What Kind of Nurse Should I Be?

Are you a nurse who

• Isn’t sure what your dream specialty is?
• Is currently working on a floor that you hate?
• Is constantly asking yourself “What kind of nurse should I be?” or “What nursing specialty should I do?”

Then this is the post for you!

How to choose a nursing specialty

The beauty of nursing is that there are SO many nursing specialties to choose from. Unlike other careers, nurses are able to move from one specialty to the next seamlessly until we finally find our dream nursing job. While the idea of jumping from job to job can be discouraging, I once heard that the average nurse tries seven (yes, that’s right, 7) different nursing specialties before they find their dream job. While your number could be more or less (and I truly can’t even confirm if this statistic is true), I do believe that it’s okay to try out some options.

We’ll talk more about the different nursing specialties in a minute, but if you’re not even sure how to narrow it down to what you might like, here are a few things that can help you decide what nursing specialty is right for you.

Consideration #1: Where you want to work

Many of us make the mistake of thinking that hospital nursing is the only way to be a nurse. Believe me when I say there are greener pastures out there! Some things you can think about when determining what kind of nursing specialty sounds appealing to you include:

• Inpatient vs outpatient (or hospitals vs non-hospitals)
• Direct patient care vs non-direct patient care (for example nursing educators, management, or care coordinator roles)
• If you are comfortable going to people’s homes (like palliative / hospice care, home health, midwifery)
• If you want a completely unique setting (like flight nursing, forensic nursing, cruise ship nursing, or summer camp nursing)
• If you want irregular hours (like 3, 12-hour shifts) or a regular 9-5

Consideration #2: Your personality traits (and what you want out of your job)

Now is a great time to be honest with yourself about what you think you would like or dislike about certain nursing careers. If wounds gross you out, you probably shouldn’t work in a Burn ICU or as a wound care nurse. Hate the adrenaline rush of a code? ICU or ER might not be for you. Enjoy getting to know patients at the end of life? Then it might be worth it to look into palliative care or hospice nursing. The same goes for deciding which populations you enjoy working with. If you hate kids, please don’t go and become a pediatric nurse.

Some other things you can think about might include:

• The pace you enjoy.
• If you like working more independently or more as part of a team (even though all nursing jobs will include teamwork which we love!)
• How predictable you like your days to be.
• What kind of hours you’d like to work.
• How busy (or not busy) you like your work days to be.
• If you’re a type A (or B or C or whatever letter of the alphabet you enjoy) personality.

There is a nursing niche for everyone. It’s okay if you don’t find it right away, but always remember that you do not have to be miserable! 

Consideration #3: How much time, effort, and money you are willing to spend

How long / how costly you want your nursing education to be as well as which nursing degree you want are just a few things to consider as you think about which nursing specialty you wish to pursue. You can check out the differences between an ADN, BSN, and MSN, how much nursing school costs, and how to choose a nursing school to get a better idea of what to expect from your nursing school education.

Why is this important? I’ll give you some examples.

• You started on a med surg floor but now you want to try ICU nursing. You’ll likely have to go back to night shift.
• SOME magnet hospitals won’t allow you to work for them if you don’t have a minimum of a BSN.
• If you hope to become a Nurse Practitioner, this will require a bit more time and money.
• You may (but definitely not always) need to take more classes or get certified to be a competitive applicant for other roles that you are interested in. Educating yourself further is never a bad thing!

Still not sure what nursing specialty you’re interested in?

Like many people, I LOVE a good online “nurse personality” quiz. Though they’re never really accurate per se, they can give you an idea of what nursing specialty you could consider (that you might not know even existed). Below are some fun quizzes you can take to get your gears turning!

What Type of Nurse Should I Be?

Nursing Specialty Quiz | Johnson & Johnson Nursing 

What Nursing Career Matches Your Personality? – Aspen University

It’s worth noting that you can take all the quizzes in the world, but the best (and only) way to know if you love or hate a specialty is to try it. 

What kind of nursing specialties are there?

If you’re not really sure what your options are, this list below is a great place to start. Please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather just an overview of some of the different types of nursing specialties you might encounter. If you need more ideas, Betternurse.org also has a great list of 98 Types of Nurses!

Critical Care: Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nursing

As someone who started their career in the ICU, I obviously have a soft spot for this type of nursing.

“Organized chaos” is a great way to describe ICU nursing. You’ll have some kind of (loose) routine to your day with critically ill patients, however the unexpected can and does often occur. Adrenaline rushes from emergency situations are common, and you will have to use your brain a ton.

If you’re interested in working in an intensive care setting, there are many different ways you can become a critical care nurse.

Critical Care: Emergency Room nursing

“UNorganized chaos” is the name of the game here. Your job is to stabilize your patients and send them elsewhere. If you don’t like spending a whole shift with your patients, this might be a better bet than ICU nursing. Emergency situations are common, and psychiatric patients are very (very) common. One quick note: If you want an outpatient gig, working at an urgent care is always an option.

