Thinking of a Career in Health and Social Care
A career in health and social care (especially nursing) is a rewarding one. Not only are you giving back to society, you are also changing the lives of others for the better. There are a number of career paths that individuals can take, whether it is the biology, nutrition or other aspects of health and social care. This article will focus on the careers available in nursing. There are different areas of nursing to explore; each requires a different knowledge and understanding along with a varied set of skills. So what sorts of skills are required for certain areas of nursing?
The Knowledge and Skills a Nurse will need in Specific Nursing Jobs
There are many of us who would like to give back to society with the career choice that we make. Nursing in Health and Social Care is one such career option. There are numerous jobs in nursing that you can think of, provided you have the qualifications and the inclination towards that particular specialization. Nursing is a line that cannot be classified in an exclusive manner. Some of the specializations do overlap. Your final job will depend on your interests, the subjects you have studied and how you complete your certification process. There is a wide range of career choices a nurse has to make when it comes to a career path. It is common knowledge that there is in fact, a constant shortage of qualified and dedicated staff in the field. Entry-level posts are almost guaranteed at most organizations. Here is a look at some of the options that you can consider.
Addiction nurses are those that help in the rehabilitation of substance addicts. In terms of knowledge and experience, they will need to know general nursing as well as handling patients with specific substance abuse. Having additional knowledge in behavioural sciences also helps to a large extent in this field. Ambulatory care nursing is another option where one has to be a registered nurse. These types of nurses specialize in providing preventive care for a range of illnesses. It is difficult to predict the average day of an ambulatory nurse simply because it will depend on the patients that come in and the ailments they have.
You could also train to be a critical care nurse and work primarily in the intensive care units of hospitals. The patients here are in need of specialized and intensive care and the nurse are able to provide them with customized care as per their needs. Within this field, a critical care nurse can be part of a cardiac unit, a neonatal unit, adult care such as burns, trauma etc. The idea is to provide high-end intensive care in a sterile environment.
A unique specialization in nursing is that of the forensic nurse. These are part of the team that takes care of victims of violence and they work in close quarters with law enforcement agencies to help catch the culprits. Besides the special kind of care that they provide, they are also able to emotionally connect with patients and help them deal with post-traumatic stress.
Our old and sick also need a special kind of care and that is what a geriatric nurse is able to do. They practice a branch of care in the gerontology department, which is meant for the old. With the numbers of the elderly population on the increase all the time, it is essential that we have the right kind of care for them. A good and gentle demeanour is especially important here.
There are numerous other specialized branches of nursing that one can get into – such as that of a paediatric nurse looking after young children, an oncology nurse who assists doctors in the cancer department, the psychiatric nurse who deals with patients of mental illness. There are many more nursing jobs that one will come across. Doing your research and finding one that is best suited to you and the requirements of where you plan to get your job is needed.
Social Nursing Care 