Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Nursing Care Processes
Lecture:Nursing roles, responsibilities, and work settings
Slide content:Nursing Specialties Several ways to specialize in nursing: By body system (e.g., circulatory system) By health problem (e.g., cancer) By patient population (e.g., older people) By location (e.g., schools) Some specialties do not involve direct patient care (e.g., nursing informatics) 6
Slide notes:Just as many other health care professionals do, some nurses specialize in one or more areas of medicine. There are several specialty areas in nursing. A nurse can specialize in treating a particular body system, such as the circulatory system, or in treating certain health problems, such as cancer. Some nurses focus on treating certain patient populations, such as children or the elderly, or work in certain settings, such as schools, workplaces, or patients homes. They may develop expertise in specific treatment modalities, such as interventional radiology. Specific care setting also offer specialty opportunities for nurses, such as emergency department nursing, critical care nursing, or surgical/recovery department nursing. Although we often think of nurses as working at a patients bedside, nurses dont always work directly with patients. Those who specialize in informatics, for example, help improve information technologies and communication in health care. Other areas include case management, quality reporting, patient safety, and other operational functions. 6