what would you say is the most in demand?

I am a psych nurse and I LOVE IT! ha, so does that makes me bias??. but who cares, choose psych, you will LOVE your job and forever thank me. I guarantee that, or get 100% your money back :)

Home Health is in demand. We have a hard time finding any candidates let alone good ones. Our wages are good, our hours are good (if you have the right wiring for organizational/time mgmt skills and able to learn how to meet minimal documentation requirements quickly without excess), and we have time to provide thorough care.

I have no idea really why the majority nurses aspire to work short in the hospital when they could have my job.

ETA I work for a reputable company.

Click on the NURSING JOBS heading on the right side of this page. My quick look showed psych nursing right up there with 5,785 offers! But look through the offers for yourself, you will see what is out there.

Jobs in an acute care hospital, the "specialties" that you need extra training for, are generally in higher demand. Nursing few new grads can do right out of school such as OR (circulating) and L&D. We still occasionally use traveler nurses for circulating nurses on our out patient ambulatory nursing center.

But all three of the replies sound good....I don't know much about home health nursing, i.e., Libby's post, but it sounds interesting.

Subacute care, assisted living and Long-term acute care (LTAC) will see strong growth. Home care, community health and outpatient clinics likewise.

Acute hospital inpatient positions, traditionally the backbone of nursing, will likely see more sluggish growth. There is increasing pressure to get patients out of the hospital asap, and to manage their care and recovery in home or in subacute/rehab centers. Plus, as technology advances, more and more procedures are able to be performed on an outpatient basis.

While long-term care (LTC) has seen strong growth overall, certain kinds of LTC are growing faster than others. It has long been assumed that the aging of the Babyboomers would lead to dramatic increase in nursing homes. A logical assumption. But the traditional "old folks" style nursing homes are often struggling to keep their beds filled. It seems the boomers (and their children) are not interested in that option. Hence the growth of assisted living centers and visiting nurses.

And where most nurses want to work tends to be a direct reflection of which segments of society are valued.... and which ones aren't.

The one where you will take care of 50 patients while making minimum wage.