Traveling Nurses
As the name suggests, traveling nurses are required to visit a variety of places, usually to fill in during shortages. Traveling nurses enjoy perks such as free travel, housing, and other benefits provided by healthcare organizations. The shortage in the nursing profession in general has popularized this particular specialization.
Informatics Nurses
Trends in nursing have caused a dramatic change among this category of nurses. Nurses who have knowledge and experience in information technology choose to become informatics nurses because the field of informatics nursing requires a combination of clinical and information technology skills. Nursing here primarily involves handling electronic medical records. Nurses in this field are being increasingly recruited by business for R&D and marketing. They also work in teaching and training positions in academia as systems analysts, and as information officers in healthcare organizations.
Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (ACNPs)
Trained nurses who provide care to patients in critical condition are called acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs). Demand for such nurses has been on the rise as they are useful in providing support in intensive care units, pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthetics, and genetic nursing. These specialists even assist in treatments and conduct physical examinations.
Genetic Nurses
Genetic nursing is one of the latest big trends in nursing. Demand for trained nurses working on genetics-related research connected with the mapping of the human genome has been growing. These nurses simplify the geneticists' prognoses and interpret test results for patients. Genetic nurses work for genetics networks and specialty genetics labs, and provide assistance in education and counseling.
Infusion Nurses
When New Age medicines entail special implants in a patient’s body, infusion nurses are called upon. They are eminently useful for such procedures, especially in the case of chemotherapy or antibiotic therapies. Infusion nurses are specialists in their jobs and are usually called upon by healthcare organizations on an as-needed basis.
End-of-Life Nurses
This profession is one of the latest to develop due to recent trends in nursing. As the importance of dignified death is becoming better understood, end-of-life nursing is becoming an increasingly in-demand profession. End-of-life nurses are usually found in hospice and palliative care units. An aging world population is increasing the importance of this profession.
Conclusion
In today’s environment, nurses are facing increased pressure as hospitals are faced with fewer resources for providing patient care. With the aging of the nursing workforce and declining enrollment in nursing programs, it is not surprising that the unemployment rate for nurses is extremely low compared with those of other professions. The above trends in nursing are seen as a welcome change as more and more hospitals are seeking specialist rather than generalist nurses.
