Students who receive a degree in
nursing are prepared to take the NCLEX-RN examination to obtain the license
necessary to enter practice as a registered nurse.
In the Workforce
Nursing graduates can practice in a
wide array of fields, including: ambulatory care, cardiology, critical care,
dermatology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology/obstetrics, hematology,
HIV/AIDS, holistic care, home health care, hospice/palliative care, infection
control, labor and delivery, long-term care, managed care, medical-surgical,
mental health, neonatal intensive care, nephrology, neuroscience, occupational
health, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, ostomy care, pediatrics,
perinatal care, plastic surgery, psychiatrics, public health, pulmonary care,
radiology, rehabilitation, reproductive health, rheumatology, substance abuse,
telemetry, toxicology, trauma, triage, urology and wound care.
In addition, graduates can work in
camps, community health, complementary health, correctional facilities,
disaster response, domestic violence intervention, emergency departments, faith
communities, family practices, forensics, informatics, the military, operating
rooms, quality improvement, refugee camps, research, rural health, schools and
substance abuse intervention.
Graduates can explore careers as case managers, clinical nurse leaders,
genetics counselors, health policy lobbyists, lactation consultants, legal
nurse consultants, nurse ethicists, nurse legislators, nurse authors or historians,
patient educators, poison information specialists or staff educators.
Graduate School
Graduates who earn a master’s degree in
nursing or doctorate in nursing or nursing practice can pursue the following
careers:
Advanced practice nurse
Graduates can work as a nurse
practitioner for a special population in ambulatory care, such as pediatrics,
family, adult or gerontology, or work in a hospital as a neonatal nurse or
acute care nurse practitioner or hospitalist. They are nurse midwives,
certified nurse anesthetist or clinical nurse specialist.
First assist surgical nurse
First assist surgical nurses are the
second set of hands and work with surgeons in the operating room.
Administrator
Graduates can become administrators or CEOs of health care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, home care
facilities, rehabilitation facilities or nursing homes.
Nurse educator/researcher
Graduates can teach college students desiring to be the next generation of nurses or
develop a program of research directly related to the care provided by
professional nurses.