Nursing Specialties & Salary Information
Below, you'll find information on some of the various Nursing career opportunities that you can choose to pursue after receiving your Nursing degree, inluding some average starting salaries*.
When you're ready to begin the job search, we'll be with you every step of the way. Our Career Services Department is dedicated to helping you find the right position to align with your career aspirations.
For more information about a career in Nursing, please call us toll-free at (866) 544-1789. One of our School of Nursing Admission Representatives will be more than happy to assist you.
AIDS Care Nurse - $56,876 (10th percentile)
AIDS Care Nurses respond to the physical, psychological, spiritual, and social concerns of patients with AIDS. They care for the chronically ill and dying with numerous clinical manifestations.
Diagnoses: HIV/AIDS/ARC
Characteristics: Patient care and relationships, autonomy and independence, making a difference, teaching, variety of Nursing duties
Drawbacks: Patient grief and difficult contacts, stress, job pressure, conflict with bureaucracy, excessive workload and paperwork, physical demands, safety hazards
Desirable skills: People skills, coping with death, stress management, openness to cultural, and lifestyle diversity
Employers: Hospitals, hospice, home health, community, and long-term care agencies
Ambulatory Care Nurse - $48,874 (10th percentile)
Ambulatory Care Nurses provide for the health needs of individuals, families, and groups in many different healthcare settings. In this specialty, there is an emphasis on helping patients stay well and independent in their home environment as long as possible.
Diagnoses: Varies from holistic health/wellness, perinatal, and pediatric to emergent and urgent problems
Characteristics: Varied inter-specialties to choose from, regular hours, less stress than inpatient settings, collegial relationships
Drawbacks: Brief patient contacts, medical model versus Nursing-based model of practice
Desirable skills: Phlebotomy, IV therapy, ECG, triage and telephone advice, teaching, communication skills, autonomy and independence
Employers: Ambulatory providers such as surgicenters, primary care offices, HMOs, clinics, special procedure and mobile health units, colleges, universities, home health agencies, day care centers, homeless shelters, the military, retirement communities
Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse - $51,197 (10th percentile)
Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurses educate and support patients with coronary heart disease who are making lifestyle changes to prevent the worsening of their disease, and monitor patients during physical workouts to prevent overexertion and/or injury.
Diagnoses: Postoperative coronary bypass, valve replacement, heart catheterization, angioplasty, stints, and post-MI patients
Characteristics: Strong teaching and cardiac assessment skills
Drawbacks: Patient resistance and non-adherence to prescribed therapy; patient relapse, emergencies
Desirable skills: Communication, teaching, commitment to physical fitness and wellness, emergency management
Employers: Hospitals, medical offices, fitness centers
Case Management - $49,177 (10th percentile)
Case Managers coordinate care for patients with catastrophic injuries and chronic illnesses. They ensure that patients are identified and they receive the care and resources needed to treat their illnesses or injuries in the least restrictive setting and at the most appropriate time.
Diagnoses: Spinal Cord Injuries, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Transplants, High-Risk Pregnancy and Premature Infants, Diabetes, COPD, Asthma, Behavioral Health Issues, Amputations, End-of-Life Issues, Muscle and Skeleton Injuries, and other high-cost injuries and chronic conditions that effect children and adults
Drawbacks: Case Management is a fragmented practice and is in the refinement stages of development. Today, many Case Managers work in areas with defined benefit plans dictate treatment. The key to successful Case Management is to recognize limits and to draw from community resources when benefits are not available.
Desirable skills: Clinical background to understand the medical as well as the psychosocial issues that accompanies illness and injuries. Oral and written communication skills are essential to communicate effectively with other healthcare professionals, patients, and their families. Other skills that are needed are the ability to problem-solve and to be proficient in conflict resolution skills. Computer skills, organizational skills, and the ability to do research are also important to effective Case Management.
Employers: Managed Care Organizations; Provider settings, such as Acute Care Hospitals, Acute, Subacute, and Long-Term Care Rehabilitation Centers; Employer settings; DME companies; and Physician's offices
Enterostomal Therapy Nurse - $56,301 (10th percentile)
Enterostomal Therapy Nurses specialize in the prevention of pressure ulcers, and the management and rehabilitation of patients with wounds, ostomies, and incontinence.
