Despite the stereotype of nurses as bedside caregivers, nurses can be found in a wide variety of working environments, using their nursing skills in different ways. Nurses begin as generalists in the field, but there are many specialties open to them as they gain experience. After two to five years in a specialty, the nurse has achieved competence and is often ready to broaden her horizons and take on new challenges.
Working in the field of sexual assault or violent crime is one way a nurse can practice her profession and serve the cause of justice at the same time. Forensic nurses practice at the interface of nursing and law. A forensic nurse may specialize in sexual assault. She collects evidence of rape, ensures the evidentiary chain of custody and acts as an expert witness in court. She also provides the victim with emotional support and physical care. Other forensic nurses may work as death scene investigators or legal nurse consultants. Some even go back to school for a law degree to complement their nursing skills.
The Nurse as Writer
Nurses with writing skills may work in the field of academic writing as authors or editors of nursing journals. The clinical skills and experience gained in practice are translated into educational articles. Journal editors in particular have a vital role, as they select the topics and articles a journal will cover. Their work can inform a wide audience, disseminate information on evidence-based care and advance nursing science. Nursing authors can communicate technical information, expand on nursing research or provide real-life examples from their own nursing careers.
Alternative and Complementary Nursing
Some nurses move away from conventional medical and nursing work into alternative and complementary nursing. They may become skilled in therapies such as acupuncture, herbalism, aromatherapy and massage, or may combine many of these modalities into what is called holistic nursing. Although nurses are taught to consider the whole person, holistic nursing takes this teaching a step further, incorporating not only the individual's personal characteristics -- body, mind and spirit -- but their cultural, societal and relationship issues.
The Work Setting
It may not be the nursing skills that are unique, but the location in which the nurse practices. Helicopter flight nurses provide nursing care to trauma victims or patients who must be transferred quickly to another hospital. A flight nurse works in a confined space with a critically ill patient during take-off, flight and landing; she is on her own except for a paramedic and pilot. Other nurses may practice in remote geographic locations such as Antarctica, where weather conditions may prohibit landings during winter and require the nurse to function in an expanded role.
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