If you are looking for a rewarding nurse job as a career, choosing an appropriate specialty is the right step for you. Whether you’re an experienced nursing practitioner or a newly registered agency nurse, a specialty can offer you a wealth of opportunities to succeed. Apart from increased salary and job security, becoming a specialist offers career satisfaction as well. Visit #Nursing for more information.
What’s expected from a Specialist Agency Nurse?
NMC has specific standards set out for agency nurses looking to make a career in any clinical specialty. These standards lay out the following competencies:
- Ability to deliver high-quality care to the patients
- Accountability and responsibility for evidence-based and safe nursing practices
- Working with integrity and professionalism within legal and ethical frameworks
- Working with other specialists, carers, and families to ensure the best patient care
- Supervising and managing healthcare services to prevent complications
Since the demand for a specialist nurse practitioner is growing in the UK, you should choose the right one that suits your qualifications and competencies. Here are the things that matter in this regard:
- Assess Your Personal Goals and Interest
When looking to find nursing agency jobs in a specific specialty, you have to consider the different working environments as well. You should choose a specialty that goes well with your interest and aligns with your career goals. As you’ll spend plenty of time in your role as a specialty nurse, it is better to be comfortable in your settings.
Before you start looking for jobs, consider your personal strengths and thrive on them. For example, if you’re excellent in handling emergency situations, you can consider a career as an A&E nurse while if you prefer methodical working, go for a clinical research role. You might locate Nurse jobs at Jooble with great packages.
- Assess the Work Settings
It isn’t true that every agency nurse has to work in a hospital setting. Instead, there are opportunities beyond the traditional streams to catch your interest. Nurses can work in many non-hospital settings like clinical care homes and research clinics. So, when choosing the clinical specialty, you should also think about the work settings where you feel more comfortable.
Even in hospital-based nursing roles, there are different settings like intensive care units or emergency wards. Each of these has different work pace and environment. You can choose the settings that suit you best.
- Learn from the Past
When it comes to selecting the best clinical specialty, you can take cues from the previous nursing placements as well. You must have worked in different environments for your nursing rotations. It gives you experience in every nursing sector. All you need to do is reflect upon the past experiences and think about the roles you loved.
If you enjoy working directly with the patients, you can choose hospital settings. On the other hand, many nurses prefer working in research-oriented areas where they have lesser interactions with the patients. It depends on your personal preferences and strengths.
- Assess the Ability to Handle Pressure
Although every nursing role brings pressure, some specific specialties are more demanding. They exert higher levels of pressure and stress on the nurses. For example, specialist roles like the chief nursing practitioner are very rewarding if you can sustain the challenging environment that comes with it.
So, it is always better to assess the role and weigh the stress levels before making a decision. You should know how much pressure you can handle and if you are fit to manage unexpected situations with ease.
- Assess Your Qualifications and Training
It is needless to say that every nursing specialty requires specific qualifications, skills, and training. When you want to find nursing agency jobs in your preferred specialty, you should think if you need further education to pursue the role. Every specialist nursing job requires a master’s degree to start with.
However, some specialties also need you to hone your skills and further your professional knowledge to gain leverage. Even after earning a certification, you may have to meet yearly requirements to stay on the job. It calls for huge commitments throughout your career life. Hence, you should contemplate this factor clearly before making a decision.
- Assess the Job Location
Though there is a high demand for specialist nurses throughout the country, these roles can sometimes be location-specific. If you have no intention to relocate, you may have to research the clinical specialties that are in high demand in your area of residence. You can check across the online nursing role listings to get an idea of specific specialties for each location.
Finding the right specialty is a difficult proposition for agency nurses. As you’ll spend the majority of your time in this role, you should take time to assess every option carefully before reaching a conclusion.
There are many specialty roles available from emergency to cardiac and pediatrics for agency nurses. Discuss your qualifications and preferences with your agency to find the one suited for your requirements.
