Which Nursing Specialty Fits My Personality?

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With over 104 differing nursing specialties out there, how can you know which one best fits your personality? From community clinics and physician’s offices to emergency rooms and surgical settings, let’s take a look at six different categories of nursing and examples of each to determine which nursing specialty matches you.

Community Settings

Choosing to work as a nurse in the community involves caring for individuals outside of the hospital setting. Nurses can serve in mobile roles, such as travel nurses and flight nurses or as contractors (also called Independent Nurse Contractors). A community nursing specialty means you enjoy working out in the public with whatever patients’ needs come your way. Community nursing can include some of the following specialized fields:

•Ambulatory Care
•Correctional Facility Nursing
•HIV/AIDS Clinic Nurse
•Home Health Care Nurse
•Missionary Nurse
•School Nurse

Emergency Settings

This nursing specialty deals with patients in emergency medical settings and requires a steady, knowledgeable team that works well under pressure. Working as an ER nurse means you can respond fast to life-threatening situations while remaining calm. Some emergency nursing careers can include:

•Cardiac Care Nurse
•Emergency Room Nurse
•Poison Information Specialist
•Toxicology Nurse
•Trauma Nurse

Family Nursing

Would you enjoy working with specific populations of people, such as babies, young children, families or the elderly? If you’ve always had a special place in your heart for a certain age group, one of these nursing specialties might be a great place to apply your care and skill. Here are some examples of nurses who specialize with a certain age group:

•Family Practice Nurse or Nurse Practitioner
•Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse
•Pediatric Nurse
•Geriatric Nurse

Psychological Nursing Specialty

If you’ve always had an interest in psychology, but feel a true calling to become a nurse, combining the two can be a wonderful career choice for both you and your patients. While much of this work takes place in hospital settings, it can also be found in rehab centers, schools and patient homes. Some examples of nursing careers in psychological fields include:

•Psychiatric Nurse
•Rehabilitation Nurse
•Substance Abuse Nurse
•Developmental Disability Nurse

Surgical Settings

Medical-surgical nursing once served as the entry point for all nurses entering the field, but today it is a nursing specialty all of its own. It includes the largest group of practicing professionals, notes the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, and it is one of the most demanding nursing specialties. If you value the time it takes to prepare patients for surgery, ensure their safety during it and their healing after, working as a surgical nurse might best fit your personality. Here are some examples:

•Nurse Anesthetist
•Surgery Nurse
•Plastic Surgery Nurse
•Transplant Nurse

Women’s Health

Knowing the unique make up and medical concerns of a woman’s body is a nursing specialty. From obstetrics and gynecology to breast cancer detection, treatment and awareness, women’s health practitioners are needed to care for almost half of our population. For breast surgery, click here to get the best consultation.  If this is a specialty close to your heart, here are some examples to consider:

•Certified Nurse Midwife
•Labor and Delivery Nurse
•OB/GYN Nurse
•Perinatal Nurse
•Reproductive Nurse

Whether it is where you work, the specialty you choose or the people for which you provide care that helps you decide the best nursing specialty for your personality, there are many choices and opportunities available. Take your time deciding, volunteer if you can and follow the path that feels most rewarding both personally and professionally.