What Are All the Types of Nurses?

There are a lot of different ways to enter the field of nursing and even more career options available to nurses. To help you figure out what path you want to take, here’s an extensive list of every nursing career and specialty available to you. Get ready to scroll!

What Types of Nurses Are There?

In order of nursing level, starting with the lowest and going to the highest, here are the different types of nurses and their salaries:

1. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

• Median salary: $38,200 per year or $18.36 per hour (BLS)
• Career outlook: 4% growth from 2023 to 2033
• Education requirements: State-approved training program

• Job duties: Gathering bedside supplies, assisting patients with ADLs, assisting with medical procedures, answering patient calls, and obtaining vital signs.

2. Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)

• Median salary: $59,730 per year or $28.72 per hour (BLS).
• Career outlook: 5% growth from 2023 to 2033.  
• Education requirements: Accredited practical nursing certificate program, which is usually offered at community colleges and takes about a year to complete.
• Job duties: Provide patients with essential care, including eating, drinking, and bathing, as well as taking blood pressure, inserting catheters, and recording vital signs.

3. Registered Nurse (RN)

• Median salary: $86,070 per year or $41.38 per hour (BLS).
• Career outlook: 6% growth from 2023 to 2033.
• Education requirements: ADN, BSN, or RN diploma.
• Job duties: Care, education, and coordination of sick and dying patients. RNs assess patients, administer medications and treatments, and collaborate with other healthcare providers. They also educate patients and families on disease processes and management and assist with procedures.

4. Labor and Delivery

• Salary: $96,421 per year or $46 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Optional Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB) certification through the National Certification Corporation.
• Job duties: Timing contractions, monitoring both the baby’s and mother’s vital signs, administering medications, aiding in inducing labor, and identifying and assisting with handling complications.

5. Pediatrics

• Salary: $109,492 per year or $53 per hour (ZipRecruiter). 
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Job duties: Administering and educating about vaccines, administering medications, performing assessments, creating nursing care plans, assisting healthcare professionals with tests and procedures, monitoring vital signs, and documenting observations and findings.

6. Neonatal ICU Nurse

• Salary: $128,211 annually or $62 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Optional certs include CCRN® (Neonatal), RNC Certification for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, and Care of the Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonate Subspecialty Certification (C-ELBW).
• Job duties: Treat critically ill neonates and newborns, monitor vital signs, give medications, record newborn’s recovery and progress, change diapers, and calm distressed babies.

7. Oncology Nurse

• Salary: $91,094 annually or $44 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation offers 6 certs, including Oncology Certified Nurse (ONC®), Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON®), and Blood and Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse (BMTCN®).
• Job duties: Administering medications (e.g., chemotherapy), caring for patients after oncologic surgeries, developing and implementing care plans, and performing assessments on cancer patients.

8. Emergency Room Registered Nurse

• Salary: $86,737 per year or $42 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Optional Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
• Job duties: Administer blood products, medications, and vaccines; clean and dress wounds; set broken bones; triage patients; and aid trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, and sexual assault care.

9. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Registered Nurse

• Salary: $85,205 annually or $41 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Adult Critical Care Nurses (CCRN) from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
• Job duties: Administer medications, evaluate vital signs, respond to changes in patient conditions or medical emergencies, clean and bandage wounds, and identify patients’ ongoing needs.

10. Surgical Registered Nurse

• Salary: $117,052 per year or $56 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR), Certified Foundational Perioperative Nurse (CFPN), or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CNAMB).
• Job duties: Surgical nurse responsibilities change per role, from scrub and circulating nurses to OR directors and med-surg nurses.

11. Operating Room Registered Nurse

• Salary: $129,668 per year or $62 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Optional Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) or Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse (CMAB) from the  Competency and Credentialing Institute.
• Job Duties: Prepare OR equipment and verify its functionality, monitor patients during operations, assist surgeons, and provide pre and post-operative patient care and education.

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12. Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Registered Nurse

• Salary: $88,254 per year or $42 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Optional Certified Post-Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN) from the American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification.
• Job duties: Diligently monitor patients as they come out of sedation and take immediate action if there are any complications.

13. Trauma Registered Nurse

• Salary: $129,668 per year or $62 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Education requirements: ADN or BSN degree.
• Certifications: Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®) certification from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.
• Job duties: Care of patients with major injuries (e.g. car accident, stabbing, or shooting victims), giving CPR, patient monitoring, starting IVs, and administering medication and blood products. 

14. Nurse Practitioner (NP)

• Median salary: $126,260 per year or $60.70 per hour (BLS).
• Career outlook: 45 percent growth from 2023 to 2033. 
• Education requirements: MSN from an NP program.
• Job duties: Varies by NP specialty, but they generally prescribe medication, examine patients, order diagnostic tests, diagnose illnesses, and provide treatment.

15. Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

• Median salary: $129,650 per year or $62.33 per hour (BLS).
• Career outlook: 6 percent growth from 2023 to 2033.     
• Education requirements: MSN from a CNM program.
• Job duties: Deliver babies, provide prenatal and postpartum care, perform routine check-ups for pregnant patients, perform annual exams, prescribe medications, and offer patient education.

16. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

• Median salary: $212,650 per year or $102.24 per hour (BLS).
• Career Outlook: 9 percent growth from 2023 to 2033.
• Education requirements: Current - MSN, DNP, or DNAP from a CRNA program. By 2025 - DNP or DNAP from a CRNA  program.
• Job duties: Care for patients under anesthesia, identify patient risks, administer anesthetic and patient medication, and educate patients and families.

17. Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

• Median salary: $94,545 per year or $45 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Career outlook: 38 percent growth from 2023 to 2033.
• Education requirements: MSN from CNS program.
• Certification: ACCNS‐Neonatal, ACCNS-Pediatric, and ACCNS-Adult-Gerontology from AACN Certification Corp and Adult-Gerontology CNS (AGCNS-BC) from ANCC.
• Job duties: Assist with evidence-based practice projects and research; educate patients, families, and communities; provide transitional care; assist nurses with patient care as a resource.

18. Nurse Educator

• Median salary: $80,780 annually (BLS).
• Career outlook: 8 percent growth from 2023 to 2033.          
• Education requirements: MSN from a nurse educator program
• Job duties: Develop lesson plans, teach courses, oversee students’ clinical practice, maintain clinical competencies, and mentor students.

19. Nurse Administrator

• Median salary: $110,680 per year or $53.21 per hour (BLS).
• Career outlook: 28 percent growth from 2023 to 2033.
• Education requirements: MSN with business & administration focus
• Job duties: Specific duties vary by nurse administrator role; Commonly, they manage day-to-day nursing operations, budgets and financial planning, and staff schedules, create operational strategies, and interview and hire new staff.

20. Clinical Nurse Leader

• Median salary: $89,949 per year or $43 per hour (ZipRecruiter).
• Career Outlook: Although this position is relatively new, the employment prospects for Clinical Nurse Leaders are highly favorable.
• Education requirements: MSN from a CNL program.
• Job duties: Advocate for patients and families, coordinate and delegate patient care, mentor new staff, be liaisons to the administration,  and educate staff on new policies and procedures.

Types of Nurse Specialties

Beyond the main roles we covered above, there are so many more nursing specialties. Here are all the different nurse specialties sorted by RN specialties and APRN specialties.

How to Choose a Nursing Specialty

During your clinical experiences in nursing school, you'll have the opportunity to work in different types of nursing specialties. One of the easiest ways to choose your specialty is by selecting one that you connected with during your clinical rotations.

Of course, depending on your clinical location, population, and experience, that may be easier said than done. If you didn't get to try many types of nursing jobs during your clinical experiences, there are still ways to find your specialty.

Consider these questions:

• Do you like to engage with people? While many consider nursing a social job, there are several types of nurses who don't work directly with people. If the answer to this question is no, consider a non-bedside nursing job.
  
  
• What are your interests? If you didn't find an interesting nursing specialty during clinicals, reflect on topics you enjoy. Draw on these passions to find a suitable specialty.
  
  
• Do you thrive under pressure? If so, fast-paced nursing jobs may interest you. Consider working in the ER, ICU, or labor and delivery unit.
  
  
• Do you like to work independently? Nursing is a team effort, but some jobs offer more autonomy than others. Becoming a home health nurse, school nurse, or nurse informaticist might suit your preferences. Clinical autonomy generally correlates to your education level, meaning you'd have to be an APRN to have more independence.

The great thing about nursing is that there are seemingly infinite different kinds of nurses, and you can choose to pursue a new specialty at any time. Some positions do require specific experience, but that can be easily achieved.

It’s also important to remember that even though you might not get the job you wanted in the specialty you wanted - it’s always possible to switch at a later time. Also, consider positions that are vacant. For example, if you are interested in being a pediatric nurse but there is no pediatric hospital or job in your area, then this may be difficult.

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>> Read Next: What are the highest-paid nursing specialties?

Types of Nurses FAQs

• What type of nurses get paid the most?

  • CRNAs are the highest-paid nursing specialty. According to the BLS, the median salary for CRNAs is $212,650 per year or $102.24 per hour.

• What are the 3 fields of nursing?

  • Nurses can be classified into three fields: non-degree (CNA), degree (RNs with an ADN or BSN), and advanced degree (APRNs or non-clinical specialties with an MSN, DNP, or Ph.D. in Nursing).

• What is the best type of nurse to become?

  • Ideally, you'll pursue a nursing specialty that suits your professional goals. If you want a high salary, becoming a CRNA is a good goal. If you like working with children, peds nursing will suit you well. All these nursing paths are excellent, and one isn't better than the others.

• What type of nurse is most in demand?

  • Currently, all fields of nursing are in high demand, but the greatest need is for ICU and geriatric nurses. However, the demand for different types of nurses can vary based on factors such as location, population demographics, and healthcare needs.

• What is the lowest level of nursing?

  • The lowest branch of nursing is a certified nursing assistant (CNA).

• What are the 4 branches of nursing?

  • The four branches of nursing are CNA, LPN, RN, and NP.

• What is the hardest type of nursing?

  • Nursing, in general, is very difficult. Most would say that ICU nursing, ER nursing, and trauma nursing are among the hardest types of nursing.