Diagnoses: Stomas, including colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy; wounds such as surgical, pressure ulcers, fistulas, and venous/arterial ulcers; incontinence (urinary, fecal)
Characteristics: Hands-on care, independence, autonomy, making a difference, patient gratitude, long-term patient relationships, new treatments, and technology
Drawbacks: Grief and loss, difficult patient contacts
Desirable skills: Strong psychomotor skills, excellent communication and teaching skills; positive attitude
Employers: Hospitals, office practices, pharmacies/suppliers, homecare agencies, clinics, extended-care facilities
Infection Control Nurse - $56,876 (10th percentile)
Infection Control Nurses specialize in identifying, controlling, and preventing outbreaks of infection in healthcare settings and communities. Activities include the collection and analysis of infection-control data; the planning, implementation, and evaluation of infection prevention and control measures; the education of individuals about infection risk, prevention, and control; the development and revision of infection control policies and procedures; the investigation of suspected outbreaks of infection; and the provision of consultation on infection risk assessment, prevention, and control strategies.
Diagnoses: HIV/AIDS, TB, scabies, nosocomial infections; also prevention
Characteristics: Collaborative relationships, high-profile position, patient contact, teaching, and consulting opportunities
Drawbacks: Multitude of federal/organizational mandates and guidelines; can be difficult to keep knowledge current
Desirable skills: Knowledge and expertise in microbiology, epidemiology, statistics, sterilization and disinfection, infectious diseases, antibiotic usage, and clinical practice; consultative and teaching skills
Employers: Hospitals, long-term care facilities, home care, and ambulatory care agencies
Intravenous/Infusion Therapy Nurse - $57,412 (10th percentile)
Intravenous (or Infusion) Therapy Nurses initiate, monitor, and terminate therapies including medications, antineoplastic agents, investigational drugs, blood products, and parenteral nutrition. They perform venous and arterial punctures, maintain the intravascular site including tubing and dressings, monitor for infections, initiate emergency therapies, assess patients for adverse reactions and complications, and document all patient-directed activities.
Diagnoses: Wide range of problems
Characteristics: Role autonomy and independence, patient care and relationships, teamwork, patient teaching, innovative thinking, technical mastery
Drawbacks: Irregular schedules including 24-hour and on-call, bureaucracy, stress, pressure, excessive paperwork, policies
Desirable skills: Medical-surgical experience including IV, phlebotomy, and venous access; independence and flexibility
Employers: Hospitals, home health agencies, physician offices
Long-Term Care Nurse - $45,892 (10th percentile)
Long-term care is the provision of Nursing, medical, psychosocial, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders.
Diagnoses: AIDS, terminal illnesses, psychosocial and behavioral problems, head injuries
Characteristics: Less pressured and chaotic than acute care; death viewed as natural life process; long-term relationships with patients and families; satisfaction of providing comfort for frail older person
Drawbacks: Increasing patient acuity and use of technology, staffing problems
Desirable skills: Medical-surgical skills such as IVs, ventilators, tube feedings; mentoring, teaching, team building
Employers: Hospitals (including subacute care), nursing homes, extended care facilities, retirement communities, home-health agencies
Managed Care Nurse - $49,178 (10th percentile)
Managed Care Nurses control financial expenditures by modifying the behaviors of both providers and consumers and improve the quality of outcomes. Emphasis is on basic prevention and self-care; and appropriate care for patients, often within set guidelines
Diagnoses: All health problems including psychiatric
Characteristics: Regular hours, focus on efficiency and improved outcomes
Drawbacks: Fast pace, extensive paperwork
Desirable skills: Effective communication abilities, diplomacy, ability to document activities and to problem solve; knowledge of hospital and community resources
Employers: HMOs, health insurance companies, telephone triage centers
Nephrology Nurse - $48,874 (10th percentile)
Nephrology Nurses focus on the prevention of disease and the care of patients and their families who have or are threatened with renal failure. They work with patients in all stages of chronic renal failure, implementing treatment modalities including efforts to preserve renal function, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or transplant.
Diagnoses: Acute and chronic renal failure
Characteristics: Long-term patient relationships, autonomy and independence, flexibility of practice role, teaching, collaboration, and teamwork
Drawbacks: Dealing with the emotional consequences of renal disease and its impact on multiple physical systems, grief and loss, difficult patient contacts, lack of patient compliance, and stress/pressure
Desirable skills: Coping with death and dying, people skills, medical-surgical experience, long-term focus
Employers: Hospitals, home-health agencies, dialysis centers, clinics
Neuroscience Nurse - $48,874 (10th percentile)
Neuroscience Nurses care for individuals who have a dysfunction of the nervous system including alterations in consciousness and cognition, communication, mobility, rest and sleep, sensation, and sexuality; plans and implements interventions to support bodily functions, promote healing, encourage adaptation to persistent neurological difficulties, and teaches patients and families about the illness.
