Getting a nurse job is the entire reason you suffered through nursing school. The job definitely is worth it. But you have to find the jobs first. These are the most popular nursing jobs where to find them.
This post is brought to you by HealthcareWings. All opinions are my own.
5 Popular Types of Nursing Jobs
If you are ready to get a job as a nurse, what will you do? There are so many options. And the good thing is that even if you get a job that isn’t a good fit, you can apply and go somewhere else.
Another wonderful aspect of nursing is the ability to always grow. You can aim for something amazing and work hard for the job you really want. Experienced nurses will be super helpful too. They will give you advice and direction so you will know how to work towards your goals and obtain them.
As you apply for jobs, here are the 5 most popular types of nursing jobs and what they do.
1. Med/Surg Nurse (Medical-Surgical)
The first type of nursing job is the most popular one, a medical-surgical (med surg) nurse. This nursing works directly with patients at the bedside on the hospital floor.
As a med-surg R.N., you will administer medication, perform assessments, monitor patients, perform interventions, educate, take vitals, answer call lights, and interact with family members during your shift. Essentially, you are providing direct patient care and implementing physician orders for patients before and after surgery, as well as for patients who are admitted for a medical diagnosis.
2. Operating Room (OR) Nurse
As an R.N. you can also work in the operating room. You would be the scrub nurse, facilitating the flow of the operating room. You can also work in the pre-operative area, where you would prepare patients for surgery, as well as the post-operative area (PACU) recovering patients who have just exited the operating room.
You will need specialized training to be qualified to work in this role. You can find a complete list of these from the Association for Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN).
3. Emergency Room (ER) Nurse
Another specialty you might want to look into is working in the Emergency Department. To work in this area, you’ll have to be able to think on your feet and handle multiple high-pressure situations at once. It’s very fast paced and you don’t always get to see the patient heal or get to know the outcome. Your goal is to identify the issue, treat and stabilize as fast as possible, and get the patient where they need to go (home, or to a higher level of care).
To work in the emergency department (ED), it will help if you obtain your basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), as well as your pediatric advanced life support (pediatric advanced life support) certifications. After working in this specialty, you can obtain your certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
4. Travel Nurse
If you enjoy working at various locations and traveling, you might want to look into becoming a travel nurse. A traveling nurse will spend about 13 weeks in one location before being moved to a different one. You could move all around the country, spending a little time in each place.
All you really need is 12-18 months of experience in a hospital. Then, you can apply to work as a traveling nurse.
5. ICU Nurse
Finally, another specialty a nurse can work is in the intensive care unit (ICU). This is a very difficult and intense job. You’ll be working with a wide variety of high-tech equipment and caring for patients that are near-death.
This job requires extreme attention to detail, a sharp mind, ability to learn new concepts very quickly, and a professional but calming personality as you interact with distraught family members.
Of course, there are many more types of nursing jobs for which you could apply as well – such as pediatric nursing, oncology nursing, psychiatric nursing, and more. Research the field of work that interests you most and go for it!
Where To Find Nurse Jobs
Now that you know about the basic types of nursing jobs, how do you find them? You don’t want to have to search through a bunch of irrelevant jobs (you don’t want to teach English, you want to be a nurse).
There are a variety of places you can find nursing jobs. Let’s go over the best ones that will have the most reliable information.
1. Hospitals
The first place you can go to find nursing jobs is directly from area hospitals. They will usually list available jobs on their website. You can also ask nurses that you know if there are any jobs opening up at their health care facilities. This is truly one of the best ways to find openings. If you’re going to relocate to a new area, research which hospitals are there and go directly to their website and search for nurse openings.
2. Schools
If you are a new grad, then ask your professors if your school has a job board. Often area health care facilities will advertise job openings at the nursing schools. Keep an eye on them and be in touch with your professors and see if they have any insights they can share. Your clinical instructors can also be a wealth of knowledge of which hospitals are worth applying to, and which to steer clear from.
3. Online Nurse Job Search
You can also search online for nursing jobs. Beware of spammy websites or listings that aren’t verified by the employers themselves. When you are looking for jobs online you need a reliable website that won’t advertise to you.
The best place to find healthcare jobs is the free job search platform HealthcareWings.
It is extensive! It has over 100,000 healthcare jobs and adds 2,000 postings every day. You are sure to find something that interests you and matches your skill sets.
Another fantastic thing about HealthcareWings, it holds recruiters accountable. They have a set of values, so you won’t have to put up unprofessional hounding or scammy recruiters.
Plus, you can search based on a variety of filters:
- Your specialty
- Desired location
- Interests
Then you just enjoy the customized matches and tailored job alerts.
After you join, you can pause your profile whenever you want. So when you get hired, just pause it and you won’t be listed as actively seeking a job anymore. It’s so easy and made for healthcare workers like us.
Keep Why You Became A Nurse in Mind
Above all, when you are searching for a job, keep why you chose nursing in mind. Did you choose this career because you wanted to help people? Maybe you need to just get to a new location. The new staff and scenery can be the reset that helps you enjoy your job again. Or if you’ve been working in a med-surg environment for a while and need a new challenge, stepping into the ICU or emergency department may be the right move to keep you from getting complacent.
Keep working on using your skill sets to be an asset with everyone around you. There are lots of different specialties and ways to grow as a nurse.
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