Caring for patients is never an easy task. It takes patience, love, understanding and authority to provide quality service, while at the same time holding people accountable for their commitment to treatment and improvement.
And, although sometimes the importance of the work of these professionals tends to be underestimated, one cannot hide the fact that they are a key part of the medical world, for although doctors are the ones who cure, they are the ones who cure, nurses must deal directly with the needs of all hospitalized patients and their recovery.. To learn more about this profession, we will talk in this article about the branches into which nursing is divided and what each of them is about.
What is Nursing?
Nursing is the science of health that is in charge of providing attention and care to seriously ill and hospitalized patients in a hospital, in order to achieve their recovery.in order to achieve their full recovery. To this end, they are in charge of administering the correct doses of medication, maintaining vital supports, cleaning personnel, monitoring nutrition, participating in rehabilitation therapies, among other functions depending on the person’s needs.
This is the field of health that is most in demand, due to the fact that constant medical assistance to people is always needed, both in the hospital and in nursing homes.
What specialties exist in the world of Nursing?
We must emphasize that, before specializing, one must obtain a nursing degree, where they can work in a hospital, due to their general knowledge of care. Below you will learn what are the branches in which nursing is divided.
1. Pediatric Nursing
As its name indicates, this is the branch of nursing that focuses on the care of children and adolescents. focuses on the care of children, including infants and young people up to 16 years of age.. Therefore, specialists should study the functioning and development of each type of body according to its age, however, they should place greater emphasis on the evolutionary development of the youngest, because this is where most of the changes and abnormal behaviors are observed, as well as reactions to medications.
2. Surgical nursing
Nurses can also assist at the time of an operation, so they work together with the operating physicians.. Their function is the correct handling of the surgical and technological clothing necessary for the specifications required in an operation. This requires careful attention since each operation is different depending on the type of diagnosis they are intervening.
3. Obstetrical-gynecological nursing
This is considered to be the most popular and demanding specialty of all, since it is the most important one. the assistance provided to pregnant women .. Its function is to monitor proper embryonic development and provide the required neo-natal care. This branch is also known as primary care nursing.
4. Neonatal nursing
These work in conjunction with obstetrics and gynecology nurses, except that they focus on specialized care for babies once they are born once they are born, whether or not they present any complications. In order to ensure proper development later, both in cases of transition between the hospital and everyday life or for disease control and so parents have a firm direction to follow.
This is another of the most demanded branches of nursing because every day they discover that it is necessary to require special medical attention for newborns, both for the early detection of anomalies and to provide basic comprehensive care.
5. Mental health nursing
Also called psychiatric nursing, people who specialize in this field are responsible for maintaining the health and quality of life of patients with mental disorders or psychological illnesses. patients with mental disorders or psychological illnesses.. These people need particular assistance, as it will depend on the type of condition they present and the treatment required, and psychiatric nurses need training in containment and management of emotional overflows.
6. Geriatric nursing
In this field, nurses care for the elderly, either in their own homesThey work in their own homes, in hospitals or in nursing homes. They specialize in the life cycle of the elderly, the conditions that may arise and the most effective ways to preserve their quality of life with physical and mental exercises.
7. Occupational Nursing
This branch is little known but is very well received. assistance provided to workers in various institutions.. Its function is to ensure that their responsibilities are in accordance with their position and that these are not exceeded to such an extent that they may aggravate their occupational health, in order to reduce and avoid occupational hazards.
They also care for people who have suffered injuries due to accidents at work and create health promotion campaigns within the organizations. It is also known as industrial nursing or occupational health nursing.
8. Family and community nursing
This field is named for its work in communities and with specific populations, through promotion of health habitsIt is also known as family and community nursing, disease prevention and awareness of the importance of maintaining good health habits for an excellent quality of life. In addition, they care for people with contagious viral diseases to prevent them from spreading and participate in vaccination campaigns.
9. Practical Nursing
This is another of the nursing specializations that is not very well known, yet it is one of the ones that requires the most academic preparation, as it focus on attending to complex and special cases and special cases together with the physicians working on those cases, providing their assistance to record the changes that occur.
There are countries where this specialization is accredited to work independently to solve the complicated cases in which they are interested. Their work is highly valued in the medical community, as their results can help to complement physicians.
10. Orthopedic nursing
This is a rather delicate branch of nursing, as they deal with patients who have orthopedic complications, i.e., those who with musculoskeletal problems such as osteoporosis, fractures, arthritis, scoliosis, among others. Therefore, they need to be trained in each bone disease and in the special care for each case, without seriously affecting their lifestyle.
11. Intensive nursing
These nurses are the ones who are working in the intensive care unit. working in the intensive care unit (ICU) of hospitals and clinics, specializing in the treatment and recovery of patients with bone disease.They specialize in the treatment and recovery of critically ill patients. From implementing medical supplies and monitoring their constant evolution, to dealing with patients’ families.
These specialists must continuously monitor the improvement or worsening of hospitalized persons, at specific daily hours (depending on their condition) and adapt the changes they require according to their condition.
12. Emergency nursing
This may be confused with the previous branch, but the difference between the two is that the latter focuses specifically on assisting patients in the emergency area, where they work to monitor and stabilize vital signsThey work to monitor and stabilize their vital signs, perform a basic assessment of their state of gravity, perform the treatment that is required at the time and prepare patients for specific intervention. These nurses must work in a fast time, so they must be precise, careful and alert.
13. Nurse anesthesiologists
This is one of the fields that requires the most time for study and preparation, as it is considered one of the most delicate of all. It involves the It is the assistance in the provision of anesthesia to patients who will undergo minor or major surgery. minor or major surgery. Therefore, they need to know the appropriate doses for the condition that a person presents and to know in which cases it cannot be applied (for example, when there are allergic reactions or resistances). It is perhaps the one that requires the most commitment and responsibility, but it is also the one that provides the best economic benefits.
14. Nursing and palliative care
This specialization is related to the care of people with terminal illnesses; it is in charge of providing the best possible quality of life with medical treatments to alleviate pain and to create plans for nutritional and occupational habits. In order to create a state of peaceful transition for the patient and his or her family..
15. Oncology nursing
As we can guess from the name, these are nurses who specialize in the care required by people suffering from cancer. care required by people suffering from cancer. They are attentive to the treatment that each person requires, supervise their evolution, as well as the creation of plans to improve their daily health habits, such as food, recreation, commitment to the follow-up of their therapy and the care to be followed after the treatment has been completed.
16. Research nursing
This specialty is different from the previous ones described above, since it focuses on the development of studies and research that may be of interest to the patient. studies and researches that can be useful for the formation and scientific evolution of nursing and medicine, which can help to a better and medicine that can help to a better diagnosis and treatment of different diseases.
17. Military Nursing
These are nurses who specialize in the care required by the military, from intensive care interventionfrom intensive care intervention to health promotion and disease prevention within the military. In order to guarantee an adequate physical and mental state for their work, as well as an optimal recovery.