Diagnoses: Brain/spinal cord neoplasm, head/spinal cord trauma, seizures, cerebral vascular accidents
Characteristics: Patient care and relationships, seeing patients improve, new technology and trends, autonomy, making a difference
Drawbacks: Grief, difficult-to-manage patients, physical demands, and caregiver stress, conflicts, and pressure
Desirable skills: People skills, patience, tact, and understanding, psychological and physical stamina, flexibility, medical-surgical skills especially assessment
Employers: Hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, clinics
Occupational Health Nurse - $52,230 (10th percentile)
Occupational Health Nursing combines concepts of public health and Nursing theory in an orientation toward primary prevention or keeping healthy workers healthy, and includes managing workers' compensation records, assisting in meeting the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), conducting environmental surveillance for health hazards, providing direct Nursing care to employees, promoting health education, and counseling employees.
Diagnoses: Hypertension, musculoskeletal injuries, back or neck pain, and minor trauma, such as lacerations and contusions
Characteristics: Autonomy and independence, patient care and relationships, innovative thinking, regular and predicable hours, variety of duties
Challenges: Paperwork, bureaucratic concerns
Desirable skills: Medical/surgical (assessment, wound care, first aid), independence, assertiveness, communication, adult health and educational concepts, people skills
Employers: Businesses, such as factories, mills, corporate offices, department stores, shopping malls, hospitals, and other large employers
Oncology Nurse - $49,401 (10th percentile)
Oncology Nurses care for patients with the diagnosis of cancer in various settings, utilizing an empathic and caring approach to patients whose diagnosis and treatment are often painful and life threatening. They administer chemotherapy, conduct patient teaching, and manage illness- and treatment-related symptoms.
Diagnoses: All stages of cancer (diagnosis to terminal illness), hematologic problems, chronic pain
Characteristics: One-on-one patient care and relationships, learning how to live from patients, autonomy, independence, making a difference, new trends and treatments
Drawbacks: Dealing with pain, grief and difficult patient contacts, excessive paperwork, reimbursement issues, stress, conflict, and pressure; hazards from working with chemotherapy and radiation
Desirable skills: Coping with death and dying, well defined philosophy about life, death, and suffering, people skills, strong support system
Employers: Hospitals including specialty hospitals, medical offices, ambulatory care centers, home health
Ophthalmic Nurse - $51,868 (10th percentile)
Ophthalmic Nurses care for persons with disorders of the eyes including blindness or visual impairment. The functions of the role range from patient teaching to assistance in surgery. They are knowledgeable about the effect of ophthalmic disorders on the body as well as the emotions of patients who often must adapt to blindness or visual impairment, and may make pre- and post-operative home visits in the line of duty.
Diagnoses: Diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma, ocular manifestations of AIDS, cataracts, trauma, hypertension
Characteristics: Patient care and relationships with patients, variety of duties and non-routine duties, learning opportunities, technology, making a difference, teaching opportunities
Drawbacks: Lack of patient follow up, difficult patient contacts, workload, balancing management needs while providing direct patient care
Desirable skills: People skills, flexibility, prior experience in surgical nursing, general nursing knowledge of multi-system problems
Employers: Hospitals including specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery units, clinics, HMOs, home-care agencies, physicians’ offices
OR (Perioperative) Nurse - $51,671 (10th percentile)
OR Nurses, also known as Perioperative Nurses, provides for the surgical patient’s needs, by assessing, planning, and implementing Nursing care patients receive preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Nursing activities performed by the Perioperative Nurse include patient assessment, creating and maintaining a sterile and safe environment, preoperative and postoperative teaching, monitoring physiologic and psychological status, integration and coordination of care across settings and among disciplines, patient advocacy, and efficient provision of resources.
Diagnoses: Provides Nursing care to all surgical subspecialties requiring surgical intervention for curative or palliative treatment. Surgical subspecialties can include neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, trauma, pediatrics, oncology, general surgery, urology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), dental, plastic and reconstructive, and orthopedic surgery
Characteristics: Work closely with a variety of patients, family members, and other health care professionals. Variety of duties, learning opportunities, technology, and teaching opportunities. Teamwork in a multidisciplinary setting. A sense of personal satisfaction derived from helping others
Drawbacks: Can be exposed to human suffering and frequent emergencies
Desirable skills: Must be able to accept responsibility, provide direction to others, coordinate the patient’s healthcare plan, collaborate with physicians and other health care professionals, and determine when consultation is needed. Along with interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, and flexibility, physical strength and stamina to position patients, transport equipment, and standing for long periods
Employers: Hospital surgical departments, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, physician’s offices, and physician office-based surgery
Pediatric Nurse - $47,392 (10th percentile)
Pediatric Nurses provide comprehensive care to children, adolescents, and their families in various settings. They respond to the physical and psychosocial aspects of health and illness, concern for health promotion and disease prevention, management of physical and mental disabilities, and response to acute and chronic illness.
