Nursing specialties are practice areas that focus on a patient population or condition. Some include critical care nurse, dialysis nurse, nurse case manager, nurse educator and neonatal nurse. To choose a nursing specialty, consider your interests, personal strengths, preferred work environment and preferred patient population.
Registered nurses enjoy career flexibility, with many nursing specialties to choose from. What are the best nursing specialties? The answer depends on your interests, strengths, preferred work environment and career goals. The following specialties can help you begin exploring your options.
At Harding University’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program, you can use clinical rotations to explore different practice areas and identify the best nurse specialty for your interests and strengths.
Before choosing a specialty, review the different types of nurses and practice areas, including perioperative and critical care nursing. Then, consider how various types of nursing specialties and career paths align with your goals.
What Are Nursing Specialties?
Nursing specialties are defined practice areas within nursing. Nurses may specialize by patient population, such as pediatrics, women’s health or geriatrics; body system, such as cardiac or renal care; or condition, such as cancer or HIV/AIDS.
Specialties can also be broad or highly focused. For example, medical-surgical nursing encompasses many patients and conditions, while burn nursing focuses on caring for burn patients.
12 Best Nursing Specialties to Explore
With 61 nursing specialties in the field, future nurses can explore many career paths. Consider these 12 types of nursing specialties as you plan your career.
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Critical Care Nurse
Critical care nurses treat critically ill or injured patients with complex, high-acuity needs. They provide stabilizing care, close monitoring and ongoing assessment to support recovery or transfer to a lower-acuity unit.
Critical care nurses typically work in intensive care units. Specialty settings include surgical ICUs, cardiac ICUs and neurological ICUs.
Operating Room or Perioperative Nurse
Operating room nurses care for patients before, during and after surgery. They prepare patients and operating rooms, support the surgical team during procedures and may monitor patients in the immediate postoperative period.
Perioperative nurses often work in hospitals, including trauma centers that treat high-acuity surgical patients. Others work in ambulatory surgery centers.
Neonatal Nurse
Neonatal nurses care for newborns who need specialized treatment, including premature infants and babies with congenital conditions or other serious health issues. Many practice in neonatal intensive care units.
Neonatal nurses may practice in units with different levels of care. Level I nurseries provide routine care for healthy newborns, while Level II units care for infants who need additional support. Level III and IV NICUs treat newborns with more complex or critical conditions.
Emergency Room Nurse
ER nurses triage and rapidly assess patients with urgent or life-threatening conditions. They may treat allergic reactions, traumatic injuries, heart attacks and other emergencies, providing stabilizing care before discharge or transfer to inpatient care.
ER nurses typically work in hospital emergency departments. Some practice in freestanding emergency departments, which may transfer patients who need inpatient admission by ambulance. Urgent care nursing is a related specialty.
Pediatric Nurse
Pediatric nurses care for children from infancy through adolescence. They may subspecialize in family care, acute care, critical care or oncology, with responsibilities varying by setting. For example, pediatric critical care nurses stabilize and monitor patients in pediatric intensive care units.
Work settings also vary. These types of nurses may practice in family physicians’ offices, PICUs, cancer treatment centers, pediatric ERs or surgery centers.
Labor and Delivery Nurse
Labor and delivery nurses care for patients during labor, delivery and the immediate postpartum period. They monitor patients and help manage pain. They also provide education and emotional support and intervene when complications arise.
Labor and delivery nurses may work in hospital birthing units, freestanding birth centers or private homes.
Oncology Nurse
Oncology nurses care for people with cancer. They administer medications, including chemotherapy, manage side effects and connect patients with support resources. They also provide education and emotional support.
Oncology nurses work in hospitals, specialty clinics, cancer treatment centers and children’s hospitals.
Dialysis Nurse
Dialysis nurses specialize in nephrology, which focuses on kidney conditions. They care for patients with acute or chronic kidney failure and those who have received kidney transplants. Responsibilities include administering medications and dialysis treatments and closely monitoring patients during treatment.
Dialysis nurses may work in hospitals, ICUs, outpatient dialysis centers, skilled nursing facilities or home health settings.
School Nurse
School nurses provide care to students who become ill or injured during the school day. They maintain health records, administer medications and monitor for signs of abuse or neglect.
School nurses typically work in public or private elementary, middle and high schools. Some also serve college campuses.
Nurse Case Manager
If you want direct patient interaction without spending most of your day on bedside clinical tasks, nurse case management may be a good fit. Nurse case managers collaborate with care teams to develop, implement and revise individualized plans. They also connect patients with community resources.
Nurse case managers work in hospitals, outpatient clinics and home health agencies.
Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses focus on population health by evaluating and tracking issues that affect communities. They assess local health care resources, identify gaps and advocate for programs, funding and other support. They also lead public education initiatives that promote prevention and wellness.
Public health nurses often work in government health departments, community health centers or nonprofit organizations.
Nurse Educator
Nurse educators are experienced clinicians who prepare future nurses. Many earn graduate nursing degrees before moving into academic or clinical education. They plan lessons, teach nursing concepts and skills, assess students and provide mentorship.
Nurse educators work in nursing schools and clinical settings. Some teach primarily in classrooms, while clinical instructors oversee students during rotations at health care facilities.
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What Are the Nursing Specialties in Demand?
Employment prospects vary by setting and specialty. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected a 6% job growth rate for all types of RNs from 2025 to 2035. Some nursing specialties may be in higher demand than others, including:
- Critical care nurses
- Home health nurses
- Long-term care nurses
- Oncology nurses
- Perioperative nurses
- Rehabilitation nurses
How to Choose the Best Nurse Specialty for You
With so many nursing specialties available, choosing one requires careful reflection. Consider factors such as your:
- Ideal work environment
- Interests
- Long-term career goals
- Personal strengths
- Scheduling preferences
Clinical rotations expose you to multiple practice areas and can help clarify your interests, strengths and preferred work environment.
Start Your Nursing Career at Harding University's Accelerated BSN Program
Whichever nursing specialties you consider, Harding University’s ABSN program can help prepare you to deliver high-quality care. The hybrid format combines online coursework with in-person labs and clinicals. Through a values-based curriculum, students are encouraged to approach nursing as a life of service.
Request info today and connect with an admissions counselor to learn how to get started.