Mother/Baby: Pediatric nursing

If you love kiddos but don’t want to work in a critical care setting, working on any pediatric floor is a great idea. No two pediatric floors are alike, so a great way to determine your interests is to work at a children’s hospital so you can get a feel for the different units. Just like adult hospitals, pediatric units vary greatly. You can expect to work in a pediatric med-surg, ortho, post-surgical, oncology, or burn unit (just to name a few).

Mother/Baby: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Nursing

If you’re interested in taking care of very sick kiddos, this might be the place for you. You will usually need to have some sort of pediatric experience in another area before transferring to NICU or PICU level of care (though it’s not impossible to start in one of these units as a new grad!) What’s the difference between the NICU and the PICU? Nursepective has a great comparison between the two. 

Mother/Baby: Labor & Delivery Nursing

Though labor and delivery units are technically med-surg, labor and delivery nurses usually split their time between getting patients ready for labor, assisting them during labor, and assessing their recovery in postpartum. Labor and delivery nurses do often deal with emergent situations. They are also doing assessments on not only 3-4 moms throughout their shift, but their babies as well. That’s a lot of patients, but a very rewarding job!

Nurse Midwifery

I’m putting this one here because it obviously applies, but you do actually need to obtain additional certification in order to become a nurse midwife (not to mention quite a few years of labor and delivery experience).

Procedural: Surgical/Operating Room (OR) Nursing

If you don’t really love speaking with patients and getting to know their stories, operating room nursing might definitely be an option for you! There are several OR nurses in the room during a surgical procedure, and they all have different roles. As an OR nurse, your two primary responsibilities might include charting and assisting the surgeon during the procedure.

Procedural: Pre-Operative and Post-Anesthesia Care (PACU) Nursing

Since I’ve been a pre-op / PACU nurse for several years now, I have lots of information to share on what PACU nurses do as well as the pros and cons of being a PACU nurse. To summarize that post, pre-operative nurses get patients ready for surgery. They make sure all documentation is complete, get important pre-surgery assessments, and place IVs. Conversely, PACU nurses receive their patients after the surgery is over. They assist with pain control, assess vital signs, and make sure their patients are safe to leave the peri-operative area.

The types of procedures that these nurses are involved with will vary widely by hospital (for example, some are trauma centers, some get pediatric patients, and some are smaller outpatient centers).

Procedural: Interventional Radiology (IR) Nursing

IR nurses get patients ready for interventional radiology procedures and are present during the procedures to administer moderate sedation (such as Versed). These procedures might include things like biopsies, angiograms, placement of gastrostomy tubes, creation of fistulas, embolizations, and so much more.

One of the downsides (much like PACU) is that IR nurses are expected to be on call. How intense this is and how much they actually get called in will depend on the hospital.

Procedural: Cardiac Cath Lab Nursing

It’s honestly very impressive how many non-invasive cardiac procedures can be performed in the cath lab. In addition to cardiac catheterizations, you cath lab nurses assist with preparing patients for (and assisting with) stent implants, angioplasties, TAVR placements, and TONS of other things. If you need further proof that they are bad***es, take it from this list of common catheterization procedures!

In order to get involved in cath lab nursing (and IR nursing, while we’re talking about it), you will need at least a few years of critical care experience. These procedural areas can (and do) often deal with emergency situations. These situations can be even scarier than if they were to happen on a standard nursing floor, as there are often fewer staff, fewer resources, and for some reason are always positioned in a small, dark dungeon of the hospital … so they’re impossible to find when needed!

One downside to both IR and cath lab nursing settings is the need to always be wearing lead vests, which can be a struggle if you have any kind of back issue. If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend either IR or cath lab.

Procedural: Gastrointestinal (GI) Nursing

GI nurses assist in procedures related to the GI system (I know, I’m really dropping lots of knowledge on you today). They might administer medications (usually moderate sedation) during EGDs, colonoscopies, abdominal organ biopsies, and so much more. Depending on the hospital, these patients will then be taken to the PACU to recover from the anesthesia and monitor for any complications. I have honestly met very few GI nurses who don’t like their jobs.

Inpatient Units: Medical-Surgical Nursing

I truly believe that med-surg nurses are heroes on earth. These are the ones who are running around with anywhere from 3-7 patients (get yourself a hospital with a good nurse:patient ratio folks), are very knowledgebale about many skills and have excellent time management skills. These units get all kinds of patients, and their days follow a very loose structure. Med-surg patients are usually not as sick as ICU or Telemetry patients.

Inpatient Units:Telemetry / Progressive Care Unit (PCU) / Step-Down Nursing

Patients on telemetry units are in between med-surg and ICU level of care. They are put on monitors for intermittent assessments of their vital signs. These floors are very similar to med-surg floors, however the nurse:patient ratio might be slightly lower because of the higher patient acuity. Though the patients vary by hospital and unit, many of these floors are post-surgical or cardiac-heavy floors.

It’s important to note that many patients on med-surg, telemetry, and ICU floors do encompass geriatric nursing, as many of the patients have multiple diseases and are older in age.