Diagnoses: Acute and chronic problems such as upper and lower respiratory infections; ear, nose, and throat infections; asthma; growth and development problems
Characteristics: Direct patient care and relationships, autonomy and independent functioning, teaching, making a difference, teamwork
Drawbacks: Lack of patient cooperation, patient grief, paperwork and policies, bureaucracy, stress, ethical conflicts, and pressure
Desirable skills: People skills, empathy, love of children, flexibility, stress management
Employers: Hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, community, and home care agencies
Perinatal Nurse - $49,148 (10th percentile)
Perinatal Nurses care for women, infants, and their families from the onset of pregnancy through the first month of the newborn’s life (perinatal period). They monitor the pregnancy, assess the progression of labor, monitor the status of mother and baby, maintain a sense of calm and comfort during labor, and support the family. They assist in fostering the new mother-infant relationship, teach parenting skills, and assess and support the mother in her recovery from childbirth, and evaluate the newborn’s early adjustment to life.
Diagnoses: Normal, high-risk, and complicated pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery; prematurity, low birth weight, and other neonatal problems; infertility
Characteristics: Patient care and relationships including usually happy outcomes, autonomy and independence, teaching
Drawbacks: Irregular hours, difficult patient contacts such as patient grief, excessive workload, constraints of very short hospital stays
Desirable skills: People skills, positive attitude, flexibility with duties and schedule, commitment, patience, tolerance
Employers: Hospitals including specialty hospitals, health departments, medical offices, HMOs, clinics, birthing centers, nurse midwife practices, home health agencies
Psychiatric Nurse - $49,383 (10th percentile)
Psychiatric Nurses practice therapeutic ways to assist patients to affect changes in self-understanding and behavior. They view individuals from a holistic perspective, taking into account both their physical and mental health needs, while focusing on human behavior.
Diagnoses: Acute and chronic mental illnesses including psychoses, personality and mood disorders, neuroses, physical abuse, and sexual assault with/without substance abuse and/or medical-surgical problems
Characteristics: Patient care and relationships; autonomy, independence, and teamwork with peers
Drawbacks: Uncooperative or difficult/dangerous clients, excessive paperwork, restrictive patient-care policies, bureaucratic demands, stress and conflict from misconceptions about mental illness
Desirable skills: People skills including self-understanding and communication, medical-surgical skills, psychological and physical stamina
Employers: Hospitals, outpatient facilities, health departments, long-term care centers
Reconstructive Surgical Nurse - $51,671 (10th percentile)
Reconstructive Surgical Nurses cares for patients undergoing cosmetic and maxillofacial surgery, laser and microsurgery, and non-surgical treatments to correct aesthetic problems
Diagnoses: Skin lesions and tumors, congenital deformities, facial fractures, burns, ulcers, varicose veins, reconstruction after cancer surgery
Characteristics: Hands-on patient care, treatment, and teaching; perioperative and postoperative care, patient joy and gratitude
Drawbacks: Difficult patient contacts, misconceptions about results
Desirable skills: Effective communication skills, sensitivity to client's needs, positive attitude
Employers: Hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, office practices
Rehabilitation Nurse - $52,608 (10th percentile)
The Rehabilitation Nurse cares for individuals who are experiencing temporary, progressive, or permanent illness or disabilities that are extensive enough to alter their normal functioning and interrupt their lifestyle.
Diagnoses: CVAs, head/spinal trauma, diabetes, orthopaedic problems
Characteristics: Long-term patient and colleague relationships, autonomy, independence, making a difference
Challenges: Paperwork, patient grief, difficult patient contacts, bureaucracy and financial constraints, heavy workload
Desirable skills: Medical/surgical skills, patience, flexibility, physical fitness, collaboration and teamwork, patient and family education, innovative thinking
Employers: Hospitals (including specialty hospitals), long-term care facilities, freestanding facilities
Respiratory Nurse - $55,640 (10th percentile)
Respiratory Nurses promote pulmonary health for individuals, families, and communities, and care for persons with pulmonary dysfunction throughout the lifespan. Respiratory Nursing may be preventive, acute or critical, or rehabilitative.
