Different Kind of Nurses (With Duties)

Nurses are an essential component of the health-care system, providing vital care to citizens in need. There are a variety of types of nurses, each with different duties and qualification requirements. Understanding the differences between the types of nurses is key to finding the career path into nursing that suits you best. In this article, we outline the different types of nurses, outline the three main distinctions between nurse types, and list 13 types of nurse titles with duties and average salaries.

Different Types of Nurses

Part of what distinguishes different types of nurses is the qualifications required to practice as each kind of nurse. There are well-established career paths through nursing, and each level has its own set of responsibilities, privileges, and required skills. Apart from a nurse's degree of qualification or experience, a factor that distinguishes types of nurses is where they're placed. For instance, a nurse may reside in a school, assisted living facility, or a hospital. Each of these types requires different interpersonal skills, levels of experience, and proficiencies based on the people they care for and the environments they work.

The Three Main Nurse Type Distinctions

Aside from where a nurse works and the people they care for, there are three main categories of nurses. Here's how each type is distinct:

Licenced Practical Nurse or Registered Practical Nurse

LPNs (Licenced practical nurses) and RPNs (Registered practical nurses) are entry-level nurse roles, which primarily focus on assisting senior nurses and physicians. These two titles have the same duties and qualifications, with the distinction being the title RPN is the term in Ontario, and LPN is the title across the rest of Canada. These nurses require a two-year practical nursing diploma from an accredited college, and to pass the national licensing exam. LPNs and RPNs are often front-line workers, and have the following responsibilities:

•Implementing treatments

•Measuring vital signs

•Administering medication

•Maintaining patient records

•Assisting physicians

•Helping patients carry out everyday living tasks

Registered Nurse

Registered nurses require an additional bachelor's degree, making them more qualified than LPNs and RPNs, and work under the supervision of nurse practitioners. They also have a higher level of responsibility than LPNs/RPNs and can care for patients with more complex needs. Registered nurses perform more advanced care and practice as generalists who can handle a broad range of care scenarios. Other duties registered nurses perform are:

•Administering medications or treatments

•Observing patients for side effects

•Interpreting diagnostic tests

•Monitoring and reporting changes in a patient's condition

•Collaborating with other healthcare professionals

Nurse practitioner

Nurse practitioners are advanced-level care providers who can operate more independently. They have a higher level of education requiring a master's degree or advanced diploma. Nurse practitioners don't need the same level of supervision as other types of nurses, and comprehensively assess patients, even diagnosing diseases or conditions. Other duties they perform are:

•Writing prescriptions

•Ordering lab or diagnostic tests

•Diagnosing and treating acute illnesses

•Performing minor procedures, such as sutures

•Managing chronic illness in patients

Different available nursing jobs

Here are 13 different jobs available in the nursing field:

1. Travel nurse

Primary duties: Travel nurses are RNs (Registered nurses), who perform the usual tasks of a nurse, but who travel to fill in as temporary placements at hospitals or other healthcare environments. During large-scale health crises, travelling nurses move to areas where there are shortages of health care personnel. Travelling nurses collaborate with permanently placed nurses in medical institutions to provide support.

2. Hospice nurse

Primary duties: Hospice nurses assist and care for terminally ill patients. They also aim to make the end-of-life process as comfortable as possible for patients for whom they provide care. They administer medication, communicate updates to family members, record changes in treatment or patient condition, and consult with doctors and other medical staff.

3. Nurse's aide

Primary duties: Nurse's aides help doctors, other nurses, and a range of medical staff with administrative and patient care tasks. They usually help patients eat, clean themselves, change clothes, check their vital signs, and record medical histories. Nurse aides also transport patients around parts of the hospital and maintain top hygiene standards.

4. School nurse

Primary duties: School nurses take care of children in school settings. They do so by performing medical assessments of the children they treat, in addition to assessing their physical, emotional, and mental well-being. School nurses often take student temperatures, administer basic approved medication for common ailments, and correspond with the parents or guardians of the children they provide care for.

5. Triage nurse

Primary duties: Triage nurses work quickly with patients to determine what type and degree of medical treatment they require in a hospital. They assess patients, sometimes who need urgent medical attention, and get them to the area of the hospital where they can receive the necessary treatment. This type of nurse is typically a registered nurse.

6. Emergency room nurse

Primary duties: Emergency room (ER) nurses handle medical crisis situations in an emergency room within a hospital. They usually care for patients who are suffering from severe injury or physical trauma and require immediate medical attention. ER nurses work quickly to assess and stabilize patients before they can see a specialist or surgeon.

7. Community nurse

Primary duties: Community nurses work with large groups or communities, which are often marginalized or disenfranchised populations. They serve to attain the medical resources these communities need and provide minor medical advice to community members. Community nurses also administer vaccines, assist women in taking pregnancy tests, and read basic vital signs.

8. Public health nurse

Primary duties: Public health nurses identify diseases among a population, in addition to administering tests and vaccines. They also track how widespread a disease or infection is throughout a community. Public health nurses sometimes educate communities about general wellness and give community members access to valuable health resources.

9. Occupational health nurse

Primary duties: Occupational health nurses treat workplace-related illnesses and injuries. They sometimes also help to investigate the cause of these accidents and consult with plans to prevent them from recurring. Occupational health nurses sometimes work with safety managers or workplace health and wellbeing consultants to identify potential workplace hazards.

10. Psychiatric nurse

Primary duties: Psychiatric nurses provide individual care to patients within a mental health facility or unit in a hospital. These nurses also develop treatment plans alongside doctors or specialists, evaluate patients' mental condition, provide counselling, and even, in some cases, develop policies, in addition to performing usual nursing tasks. These nurses can often hold the designation of a registered nurse but can also hold registered psychiatric nurse designations.

11. Clinical nurse

Primary duties: Clinical nurses have many of the same duties as registered nurses. The main difference is that clinical nurses have advanced leadership experience and a range of other practical nursing skills. Clinical nurses also frequently have a higher degree of involvement in the development of patient care plans.

12. Nurse consultant

Primary duties: A nurse consultant evaluates a hospital's overall healthcare delivery system and helps by consulting in individual patient cases. They help hospitals by assessing a patient's care program and treatment plan and recommend courses of action. Nurse consultants also aid by teaching other staff members or conducting research. They may also help with actual clinical practice as well.

13. Home care nurse

Primary duties: Home care nurses visit patient's houses to provide personal medical care. These nurses typically work without the supervision of a medical doctor but often consult with one to ensure their treatment is appropriate and any diagnosis is accurate. Because of this, home care nurses are usually qualified as nurse practitioners. Home care nurses may also read vital signs, assess a patient's environment, or oversee their transport options. In extreme cases, they may decide to move their patients to a hospital.

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