People get very confused about what exactly a nurse is. Some people think that doctor and nurse are interchangeable. Some believe that nurses are all basically the deputies of the doctors, and are all people who want to get ‘promoted’ to doctor someday. Some unfortunate souls still think that a male medical professional is called a doctor and a female one is called a nurse.
One way I could put it is this. The doctors of a hospital are the eyes and brains, while the nurses are the limbs. But even this analogy seems hopelessly reductive. Basically, the doctors diagnose and usually operate within a defined medial field. Nurses are the ones who specialise in the well-being of the patients. Aid and physical treatment are usually administered by a nurse.
A lot of people want to be nurses, and that’s a great thing. But most people don’t quite appreciate the sheer scope of jobs available for nurses. Let’s take a look at some interesting examples of jobs you could pursue in a nursing capacity.
Travel nurse
A travel nurse isn’t employed by a particular hospital or clinic. They’re employed by a healthcare agency that deploy nurses across the country. Facilities don’t often have all the people they need on-site. So they will sometimes send for an additional, experienced nurse to work at the facility on assignment for a few weeks.
Dental nurse
You’ve been to the dentist, right? (I’m hoping, for your sake, that you’ve been there at least once in your life.) Ever notice that the dentist themselves don’t do much outside of the actual dentistry? Dental nurses are the ones assist with instruments, patient comfort, and material preparation. In fact, they’re sometimes the ones doing the basic oral care! Jobs for dental nurses aren’t in short supply, so give it a look.
Occupational health nurse
These nurses will work for a specific company instead of full-time at a hospital. Usually, the company will be a very big one. Small businesses don’t tend to have their own healthcare professionals. As an occupational health nurse, you are responsible for improving and maintaining the health of employees. Often, you would work close with the human resources department.
Home health nurse
This one is probably pretty self-explanatory. These nurses work in a much more personal capacity. A lot of people can’t exactly get the care they need by travelling to to the hospital. The elderly and the disabled often need someone to come to them. And that’s what the home health nurse does: provides invaluable assistance from the comfort of the patient’s home.
Informatic nurses
This is the position on this list that you’re probably least likely to have heard of. It’s definitely a lot more modern than the others, as you can probably tell just by looking at the title! Essentially, informatic nurses work to advance the technological and communicative fields in medicine. If you’re someone who is interested in both nursing and computer science, this could be the dream job you never even knew existed!
Looking to a nursing career? Let us know how you are getting on in the comments below
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