Different Types of Nurses

At some point in life, we have all needed nurses to take care of us. While some types of nurses are known to us, we are completely unaware of the rest. As people not from the medical field, we would never know the exact types of nurses that are present today.

A few of us do know some of the types of nurses, but not all. Some people have always wanted to be nurses and want to know the different types so they can choose one from them.

You'll be surprised to know that there are more than 20 different types of nurses. While most options are open for both males and females, most of these nurses are women. In some countries however, we can say this statement can be contradicted.

Coming back to the types, this story covers a total of 23 types for you, including their job descriptions and their approximate salary ranges. So if you are interested in one of the various nurse careers, this is a must read.

The first one of the type of nurse is the cardiac nurse. A cardiac nurse takes care of patients who need to be treated for cardiovascular ailments. They can be dealing with congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy.

They also assist and are responsible in a way for proper implantation of defibrillators and pacemakers. The average yearly salary for a cardiac nurse is approximately $88,000.

Cardiothoracic nurses are nurses that are involved in illness and diseases pertaining to the heart and lungs. They perform laboratory examinations for patients suffering from these and prescribe necessary medications.

Some of the areas of their operation are heart blockages, heart disease, lung cancer, angina and pulmonary diseases. The average yearly salary of a cardiothoracic nurse is approximately $71,000.

Hemodialysis nurses are nurses who deal in kidney failures. They assist their patients in such circumstances with the help of dialysis treatments. They also educate their patients on what to do and what not to do during dialysis.

Their certification is known as CHN which stands for Certified Hemodialysis Nurse. The average yearly salary of a hemodialysis nurse is approximately $72,000.

Labor and delivery nurses basically take care of an expecting mother right from her labor to after she has delivered the baby. These nurses are responsible to make the mother in labor feel comfortable, guide her through the entire delivery and take care of her and her newborn till they leave the hospital.

These nurses are educated to handle emergencies during the course of labor and delivery. The average yearly salary of a labor and delivery nurse is approximately anywhere between $50,000 - $102,000. A lot depends on experience in these cases.

A medical and surgical nurse is someone who carries out all the nurse duties assigned to her as an assistant to any physician or surgeon. This includes dressing, following up on diets, checking on treatments and the jobs of similar nature.

A very important part of the medical and surgical nurse is the documentation. Naturally, they are bound to have more number of patients. Progress of each patient needs to be recorded. The average yearly salary of a medical and surgical nurse is approximately $70,000.

A neurology nurse is basically a nurse who assists neurologists. They deal with patients who have diseases or disorders relating to the brain or the nervous system as such. It is very important for these nurses to have complete knowledge of the brain and nervous system and they should also be able to tap the correct progress of any patient.

These nurses are responsible to carry out treatments as specified by the neurologists. The average yearly salary of a neurology nurse is approximately $150,000.

Yet another different type of nurse, is the nursery nurse. A nursery nurse is someone who doesn't work in hospitals as such but assists other teachers to develop and educate children properly. These children usually belong to the pre-primary, primary and nursery levels.

Sometimes, these nurses are also hired by households as nannies where they are expected to take care of children, maintain records of their development and also the usual hygiene in and around the children. The average yearly starting salary for nurses in this category is approximately $64,000.

The OB-GYN nurse is someone who assists the obstetricians and gynecologists in their works related to mostly the reproductive system. The mostly treat issues such as cervical cancers or vaginal cancers, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy in major.

These nurses are responsible for not only assisting but their work also includes taking samples and working on clinical tests. The obstetricians and gynecology nurses also see to it that the progress of all patients is recorded and the treatment is right. The average yearly salary of a obstetricians and gynecology nurse is approximately $64,000.

We all know that orthopedics is a field that studies the complex musculoskeletal system and the human bones. Now, the orthopedic nurse assists these physicians while they treat patients who have injuries, ligaments tears, muscle pulls, fractures and the like.

Along with these responsibilities of a nurse, the orthopedic nurse is also responsible for everyday dressing and to check if it has been done properly. Orthopedic nurses also administer medicines and are responsible for inserting IVs.

