What Are All the Types of Nurses?

Job duties: Gathering bedside supplies, assisting patients with ADLs, assisting with medical procedures, answering patient calls, and obtaining vital signs.

Job duties: Provide patients with essential care, including eating, drinking, and bathing, as well as taking blood pressure, inserting catheters, and recording vital signs.

Job duties: Care, education, and coordination of sick and dying patients. RNs assess patients, administer medications and treatments, and collaborate with other healthcare providers. They also educate patients and families on disease processes and management and assist with procedures.

• Certifications: Optional Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB) certification through the National Certification Corporation.
• Job duties: Timing contractions, monitoring both the baby’s and mother’s vital signs, administering medications, aiding in inducing labor, and identifying and assisting with handling complications.

Job duties: Administering and educating about vaccines, administering medications, performing assessments, creating nursing care plans, assisting healthcare professionals with tests and procedures, monitoring vital signs, and documenting observations and findings.

• Certifications: Optional certs include CCRN® (Neonatal), RNC Certification for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, and Care of the Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonate Subspecialty Certification (C-ELBW).
• Job duties: Treat critically ill neonates and newborns, monitor vital signs, give medications, record newborn’s recovery and progress, change diapers, and calm distressed babies.

• Certifications: Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation offers 6 certs, including Oncology Certified Nurse (ONC®), Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON®), and Blood and Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse (BMTCN®).
• Job duties: Administering medications (e.g., chemotherapy), caring for patients after oncologic surgeries, developing and implementing care plans, and performing assessments on cancer patients.

• Certifications: Optional Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
• Job duties: Administer blood products, medications, and vaccines; clean and dress wounds; set broken bones; triage patients; and aid trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, and sexual assault care.

• Certifications: Adult Critical Care Nurses (CCRN) from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
• Job duties: Administer medications, evaluate vital signs, respond to changes in patient conditions or medical emergencies, clean and bandage wounds, and identify patients’ ongoing needs.

• Certifications: Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR), Certified Foundational Perioperative Nurse (CFPN), or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CNAMB).
• Job duties: Surgical nurse responsibilities change per role, from scrub and circulating nurses to OR directors and med-surg nurses.

• Certifications: Optional Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CMAB) from the  Competency and Credentialing Institute.
• Job Duties: Prepare OR equipment and verify its functionality, monitor patients during operations, assist surgeons, and provide pre and post-operative patient care and education.

• Certifications: Optional Certified Post-Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN) from the American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification.
• Job duties: Diligently monitor patients as they came out of sedation and take immediate action if there are any complications.

• Certifications: Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®) certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
• Job duties: Care of patients with major injuries (e.g. car accident, stabbing, or shooting victims), giving CPR, patient monitoring, starting IVs, and administering medication and blood products. 

Job duties: Varies by NP specialty, but they generally prescribe medication, examine patients, order diagnostic tests, diagnose illnesses, and provide treatment.

Job duties: Deliver babies, provide prenatal and postpartum care, perform routine check-ups for pregnant patients, perform annual exams, prescribe medications, and offer patient education.

Job duties: Care for patients under anesthesia, identify patient risks, administer anesthetic and patient medication, and educate patients and families.

• Certification: ACCNS‐Neonatal, ACCNS-Pediatric, and ACCNS-Adult-Gerontology from AACN Certification Corp and Adult-Gerontology CNS (AGCNS-BC) from ANCC.
• Job duties: Assist with evidence-based practice projects and research; educate patients, families, and communities; provide transitional care; assist nurses with patient care as a resource.

Job duties: Develop lesson plans, teach courses, oversee students’ clinical practice, maintain clinical competencies, and mentor students.

Job duties: Specific duties vary by nurse administrator role; Commonly, they manage day-to-day nursing operations, budgets and financial planning, and staff schedules, create operational strategies, and interview and hire new staff.

Job duties: Advocate for patients and families, coordinate and delegate patient care, mentor new staff, be liaisons to the administration,  and educate staff on new policies and procedures.