MAS Medical Medical Staffing provided this article.
Caregivers such as yourself are seeking change in the most expansive field known as nursing. With an abundance of nursing specialties to choose from, narrowing your list can be tough. Let us help guide your journey while sharing the most sought-after nursing specialties for 2023 and each job outlook.
Top Nursing Specialties for 2023
- Long Term Care (LTC)
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- Medical-Surgical (Med/Surg) & Medical-Surgical Telemetry (Med/Surg Tele)
- Neonatal Intensive Care
- Occupational Health in SNF (Skilled Nursing Facilities)
- Rehab
- Home Care
- Hospice
Long Term Care (LTC)
A long-term care nurse is a skilled nursing professional dedicated to caring for patients who require prolonged nursing and personal care. This includes patients with chronic illnesses or injuries who do not have the resources or support to be cared for at home and need to be in a long-term care facility. In an LTC setting, you care for patients admitted anywhere from a couple of weeks to months or even years. Several patients live in these long-term care facilities permanently or indefinitely. Because of that, LTC nurses can form and build long-term relationships and bonds while caring for their residents at the same time.
LTC Job Outlook: 9% predicted growth (2020-2030)
Duties for a Long-Term Care nurse include:
- Implementing comprehensive patient care plans with medical and clinical staff
- Providing specialized treatments for progressive and chronic conditions
- Recording vital signs and administering medications
- Operating medical equipment, monitoring and assessing patient status, and recording patient information in medical records
- Assisting patients with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing
- Offering education, emotional support, and guidance to patients, families, and caregivers
Is LTC right for me?
If you’re a healthcare professional who feels the pace of your job and workplace doesn’t give you enough time to grow the relationships you’d like with patients, long-term care nursing might be the career for you.
Character traits of an LTC nurse:
- Patient
- Compassionate
- Attentive
- Dependable
- Trustworthy
Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
ICU nurses care for patients with illnesses or life-threatening conditions/injuries in a hospital or facility’s intensive care unit. They monitor conditions, check for vitals, and administer medication.
ICU Job Outlook: Expected annual increase of 1.24 percent over the next few years
Is the ICU meant for you?
Character traits of an ICU nurse:
- A great planner
- Communicative
- A critical thinker
- Great at problem-solving
- Organized
Medical-Surgical (Med/Surg)
This type of nurse provides direct care to a wide range of patients. They typically treat those suffering from several illnesses and complications, including post-surgical patients. This position is great for nurses looking to gain exposure and new experience.
Med/Surg Job Outlook: Projected to grow 12% from 2018 to 2028
Duties for a Med/Surge nurse include:
- Admitting, transmitting, and discharging patients
- Monitoring vital signs
- Administering medications and helping with pain control
- Operating and maintaining medical equipment – IV lines, feeding tubes, catheters, oxygen tubing, etc.
Is Med/Surg your match?
Character traits of a Med/Surg nurse:
- Quick thinker
- Thrive in high-pressure situations
- Organized
- Calm demeanor
Neonatal Intensive Care
Neonatal Intensive Care nurses provide care for infants needing intensive care for health complications such as cardiac disabilities, genetic conditions, or drug dependency. NICU nurses will provide this assistance throughout infancy up until the newborn stage.
Neonatal Intensive Care Job Outlook: 9% predicted growth (2020-2030)
Are you a nice match for the NICU?
Those well suited for the role will have the following character traits:
- Caring and compassionate
- A natural interest in caring for newborn babies
- Kind heart
- Have focus and decision-making skills
Occupational Health
Occupational Therapists primarily work in hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities. They treat injured, ill or disabled patients using therapeutic methods in everyday activities. The key responsibilities of an OT may include planning individual treatment programs and goals, administering therapy approaches while instructing patients how to perform them, and organizing and maintaining equipment such as walkers, lifts, mechanical chairs, etc.
Occupational Health Job Outlook: Projected to grow 5% (2021-2031)
Is OT the right path for me?
If you have great interpersonal and communication skills, emotional intelligence (empathy and compassion), are well organized and obtain analytical and problem-solving skills, then you are more than likely a great fit for this type of position. Explore MAS Medical’s OT jobs today!
Rehab Nurse
Rehab nurses work with patients of all ages, their families, or caregivers soon after the onset of a disabling injury or chronic illness. They rebuild patients’ lives so they have freedom and independence again. They even work alongside other healthcare team members, including speech therapists, physical therapists, physiatrists, and more.
Rehab Nurse Job Outlook: 7% predicted growth (2019-2029)
Character traits for someone in this field:
- Excellent teaching skills
- Strong planning skills
- Empathetic
- A team player
- Physically strong and able to lift and move patients
Home Care Nurse
As a Home Care nurse, your job will be to connect with your patients in a one-on-one environment that requires compassion and kindness. You will also be an educational resource—there to answer all questions that your patient or their family may have. This will require you to be knowledgeable about a vast number of topics and comfortable sharing your expertise with others. Home Care nurses are typically responsible for managing a patient’s healthcare plan, helping the patient keep healthy hygiene, and administering and maintaining records of all prescribed medications.
Home Care Nurse Job Outlook: Projected to grow 25 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations
Qualities of a Home Care nurse include:
- Compassionate
- Empathetic
- A problem solver
- Patient
- Has stamina
- Pays great attention to detail
Hospice Nurse
Hospice nurses care for patients with terminal conditions, focusing on keeping the patient as comfortable as possible and minimizing pain. They work under the supervision of physicians or advanced practice nurses and may supervise nursing assistants. The key responsibilities of a hospice nurse include treating and dressing wound sites, monitoring vital signs, and administering medications – particularly for pain management.
Hospice Nurse Job Outlook: Projected growth of 7% (2019-2029)
Hospice nurse character traits:
- Communicative
- Empathetic
- Patient
Plenty of Opportunity for 2023
You tell us where you want to go and what you’re looking for, and we’ll help you get there. Your next adventure is right around the corner with MAS Medical Staffing. Our team of recruiters is ready to help you find the perfect nursing specialty to help you advance your career.
We hope you found this article on the most sought-after nursing specialties for 2023 helpful. If you have any insight or comments, please leave them below.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
