From nurse assistant to specialist nurse
23 of the 70 essential skills of a specialist nurse are already essential for a nurse assistant — about 33% of the job, before you learn anything new.
These numbers compare two occupations, not you and a job. What you personally already cover depends on what you have actually done.
- 23
- skills carry over
- 47
- would be new
- 33%
- of the target job covered
- 70
- essential skills of a specialist nurse
What a specialist nurse does
Specialist nurses promote and restore people's health, and diagnose and care within a specific branch of the nursing field. Examples of such specialist nursing jobs include but are not restricted to; ambulatory care nurse, advanced practice nurse, cardiac nurse, dental nurse, community health nurse, forensic nurse, gastroenterology nurse, hospice and palliative care nurse, paediatric nurse, public health nurse, rehabilitation nurse, renal nurse and school nurse. Specialist nurses are general care nurses prepared beyond the level of a nurse generalist and authorised to practice as specialists with specific expertise in a branch of the nursing field.
What carries over
23 skillsEssential in both jobs. This is the part of the move you have already made.
- accept own accountability
- address problems critically
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply nursing care in long-term care
- apply person-centred care
- apply sustainability principles in health care
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
- contribute to continuity of health care
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- follow clinical guidelines
- implement fundamentals of nursing
- implement nursing care
- interact with healthcare users
- listen actively
- plan nursing care
- promote inclusion
- provide professional care in nursing
- respond to changing situations in health care
- solve problems in healthcare
- work in multidisciplinary health teams
What would be new
47 skillsEssential for a specialist nurse and not for a nurse assistant. Note that the taxonomy describes activities rather than tools, so some of these may be things you already do under a different name.
- adapt leadership styles in healthcare
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthy lifestyles
- analyse quality of nurse care
- apply context specific clinical competences
- carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures
- carry out nurse-led discharge
- coach individuals in specialised nursing care
- communicate in specialised nursing care
- contribute to the advancements in specialised nursing care
- coordinate care
- deal with emergency care situations
- delegate emergency care
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- diagnose nursing care
- educate on the prevention of illness
- empower individuals, families and groups
- evaluate nursing care
- evaluation in specialised nursing care
- have computer literacy
- impact of social contexts on health
- implement scientific decision making in healthcare
- inform policy makers on health-related challenges
- initiate life preserving measures
- manage adverse reactions to drugs
- manage communicable disease
- manage hospital-acquired infections
- manage information in health care
- manage multiple patients simultaneously
- manage personal professional development
- manage trauma through surgical means
- participate in health personnel training
- perform bronchoscopy
- perform diagnostic testing for allergies
- perform vascular surgery therapeutic procedures
- promote a positive image of nursing
- promote health in specialised care
- promote human rights
- provide comprehensive care for patients with surgical conditions
- provide health education
and 7 more
Other moves from nurse assistant
2 roles- nurse responsible for general care30 skills in common
- advanced nurse practitioner20 skills in common
No account needed to start
How far are you from being a specialist nurse?
MyNodes reads your CV once, maps it to this same taxonomy, and shows you which roles you are already closest to and the few skills that would open the most doors. The file is deleted as soon as it has been read.