Diagnoses: Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), TB, cystic fibrosis, respiratory failure
Characteristics: Close patient and family relationships, collaboration, teamwork, teaching
Drawbacks: Grief and loss, patient non-adherence to regimen, dealing with tobacco abuse
Desirable skills: Assessment, knowledge of oxygen therapies, assisted ventilation, and suctioning; ability to discuss smoking cessation techniques, ability to administer and teach pharmacologic interventions
Employers: Hospitals, extended care centers, private companies, health departments, office practices, clinics
School Nurse - $25,772 (10th percentile)
School Nursing is a specialized practice that advances the well being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students. To that end, School Nurses facilitate positive student responses to normal development; promote health and safety; intervene with actual and potential health problems; provide case management services; and actively collaborate with others to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy, and learning.
Diagnoses: Medically fragile, injuries
Characteristics: Caring for children and long-term relationships, professional autonomy and independence, regular hours, teaching wellness
Drawbacks: Excessive paperwork, heavy workload
Desirable skills: Self-motivated, strong communication skills
Employers: School boards, public health departments, private schools
Subacute Care Nurse - $49,309 (10th percentile)
Subacute Care Nurses provide comprehensive inpatient care for patients who have had an acute illness, injury, or exacerbation of a disease process. It is goal-oriented care rendered immediately after or instead of acute hospitalization for treatment of active complex conditions or for administration of technically complex treatments. Subacute care is generally more intensive than traditional nursing home care and less intensive than acute care.
Diagnoses: Complex problems including AIDS, postoperative and brain-injury recovery, infections such as bacterial endocarditis, wound care, hospice, ventilator care
Characteristics: Excellent clinical skills, combined with an ability to work autonomously and part of a team are crucial for success
Drawbacks: Economic and reimbursement issues for patients
Desirable skills: Extended-care, medical-surgical, and critical-care skills such as assessment, IV therapy, ventilator, tracheostomy skills; autonomy
Employers: Hospitals, rehabilitation, and long-term facilities
Telephone Triage or Advice Nurse - $45,735 (10th percentile)
Telephone Triage or Advice Nurses provide distant patient and professional consultations and education, telephone triage and advice, teleradiology, and other applications. They speak on the phone to patients, clients, or consumers, assisting them in determining the urgency of care needed, referring to or scheduling appointments with providers, and giving health information and advice to callers. The goal is to reduce unnecessary visits to the clinic and emergency department and provide information for self-care and symptom management.
Diagnoses: Healthy as well as acutely or chronically ill, including maternity and senior care
Characteristics: Regular hours, short-term patient relationships, written protocols, training, variety
Drawbacks: No direct patient contact, desk work, can be long hours on phone and computer
Desirable skills: Triage experience, telephone manners, typing and computer skills; excellent verbal communication, crisis intervention, critical thinking, teaching, clinical, and assessment skills
Employers: Office practices, HMOs, managed care/insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, telephone triage and advice centers
Transplant Nurse - $59,310 (10th percentile)
Transplant Nurses care for recipient and living-donor patients throughout the transplantation process, from end-stage disease to pre-operative to intra-operative experience to aftercare and long-term follow up.
Diagnoses: End-stage renal, hepatic, cardiac failure from varied causes; blood malignancies and solid tumors; terminal digestive disorders; irreversible major trauma
Characteristics: Interdisciplinary collaboration, evolving technology
Drawbacks: Organ resource allocation and other ethical issues, loss and grief
Desirable skills: Knowledge of high-tech treatments, sensitivity in dealing with emotional and ethical issues, communication and teaching skills
Employers: Hospitals with transplant centers; hospitals without centers may designate Nurses to serve as resource on organ donation for staff
Trauma Nurse - $52,623 (10th percentile)
Trauma Nursing involves responding quickly to a wide variety of single- and multi-system traumas involving different patient needs, ages, cultures, and severity of presenting symptoms. The Trauma Nurse must respond with decisiveness and clarity to unexpected events by assessing, intervening, and stabilizing patients about whom there is minimal information.
Diagnoses: Emergent conditions, including major multi-system trauma and shock from drowning, diving accidents, poisoning, and other medical emergencies
Characteristics: Role autonomy and independence, variety of duties and assorted challenges, patient care and nurse-patient relationships, teamwork, innovative thinking, patient teaching
Challenges: Stress, conflicts, high pressure, patient/family grief and difficult contacts, short-term patient relationships, language and cultural barriers
Desirable skills: Medical/surgical, emergency, and/or critical-care experience (hands-on skills with IV therapy, ventilators, cardiac monitoring, pain management, pre- and postoperative care), flexibility, stress management, decision making, and assessment, assertiveness, communication skills, motivation, and interpersonal skills
Employers: Acute-care and specialty hospitals, emergency medical systems
* According to figures available from Salary.com.
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