Nursing Profession has witnessed series of growth over the years with so many changes and development with its field. It has established itself as a profession that equip many with the ability to contribute and make significant promotive impact in the lives of people in need of any form of medical intervention. In Nigeria, attaining a registered nursing qualification usually require at least three to five years of study in compact program encompassing series of clinical training in which candidates are equiped with useful nursing skills, from basic to advanced nursing practice. The duration of this program depends on the institution of study, a school of nursing ina stitution offers a three-year nursing program while a universities offer five-year nursing program in which candidates graduate not just with the registered nursing certificate, but also with a bachelor of of nursing science degree, which is very important for nurses to advance in their practices. These advances in practice are a form of specialization that could be in post-graduates programs or most commonly opted for by practicing nurses, the diploma certification. Nurses can choose from a variety of specializations, each with its own unique set of skills to acquire.
Some common nursing specialization in Nigeria include:
Accident and Emergency Nursing: Nurses in this specialty are equiped with immense nursing skill in care of patient with different kinds of injury or who are experiencing a medical emergency. The are trained to work in a stress-filled environment with a very fast-paced method of approach in their interventions in other to meet the immediate medical need of patients in an emergency. Their quality of care is paramount in the pattern of treatment and recovery for emergency patients.
Anaesthetic Nursing: Theses set of specially trained nurses work with anaesthetists to provide care for a patient pre-operatively, operatively and post-operatively. They are charged with the responsibility of administering anaesthesia, monitoring the vital signs of patients closely and providing support to their relatives. This is a very lucrative and stress-free specialization for nurses who wants to work in a more relaxed and layed back environment.
Orthopaedic Nursing: These set of specialized nurses deals in patients with musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. They mostly provide curative and rehabilitative care to patients. They play vital role in assisting patients recover from injuries and surgery. They work in hospitals, clinics and rehabilitative centers.
Mental Health Nursing: Mental health nurses specializes in managing patients with mental health disorders. They work together with the medical team consisting of psychiatrist, social worker etc in making decisions regarding the management and continuity of care for their patient. This specialization in nursing do get quite physical most times and nurses have to be very attentive and watchful for their patients’ safety and their’s as well.
Obstetrics and Gynaecological Nursing: This specialization in nursing is also known as midwifery. Nurses are trained to provide care for women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. They play important roles in the care and safety of pregnant women throughout the period of pregancy till delivery and after. They independently carryout normal deliveries.
In addition to these, there are much more specializeed areas that nurses can choose to focus on, such as cardiovascular nursing, neurology nursing, oncology nursing, paediatric nursing and geriatric nursing.
Benefits of specializing in Nursing
Specialization in nursing comes with a lot of benefits. The most apparent is the fact that specialization means increased salaries which is definitely a big plus. Specialization also makes the nurse more valuable to their employers and grants one the opportunity to work with a specific patient population that they are passionate about.
How to specialize in Nursing
There are quite a number of ways to specialize in nursing. One way is to complete a post-basic nursing program. These programs normally last one to two years and focuses on a particular area in nursing practice such as critical care, oncology or paediatrics. Another way to gain specialization in nursing is to gain experience working in a particular area of nursing. For example, a nurse who wants to specialize in neurology may start out by working on a medical-surgical unit and then transfer to a neurology unit after gaining some experience.
