Nurse opportunities – nursing jobs, nurse practitioner jobs and more
Where are most nursing vacancies found?
Nurses are an essential part of any medical team, and as such will always be in high demand. Nursing jobs can also offer a high degree of flexibility, alongside excellent employment prospects. Nurse practitioner jobs can be found in a wide variety of settings, including GP surgeries, clinics, nursing homes and hospital wards, outpatient departments or specialist units, as well as other sectors such as the police or prison service. Nurses can also work in the fast-growing community sector – in settings such as patients’ own homes – or in private health, while nursing associate roles also provide vital support to nursing teams.
Learning disability nurse roles, meanwhile, can be found in workplaces, educational settings, residential and community centres, hospital and mental health settings and prisons, while mental health nurses can work in a range of settings including psychiatric wards, residential centres or the criminal justice sector.
What are some of the more advanced nursing jobs?
Nurses working in general practice settings can move on to apply for senior practice nurse or nurse practitioner jobs, or even become clinical directors of local health networks. Nurse practitioner jobs focus on preventative healthcare and working closely with patients with long-term conditions, including aspects of care previously provided by doctors. Advanced nurse practitioners, meanwhile, are able to carry out physical examinations, provide likely diagnoses and refer on to specialist care.
Experienced nurses can also apply for nurse consultant roles, which attract high rates of pay, and many nurses choose to go on to specialise in specific areas such as operating theatres, intensive care, public health or care for the elderly, while others will move into management or research-orientated roles.
What other nursing vacancies are there?
One specialised area is children’s nursing, working closely with parents or guardians in hospitals, child health clinics, day care centres or the family’s own home, and which can lead to further specialisms such as neo-natal nursing, school nursing or health visiting. Midwife roles are also carried out across a range of locations including hospital and community settings and general practice surgeries, and experienced midwives can move into to neo-natal nursing or health visiting roles.
Experienced candidates qualified in adult, child, mental health or learning disability nursing can also apply for district nursing vacancies, which involve a greater support role for patients and their families. There are also dedicated prison nurse jobs, covering a wide range of areas such as injury, safeguarding, chronic conditions, emergency care and drug and alcohol issues, and again often with the potential to move into management-orientated roles.
What about locum nurse jobs?
With demand for qualified nurses increasing all the time, many nurses choose to work in a locum capacity, which offers greater flexibility and more control over the type of work and working hours. Locum nurse jobs also offer candidates the ability to broaden their skill sets and so improve their future employment prospects.
How healthy is the nursing job market?
According to a 2019 report from health think tank the Nuffield Trust, among the greatest staffing shortfalls in UK hospitals were in nursing and midwifery roles, meaning huge demand – and excellent opportunities – for qualified staff.
