Need help with a paper re: nursing specialties

Nurses General Nursing

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Heya Folks,

I've got to write a paper in my Technical Report Writing class about my "current or future career". So, my basic idea is a general overview of nursing specialites. But I could use some help..

I'm breaking it down into three main areas - Hospital, Non-Hospital and Emerging Specialties (basically the specialties that are relatively new).

Hospital - ER, OR, ICU, Med/Surg, L&D, Psych (should I list pediatrics as a separate specialty? neonatal separate from peds?)

Non-Hospital - Clinical, Corrections, LTC, Hospice, Camp

Emerging - Telemetry, Informatics

I'd love any suggestions of areas I missed. I need areas I can write at least 2-3 paragraphs about. I'm especially interrested in the last topic, Emerging Specialties as the tentative title of my paper is "Nursing in the 21st Century: An Overview"

There is educator, public health,

Educator falls into 2 groups educationg other nurses and educating the public and patients.

I know of a nurse who has a busness as a full time diabetic educator.

I am working on some talks and workshops on wellness education for general audiences.

So public speaking I supose could be a speciality. There are nurse politicians and lobbiest . Yes I'd say pediatrics is a speciality. Informatics is definately emerging but Telemetry has been arround a very long time to call it emerging.

perhaps politition or lobbiest is more an emerging field. Or political activist. There are many specialities and sub specialties. Neonate is a sub speicality of Maternal child, and camp I would not consider a speciality as it is pediatrics.

Nurse entraprenure might be considered emerging. But an entraprenure can specialize in any number of these other areas.

Would you please explain your quote about France and the acordian player? I'm dense and courious.

what about RNs that are now lawyers?

I'm in developmental disabilities with an agency that serves this population. The speciality certifcation is CDDN. "Certified Developmental

Disabilities Nurse. Web page: ddna.org

Is relatively new area to specialize in.

Good luck with your paper.

Originally posted by Agnus

Would you please explain your quote about France and the acordian player? I'm dense and courious.

It refers to the fact that France is not necessary to go to war -- you don't need an accordian player in order to go hunting -- equates to the one about "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"!!

Specializes in Home Health.

For non-hospital: home health (you can check out my web site http://www.geocities.com/vnarn_nj and go to the section on "About home health nursing"

Also, case management for insurance co's. Case management can be done in and out of hospitla though, and what it is is to follow a pt, and coordinate their health needs, in the insur co, a CM may set-up the home care a pt will get, arrange for DME delivery to the home, arrange for transportation, or arrange for a pt to be seen by a specialist. Some nurses in insur co's precert care, or oversee utilization of hospital beds.

Another one is school nursing.

Occupational health nursing; assessing the responsibilities of what each position entails, how injuries might occur, and taking measures, re educating employees on how to avoid injury and also treating injuries and illnesses as they arise.

Emerging? Telemetry, well that has been around since I have been out of nursing school in 1981, but I think informatics is a great one.

Rather than grouping the specailties into hosp vs non-hosp, may I suggest you simply use the diff specialities. Many areas will crossover, such as case management, peds (in and out of hosp, home health, school nursing, hosp insur nurse, ped office).

You have certainly chosen a braod category to cover, can you narrow it down a bit to make it easier on yourself? How many pages is this paper supposed to be??

Good luck. :)

Originally posted by hoolahan

For non-hospital: home health (you can check out my web site http://www.geocities.com/vnarn_nj and go to the section on "About home health nursing"

Also, case management for insurance co's. Case management can be done in and out of hospitla though, and what it is is to follow a pt, and coordinate their health needs, in the insur co, a CM may set-up the home care a pt will get, arrange for DME delivery to the home, arrange for transportation, or arrange for a pt to be seen by a specialist. Some nurses in insur co's precert care, or oversee utilization of hospital beds.

Another one is school nursing.

Occupational health nursing; assessing the responsibilities of what each position entails, how injuries might occur, and taking measures, re educating employees on how to avoid injury and also treating injuries and illnesses as they arise.

Emerging? Telemetry, well that has been around since I have been out of nursing school in 1981, but I think informatics is a great one.

Rather than grouping the specailties into hosp vs non-hosp, may I suggest you simply use the diff specialities. Many areas will crossover, such as case management, peds (in and out of hosp, home health, school nursing, hosp insur nurse, ped office).

You have certainly chosen a braod category to cover, can you narrow it down a bit to make it easier on yourself? How many pages is this paper supposed to be??

Good luck. :)

This is a very lengthy paper. It'll take almost 1/3 of the semester to write. I'm expecting 10 pages at least.

How would you group specialties that do not involve actually laying hands upon patients (occupational, insurance, etc)? Maybe call it "non-traditional?

Part of the point of this paper is for us to learn about our new career which is what gave me the idea to look into the relatively new specialties as well as explore the well established areas. I assumed telemetry was new because of the technology involved.

Someone said camp nursing should be under peds. It was my understanding that "camp nursing" was nuring at any remote facility where there is no doctor available (offshore on an oil rig, for example). True?

I like your idea on the emerging areas, that would narrow it down a bit and could be pretty interesting. Forensic is another emerging.

Best of luck!

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

It certainly sounds like this is going to be an interesting paper :). (I'm envisioning the title or opening line something like, "Think you want to be a nurse but don't think you qualify because you don't want to deal with patients? Read on!) ;)

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Another thought is to organize your paper around the structure provided by "specialty certification." What are the different specialties in which a nurse can be officially certified by a major organization? That would provide a structure for your paper as well as a "legitimacy" that is more than listing the specialties you have heard of. You should be able to make a pretty good list just by what you find on the Internet.

Also, if you found one good recent journal article on certification, it would probably list the different organizations that provide certifications and you could check their websites for more information.

In fact, the ANA cite may have a links to other specialty organizatins that certify.

llg

Peds is a specialty. Find out what types of certifications are offered and that will point you to specialties. I feel nurses are getting more and more specialzed because more is demanded of them and no one can be everything to everybody. You have to focus on one area. But you don't have to STAY in that area, which means nurses can flex from one unit to another if they choose. MD's cannot. (heart dr. cannot be pediatrician as easily as nurses can move from cardio to pedi units). good luck

Originally posted by Lausana

I like your idea on the emerging areas, that would narrow it down a bit and could be pretty interesting. Forensic is another emerging.

Best of luck!

What can you tell me about forensic nursing? Is this what I think it is, real CSI type stuff?

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