If you’re looking to enter the healthcare industry or are already a registered nurse (RN) who wants to pursue a nursing specialty to increase your earning potential, consider these high-demand nursing careers that pay well and will surely satiate your need for purpose and fulfillment.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
What are CRNAs?
CRNAs, otherwise called nurse anesthetists, are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with specialized anesthesia training and knowledge. CRNAs administer anesthesia and other medications and monitor patients who receive or are recovering from anesthesia, ensuring their safety and comfort—CRNAs either alone or with a team of healthcare providers.
CRNA job responsibilities
The typical tasks of CRNAs include:
· Conducting patient assessments, preoperative teaching, and patient preparation for anesthesia
· Identifying possible anesthesia risks
· Administering precise anesthesia dosages
· Maintaining anesthesia during an operation
· Managing patients’ recovery from anesthesia
Pathway to becoming a CRNA
Depending on the state, there are different requirements to become a CRNA. We outline the typical steps interested individuals must take to pursue a CRNA career:
CRNA nurse: Annual salary and job outlook
· Annual wage of lowest ten percent of CRNAs in 2023: US$95,530
· Annual wage of highest ten percent of CRNAs in 2023: US$211,820
· Median annual wage in 2023: US$129,480
· Overall projected growth from 2022 to 2032: 38%
· Projected average job openings per year from 2022 to 2032: 29,200 job openings
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nurse
What is a NICU nurse?
A NICU nurse is a kind of nurse who cares for newborn infants with health concerns such as prematurity, birth defects, infections, and surgical problems. Although NICU nurses care for babies during the neonatal period, which is technically the first four years of a child’s life, they can provide specialized care for newborns for several months or even up to two years.
NICU nurse job responsibilities
The primary duties of NICU nurses include:
· Assessing infants and checking their vital signs including their heart rates, respiratory rates, temperatures, and oxygen saturation levels
· Monitoring infants’ overall condition and looking for signs of distress or complication
· Documenting findings
· Attending deliveries and helping address complications by providing specialized care
· Administering medications
· Rotating and repositioning babies
· Gathering lab values and performing various medical procedures including managing intravenous lines and performing blood draws
· Speaking with family members
Pathway to becoming a NICU nurse
You can take the following steps to become a NICU nurse:
NICU nurse: Annual salary and job outlook
· Average annual wage in 2023: US$136,592
· Overall projected growth from 2020 to 2030: 9%
Pain Management Nurse
What is a pain management nurse?
A pain management nurse cares for patients living with chronic or acute pain by providing pain medication and educating patients on proper pain management techniques.
Pain management nurse job responsibilities
The following are the main responsibilities of pain management nurses:
· Administering medications (such as intravenously and intramuscularly) and using therapeutic methods to relieve pain
· Teaching patients and families how to relieve pain
· Monitoring patients who are receiving conscious sedation
· Helping patients recover after undergoing sedation
· Reviewing patients’ medical records
· Helping doctors with more invasive pain management procedures and techniques
Pathway to becoming a pain management nurse
To become a pain medication nurse, you must take the following steps:
Pain management nurse: Annual salary and job outlook
· Average annual wage in 2024: US$122,347
· Average annual wage of the lowest ten percent in 2024: US$97,272
· Average annual wage of the highest ten percent in 2024: US$153,886
· Overall projected growth from 2019 to 2029: 7%
Meda Health has job openings for various RN specialties, allowing healthcare professionals to work for great pay, help individuals who need specialized care and treatment, have flexibility, and travel the country. Learn more about our job openings here.
