Five careers for adult nursing graduates
Bradford Life Blog
A degree in adult nursing can lead to a profession based in the NHS, the wider community, management, and roles in education. Here are some career paths you could follow.
Adult nursing is a profession often based in the NHS, but also increasingly in private and third sector settings. It can also reach out into the wider community, management, and roles in education. It's a diverse and rewarding sector with lots of scope for progression.
Here are a few career paths an adult nursing graduate can follow. You may need to pursue further education for some of these roles:
District nurse
Impact peoples' lives as they recover at home or in residential care.
District nurses provide care and support to patients and their wider family.
As a district nurse, you could:
- play a vital role in keeping hospital admissions and re-admissions down
- work alongside social services, voluntary agencies, and other NHS organisations
- supervise and lead teams of community staff nurses and healthcare assistants
- plan, deliver and evaluate complex care interventions
Adult nurses can progress to district nursing via specialist practitioner training. This is usually sponsored by your employer.
Further roles could include community matron, lecturer, mentor, and clinical researcher.
Prison nurse
Provide primary care support in prisons.
Prison nurses give the same level of care as nurses in the community. They can also specialise in areas such as substance misuse and learning disabilities.
As with other settings, prison environments require the delivery of compassionate care. Patients come from diverse cultural backgrounds. They may be vulnerable and have complex health needs.
The range of care the prison nurse offers might include:
- health assessments
- emergency and unscheduled care
- palliative care
- substance misuse support
- management of chronic health conditions.
A prison nurse could work in male or female facilities, or young offender institutions.
As an adult nurse, you may be able to adapt to a prison environment through in-house training. There's no specific qualification required for an adult nurse to work in prison healthcare.
Palliative care
Offer symptom management, emotional support and spiritual care to patients with life-limiting illnesses.
Palliative care patients may be suffering from very serious or terminal illnesses. Palliative care nurses support patients and their families through these difficult times.
Empathy is crucial in palliative care. Being able to provide professional support while upholding patient dignity is also important.
Postgraduate study may enhance your ability to work in this setting.
Nurse educator
Teach in further and higher education institutions.
Nurse educators deliver lectures and seminars while assessing the students in their charge.
As a nurse educator, you'll help shape the careers of nurses entering the profession. You'll share the experience, knowledge and skills gained through your own nursing practice.
A successful nurse educator needs:
- a nursing degree
- work experience
- excellent communication skills
- a strong passion for nursing
NHS management
Progress from nursing to management.
NHS managers work with frontline staff to deliver and improve services. They could also be at the forefront of new product or digital technology delivery.
Roles exist in various departments and teams, including:
- clinical management
- estates management
- human resources
- finance
- project management
Professional development and postgraduate study can help you develop into management roles.