Leader
- Median salary: $84,631 per year or $41 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
- Career Outlook: Although this position is relatively new, the employment prospects for Clinical Nurse Leaders are highly favorable.
- Education requirements: MSN from a CNL program.
- Job duties: Advocate for patients and families, coordinate and delegate patient care, mentor new staff, be liaisons to the administration, and educate staff on new policies and procedures.
Types of Nurse Specialties
Beyond the main roles we covered above, there are so many more nursing specialties. Here are all the different nurse specialties sorted by RN specialties and APRN specialties.
How to Choose a Nursing Specialty
One of the easiest ways to choose a specialty is to see what you connect with and love the most during your nursing school clinical experiences.
Sometimes that is easier said than done, depending on the clinical location, population, and experience. However, it’s important to use that time to determine if you could see yourself working in that specific specialty.
If you do - then great! If not, there are countless possibilities. Also, ask yourself some questions,
- Do you like to engage with people?
- What is your personality like? Are you shy or outgoing?
- What are your interests?
- Do you thrive under pressure?
- Do you like constant movement during your day?
Answering questions about yourself and your personality will help you also determine the best nursing specialty fit.
The great thing about nursing is that you have the opportunity to change your specialty whenever you want. Some positions do require specific experience, but that can be easily achieved.
It’s also important to remember that even though you might not get the job you wanted in the specialty you wanted - it’s always possible to switch at a later time. Also, consider positions that are vacant. For example, if you are interested in being a pediatric nurse but there is no pediatric hospital or jobs in your area, then this may be difficult.
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