Different Fields of Nursing

1. Hospital or Institutional Nursing

Advantages:
• Nurses get rotated to different units and have the chance to determine
their special area of choice.
• They have an eight hour day and forty hour week duty which provides two
days of rest away from duty.
• They have provisions for sick leaves, holidays and vacations with pay
according to personnel policies of the institution.
• They are considered an important member of the health care team
improving care to patients.
• More of patient contact.
• Chance to be promoted to higher position.
• There is always a supervisor that you can consult.
• May attend seminars conducted by the institution.
• There salary increase periodically.

Disadvantages:
• There is a great possibility of understaffing which may require nurses to
sacrifice some of their plans or put in overtime work. This is especially true
in hospitals where budget for personnel is limited.
• Because of the bulk of work, some staff nurses do not find time anymore
to improve their skills through continuing education programs. Or, if the
hospitals are far flung, no continuing education programs are provided.
• More prone to disease.
• Stressful environment.
• Administrative problems.

2. Public Health Nursing or Community Health Nursing

Advantages:
• Focus of nursing is on family and community health rather than individual
basis. Here, the nurse will be able to see the total picture of family and the
community health.
• It gives a nurse a better perspective of the health conditions of the
community and health programs conceived and implemented by the
government and to appreciate the nurses’ role in nation building.
• Focus of care is more on educative, promotion and preventive aspects of
health. Thus, the nurses have the privilege of contributing to the program
for healthy citizenry among the rural poor.
• Nurses learn to become resourceful and can utilize the community
resources available.

Disadvantages:
 • There are no fixed hours of work. The nurse may be called upon
anytime of the day and night.
• Facilities for care of the sick are limited therefore, nursing practice or
skills may also be limited.
• May not be updated to new trends of nursing and medicine.
• Multi-tasking
• Not enough salary
• More hazardous. Ex. exposure to stray dogs, heat of the sun, to the
rain and noise.

3. Private Duty Nursing

- a private duty nurse is a registered nurse who undertakes to give
comprehensive nursing care to a client on a one to one ratio. He or she is an
independent contractor. The patient maybe provided care in the hospital or in the
home.
a. General Private Duty Nurse
- provides basic type of regular care.
- Assess the physical condition of the patient.
- Knowledge and recognition of pharmacological effects of drugs and
medications.
- Interpretation of doctors order.
b. Private Duty Nurse Specialists
- more equipped and has an area of higher specialization.

Advantages:
• Opportunity to travel.
• Bonding with the patient
• Favorable working hours.
• There is an opportunity to make real friends through close
association with the family.

Disadvantages:
• No participation or very little participation in professional activities.
• Patient becomes dependent on the nurse.
• No benefits. There is no retirement, no insurance, etc.
• Sole liability. Faces problems in private practice.

4. Occupational Health Nursing (OHN)

• a.k.a. Company Nurse, Industrial Health Nurse.
• Responsibilities:
- Attends to emergency cases within the company
- Custodian of employee’s health record
- Counselor
- Adviser for workers
- Health and safety teacher
 - Provides lectures and seminars.
Advantage:
• With insurance and benefits.
• Favorable salary and working hours.
Disadvantage:
• Work may become stagnant.
• May work up to 12 hours a day.

5. Nursing Education
- Nurses who would like to consider teaching as their field of choice should
consider the following factors:
• They must be academically inclined. The basic educational requirement is
a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, with an upward trend to a Master’s Level.
• Teachers in colleges of nursing should have a sound experience in the
field they wish to teach. If they teach any clinical subject, they should have
at least a year of experience as staff nurse in a particular area.
Advantages:
• Very updated with the new trends.
• Good benefits.
• Sharing of knowledge.
• Not exposed to diseases.
• Development of personality.

Disadvantage:

• Teachers often work much more than 40 hours per week. While this is not
normally spent in classroom teaching, much time is spent in planning
lessons, preparing or correcting examinations, attending faculty meeting,
and serving in committees and counseling students.

6. Military Nursing (The Nurse Corps)

Functions:
• To meet nursing needs of today’s patients in Armed Forces medical
facilities.
• Responsible for the family of the soldiers.
• To prepare each nurse corps officer to meet future assignments at higher
level of responsibility in different stations and general hospitals in peace
and war.
• To teach, train enlisted personnel who perform nursing function, under
supervision. Special emphasis is on enlisted members who function in
setting where there are no nurses.

Qualifications:
• Must be a Filipino citizen.
 • Must be of good moral character and must possess a pleasing personality.
• Must be a registered nurse with a board rating of at least 80%.
• Female candidates must be single, never been married, nor positively
found to have given birth to a living or stillborn child.
• Must not be more that 32 years of age at the time of commission.
• Must satisfy the following height requirement:
Male: 62 inches
Female: 60 inches
• Must have at least one-year hospital experience.
• Must be mentally and physically fit for military service and cleared
by appropriate agencies.

7. School Nursing
- nurses who works in school and mans the school clinic.
Advantages:
• 8 working hours.
• Get the chance to know the development of children.
Disadvantage:
• Responsible for the health of all students
• Mostly are not updated with the current trends.

8. Clinic Nursing
- must possess general skills and must have good assessment skills.
- Need of good communication skills.
- Should have excellent teaching skills.
Advantage:
• Working hours

9. Forensic Nursing
10. Nurse Anesthetist
11. Flight Nursing
12. Independent Nursing
- self-employed
Disadvantage:
- You are going to find your patient