They have to take care that the affected bones heal well and the movements are back to normal. The average yearly salary of an orthopedic nurse is approximately $107,000.

Oncology nurses are nurses who work under cancer specialists. We all the grave nature of this type of disease, so working as an oncology nurse is surely going to difficult. They are responsible for carrying out the various healing treatments that cancer patients have to go through.

Apart from actually treating, they also have to explain the various treatment option available to each patient. Cancer has its own way, so emotionally supporting the patients is another important duty they have to perform. The average yearly salary of an oncology nurse is approximately $100,000.

The pediatric nurse is someone who deals with the age group of 0 to about 17-18 years. Nowadays, the upper limit however, is reducing to 15-16 years. She will make sure that the child has taken all the vaccinations, maintain and check records for the same.

Also, matters of hygiene and complete health will be explained to the children and their families. Pediatric nurses have to be very good at diagnosing children and look for any changes as this is the age when children grow very fast. The average of pediatric nurse salary range is approximately $70,000.

Psychiatric nurses are nurses who take care of patients suffering from major depressive disorder, schizophrenia,substance addiction, dementia and bipolar disorder. They work in mental facilities and institutions alike. They are responsible for taking care of everyday activities of patients suffering from the above mentioned diseases or rather disorders.

They also help the patient to improve his condition by counseling along with the prescribed treatment. These nurses are registered but can also be simple nurse practitioners. The psychiatric nurse practitioner salary is approximately $30,000-$65,000 depending on the work they have to do.

The respiratory nurse has duties concerning the respiratory system of humans and issues relating to the lungs. The respiratory nurse is responsible for treatments that basically deal with normal breathing techniques to assistance in surgeries relating to proper breathing during other operations.

These nurses work with all age groups and not only in hospitals but also in offices and private institutions. The respiratory nurses have a really important job given their role in keeping the respiratory system working. The average yearly salary of a respiratory nurse is approximately $60,000. These nurses are also referred to, at times as pulmonary nurses.

• CCU or Cardiac Care Unit: Work with the most critically ill. Can be approximately paid up to $80,000 annually with lot of experience and education of the field.
• Cardiothoracic ICU: Work with patients who are severally ill with problems relating to the heart. Handle a maximum of 2-3 patients. These are paid high, as much as $100,000 at times.

• Emergency Room: Work with patients that need immediate treatment. Work long shifts, usually 40 hours/week. Do a quick assessment of patients and assign them to respective doctors/physicians. Average approximate salary - $70,000.

• Flight Nursing: Work with critically ill patients who need to be transported by air for better treatment or need to be reached at specific locations. The travel nurse salary range average is $60,000.

• General ICU: Work with patients who are critically ill in the Intensive Care Unit. Keep them under strict observation and keep working for better condition. Average approximate salary is $75,000.

• Neonatal ICU: Neonatal nurses work with newborn babies who suffer from diseases or illnesses that can be life-threatening. Work under respective physicians. Average salary is approximately $65,000.

• Neuro ICU: Work with patients who suffer from problems such as communication, sleep and sexuality. Of course there are more. The average approximate salary is $85,000.

• Postoperative Care Unit Nurse: Works with patients who are in pain after surgery. They have to be very good at diagnosing and equipped with strong knowledge of anesthesiology. The average approximate salary is $60,000.

• Pediatric ICU: Nurses that work in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), treat children who are critically ill or injured. They work continuously towards improvement of condition. The average salary is approximately $65,000.

• Surgical ICU: Work with patients who don't have stable prognosis immediately or gradually after a particular surgery. The average approximate yearly salary is $75,000.

You have to know that becoming a nurse isn't easy, but now that we know all these different types of nurses and what they do, including their salary range, it'll be easier for you to decide which one you want to be. Nurses are an integral part of any nursing or medical institution, and careers in this field are surely booming.

As we have seen, some nurses are paid as good as what physicians in some cases are. So, if you want to be a nurse, I hope this article gave you all the information you needed to, in choosing your type.