With a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, you could work within the hospital as a medical-surgical, critical care or labor and delivery nurse. Other roles to consider include forensic nursing, nursing informatics and public health nursing.
When you earn your Bachelor of Science in nursing, you pave the way to a career as a nurse in a variety of specializations. What can you do with a nursing degree? There are many possibilities in traditional nursing settings, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities. There are also away-from-the-bedside and non-clinical nursing roles to consider. When you are ready, you can use your BSN as a foundation to pursue advanced nursing education.
Harding University’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program enables you to earn a BSN in as few as 16 months. Through comprehensive online coursework, in-person nursing labs and clinical rotations, you will become a practice-ready nurse candidate.
While you’re in nursing school, take some time to consider your career options. Explore the traditional nursing roles you could pursue in hospitals, as well as careers away from the bedside. You could also consider leadership and advanced practice roles.
Traditional Nursing Roles You Can Pursue
What can you do with a nursing degree in hospitals and other traditional nursing settings? There are many options you can pursue.
1. Medical-Surgical Nurse
Medical-surgical nurses implement treatment plans, administer medication, keep records and provide quality patient care for patients who are ill or recuperating from surgery. This nursing specialty requires a broad understanding of bodily systems. You also need high-level critical thinking and management abilities to care for patients with a variety of illnesses.
2. Critical Care/ICU Nurse
Critical care nurses work in intensive care units with critically ill patients. They frequently perform intubation, ventilation or continuous monitoring. Critical care nurses must be detail-oriented, organized and calm in high-pressure situations. If a patient crashes, you must be able to think quickly on your feet and work calmly under pressure.
3. Emergency Room Nurse
Emergency room nurses treat patients with serious conditions such as heart attacks, fall injuries and other sudden-onset conditions. They stabilize and treat patients based on the severity of their conditions and transition them to higher levels of inpatient care if needed. Organization, grace under pressure and critical thinking will serve you well in this role.
4. Labor and Delivery Nurse
A labor and delivery nurse wears many hats, from coaching mothers during active labor to preparing new parents to take their babies home. Although you will experience many happy times in this career, you must also respond to complications and other challenges. If you’re supportive, nurturing and focused, this could be a great role for you.
What Can You Do With a BSN Beyond Bedside Nursing?
While many nurses work in hospitals and at the bedside, there are many nursing roles outside of these settings. What can you do with a nursing degree outside the hospital? Consider the following:
5. School Nurse
If you love working with kids and teens, you can use your BSN to become a school nurse. You will treat bumps and bruises, manage illnesses and assess whether students need further care from a doctor. You will also provide education and support to students and their families. School nurses need strong organizational, interpersonal and communication skills.
6. Flight Nurse
If you are quick on your feet and adventurous, a career as a flight nurse could be your path. If you use your BSN to become a flight nurse, also known as a transport nurse, you will stabilize critically ill or injured patients while onboard emergency medical evacuation flights.
Flight nurses must work autonomously and have excellent collaboration and critical thinking skills. They may be expected to work long or erratic shifts and be comfortable working in cramped conditions.
Flight nursing is not an entry-level specialty. You will need years of experience in a hospital, preferably as a trauma nurse, before pursuing the certifications necessary to be a flight nurse.
Telehealth is another nursing specialty away from the bedside that has grown in popularity over the past few years. What is telehealth nursing and how can you get involved?
Advanced Practice and Specialized Nursing Careers
After gaining clinical experience, some RNs pursue a specialized nursing career as an advanced practice registered nurse. There are different types of APRNs, including:
7. Nurse Practitioner
A nurse practitioner diagnoses and treats patients across the lifespan. They operate with a great deal of professional autonomy and, depending on the state, maintain significant practice authority, including prescribing authority. Some NPs even establish their own clinics, serving as primary care providers. Specific capabilities can vary by jurisdiction.
8. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
A certified nurse anesthetist administers sedatives and anesthetics to patients undergoing procedures. They are responsible for ensuring patient safety, including reviewing the patient’s medical history and assessing the risk of adverse reactions to anesthesia.
They closely monitor patients during the operation and perform life-saving interventions when needed. CRNAs also monitor their patients as they come out of the anesthesia.
Non-Clinical Career Paths for Nurses
After gaining some clinical experience at the bedside, you might decide to transition into a non-clinical role, such as informatics nursing. Consider these non-clinical roles for possible career advancement.
9. Informatics Nurse
If technology in health care interests you, a career as an informatics nurse might be a great fit. In this role, you will create systems to improve patient care using tools such as electronic medical records and computer code to monitor the effectiveness of medical equipment and procedures. You will also train clinical staff on how to use new devices.
10. Legal Nurse Consultant
A legal nurse consultant works at the intersection of health care and the legal field. They may analyze medical records to offer an expert evaluation of medical malpractice and similar cases, helping attorneys assess the merit of cases or provide supporting expertise. They may also assist with preparing cases and serve as expert witnesses during trials.
Leadership, Education and Administrative Roles
What can you do with a BSN in nursing leadership? While some leadership roles require an advanced degree, earning a BSN first provides an ideal foundation for earning one.
11. Charge Nurse
A charge nurse is the designated shift leader. They are responsible for overseeing their hospital department’s nursing staff for that particular shift. Depending on the hospital’s policies and procedures, charge nurses typically continue to provide direct patient care. They also handle administrative and managerial responsibilities. An effective charge nurse must be well-organized and have strong leadership and communication skills.
12. Nurse Manager
Nurse managers are liaisons between the nursing staff and the facility’s administration. They supervise the nursing staff, facilitate HR solutions and collaborate on internal matters. Nurse managers need strong leadership, communication skills and professional ethics. Teamwork, problem-solving and business management skills are also important.
13. Nurse Director
The nurse director is at the top level of nursing management at a health care facility. They are responsible for making high-level decisions regarding staffing, budgeting and developing policies and procedures.
As with other managerial and administrative positions, the nurse director role demands excellent organizational and communication skills, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving.
14. Nurse Educator
With a graduate-level nursing degree, you could become a nurse educator. You would teach online or in-person nursing classes, lead students through nursing labs and supervise students during clinical rotations. A career as a nursing educator can be a great way to give back to the nursing community while helping prepare the next generation of nurses.
Public Health, Community and Population-Focused Careers
If you’re a community-minded individual, you might be interested in the following nursing careers:
15. Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses are health advocates. They focus on preventive care, tracking incidences of injuries and illnesses and advocating for public health resources. A public health nurse may work in a local or state public health agency. Strong communication and research skills are essential.
16. Forensic Nurse
Forensic nurses treat patients affected by violent crimes using a trauma-informed approach. They work with domestic violence, assault and child abuse victims. Forensic nurses collect medical evidence, offer expert opinions and provide testimony.
While forensic nurses often work in hospitals, many work in other settings, such as community centers, correctional facilities and medical examiners’ offices. An effective forensics nurse is a strong patient advocate with compassion, empathy and excellent active listening skills.
Explore some of the top nursing specialties.
How to Choose the Right Career Path With a Nursing Degree
With so many choices, it can be challenging to determine where your path lies. Use your time in nursing school to explore different specialties and talk to your instructors about your options. In Harding University’s ABSN program, clinical rotations will allow you to explore specialties such as adult health, pediatrics and behavioral health in facilities throughout Northwest Arkansas. This can help you figure out which type of nursing career interests you.
Pursue Your Nursing Path at Harding University
Harding University is a leading choice for future nurses seeking a values-based education in Northwest Arkansas. We take a community-minded, holistic approach, teaching our students to care for their patients’ mind, body and spirit. Our ABSN program provides exceptional student support as you work toward earning your nursing degree in as few as 16 months.
If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 64 college credits, you might be ready to apply your experience towards a BSN. Contact an admissions counselor today to get started.