Inpatient Units: Orthopedic Nursing

While orthopedic nurses generally fall under the med-surg or telemetry umbrella, I’ve kept it separate here because it’s pretty much a guarantee that most hospitals will have an orthopedic floor. My very first job in a hospital setting was on an orthopedic floor, and I wanted to note that orthopedic floors can be very fun, busy, fast paced places to work. I learned so many time management skills on this floor, however I had several coworkers who felt that they were just passing pain pills and ambulating their patients all day. Take it as you will!

Inpatient Units:Mental Health Nursing

Also called psychiatric nursing, these nurses work with adults (and children, again depending on the hospital) with a wide variety of mental health conditions. Psychiatric nursing is definitely not for everyone. While some love it, others find it scary – especially when working with high acuity patients. Always remember to protect yourself first, but know that psych nurses are angels and I commend them endlessly.

Inpatient Units:Oncology Nursing

Oncology nurses primarily work with cancer patients, whether they be adults or children. They are well versed in time mangement, highly skilled in administering highly toxic chemotherapy drugs, and are generally managing very sick patients. In a hospital setting, these patients are generally med-surg patients, however their care is quite complex. Oncology nurses also have the option of working in outpatient infusion centers.

Inpatient Units: Nurse Educators

Because this doesn’t really fit into any other category, I have had to leave nurse educators all by themselves. This is a great position if you have some experience in your specialty, have a passion for teaching, and want to remove yourself from the bedside hustle and bustle. Nurse educators have the option of working in an inpatient or outpatient setting, because every staff needs to be educated! I will say that nurse educators do have to have some experience before taking on this role, but I just wanted to put it on your radar.

Outpatient: Public Health Nurse

Public health nurses generally work directly with community members and in outpatient clinics. Public health nurses are usually the ones assisting in low-income areas (but not always). They do a great deal of education, and are frequently involved in projects that better the community. Here’s a great article on what public health nursing is.

Outpatient: Hospice or Palliative Care Nursing

I’ll make the important distinction that hospice and palliative care nursing are NOT the same, but the end result is: These nurses work to ease pain and suffering. This type of nursing is hard on the heart strings, but it is an extremely rewarding career path that allows nurses to get to know their patients (and their patient’s families) intimately. I will note that these nurses are usually expected to make house calls, so if you don’t like the idea of home visits, this is probably not the specialty for you. There is some level of on-call required at many hospice organizations as well.

Outpatient: Home Health Nursing

Like hospice or palliative care nursing, home health nurses drive to their patient’s homes to take care of them. These patients often have multiple comorbidities and oftentimes don’t have access to great care unless they are linked up with a home health nurse.

Outpatient: Clinic Nursing

For nurses who are burnt out from the bedside but aren’t ready to give up their hands-on skills, working in an outpatient clinic is a great option. Responsibilities might include taking vital signs, coordinating appointments, getting patients to their assigned patient rooms, and performing simple bedside procedures.

Outpatient: Care Coordinator

Nontraditional Jobs: Flight nursing

Though this requires lots of ER / ICU / trauma experience, flight nurses take care of their patients in the air! This job is full of adrenaline and can be very exciting, but also very stressful. Flight nurse jobs are hard to come by, but if you think you might be interested in this type of role, I would definitely encourage you to take the leap.

Nontraditional Jobs: Cruise ship nursing

Cruise ship nurses work off of cruises and are essentially part of the cruise ship staff. They handle all of the needs of the crew and/or cruise go-ers on board.

Nontraditional Jobs: Camp nursing

Camp nurses tend to the needs of campers. Pretty simple, huh? It’s a very fun gig, and they get to participate in the chaos and medical care of up to several hundred campers.

Nontraditional Jobs: Travel nursing

There are many travel nurses out there who can tell you lots more about it than I can, but I do know some great travel nurses who have lots of great advice to give. I sat down with my travel nurse friends Kristi and Colleen to ask them how to get started, what their favorite and least favorite parts of the travel nurse world are, and more.

Do keep in mind that some of these specialties are available in different settings, meaning you can work in an outpatient or inpatient PACU, as a nurse midwife, or as a nurse educator. Your options are endless!

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, otherwise known as APRNs, have gone on to get further education after obtaining their initial nursing degree. These nurses definitely have tons of job options and opportunities. If you want to go back to school, you don’t HAVE to be a Nurse Practitioner! There’s a great breakdown of some of your options HERE.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

CRNAs with in procedural areas to administer anesthesia. They can work inpatient or outpatient, and though the schooling is hard (and full of pharmacology), they do make the big bucks!

Nurse Practitioner

There are many different types of nurse practitioners, so I would encourage you to assess what your interests are. Your options include but are not limited to:

• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
• Adult-Gerontology (AGNP)
• Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
• Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
• Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP)
• Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP)

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

I hope you found this helpful when determining what kind of nurse you want to be. If you constantly find yourself wondering how to know what nursing job is right for you, please rest assured that you have TONS of options, and there is nothing wrong in exploring those!