Nursing is divided into multiple essential branches for the health of all population sectors. A review of its features and functions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently estimated that there are about 28 million health professionals dedicated to nursing worldwide. The science that is dedicated to the care and attention of patients is as important as the branch responsible for diagnosis, because both processes are essential for the recovery of the patient.
Between 2013 and 2018, some 4.7 million health specialists have been integrated, but unfortunately, an estimated 6 million more nurses are needed to meet the basic needs of the entire global population, especially in Africa, South-East Asia and other impoverished areas.
In countries such as Cuba there are about 752 health professionals per 100,000 inhabitants, while in Bolivia a total of 47 is estimated for the same figure. Undoubtedly, public health is dominated by very marked economic and social disparities depending on the country analyzed.
With all these data, we wanted to give you an overview of the importance of health and nursing specialists in today’s society. Even so, do you know what the 7 branches or fields of nursing are and what characterizes them? If the answer is no, do not worry, then we will tell you.
- We recommend you read: “The 5 differences between Medicine and Nursing”
What are the specialties of Nursing?
We can define nursing as that branch ofscience that is responsible for the care and attention of the sick, as well as other tasks of health care, clinics and the promotion and prevention of health. Therefore, a nurse will be a person who is professionally qualified to assist or care for the sick, injured or injured under the prescriptions of a physician, or to assist the doctor or surgeon during their procedures.
Beyond the “book” terminological scope, a true conceptual range opens up when we go to the branches or divisions of nursing. Some sources estimate that there are up to 30 branches of this science and, as such a figure would be unfathomable in an informative document, we tell you the 7 most relevant.
1. Enfermería obstétrico-ginecológica
The specialty of obstetric-gynecological nursing is the most popular among professionals in the sector. Broadly speaking, this is responsible forcovering all comprehensive care for the woman who is going to give birth up to 28 days after the birth of the child. This includes pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period (the period immediately following childbirth), as well as other aspects of female sexuality, such as contraceptive use and menopause.
During the gestation process, a specialist in this branch is responsible for supervising the normality of the same, prescribing the pertinent examinations and analyzes in the mother and facilitating her access to parental planning programs, among many other things. When the child is born, the specialist will remain with him and the mother, presenting the necessary advice so that the mother can fend for herself in the future.
2. Mental Health Nursing
Mental health or psychiatric nursing is the field responsible forproviding support and care to people with mental and/or emotional maladjustments. Among her roles is helping patients to accept their condition and to be able to identify for themselves when they are in a dangerous situation in which they may compromise their own integrity or that of their surroundings.
We are facing a branch that requires interdisciplinarity, since mental health nurses work side by side with social workers, psychologists and doctors to promote the greatest possible well-being in the patient. Among the pathologies they monitor we find stress, depression, diseases related to self-harm, problems related to alcohol and other drugs, personality disorders and schizophrenia, among others.
Although emotional and/or cognitive imbalances are very common in society, we must bear in mind that only a small percentage of patients require medical admission and continuous monitoring. It is the mental health nurses who are in charge of this small population group.
3. Geriatric nursing
As its name suggests, this is the branch of nursing thatis responsible for the care of people over 65 years of age. This sector is expected to reach an unprecedented rebound in the coming decades because, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2050 it is estimated that the geriatric population will double in the world, reaching up to 22% of the total.
Geriatric nursing also requires a fairly broad prism, since the care of an elderly patient usually includes the monitoring and management of multiple simultaneous chronic pathologies, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, decreased mobility, hearing / visual impairment or some form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. Thanks to geriatric nursing, the most vulnerable age group can live their last years with dignity.
4. Family Nursing
Family nurses promote health and prevent the onset of diseases in the community, understanding it as a small-scale geographical or social grouping of inhabitants. To do this, these professionals visit people in their homes to assist, educate and advise them on multiple topics on health and prevention.
In summary, these figures simultaneously represent a nurse, doctor, counselor and teacher, since theycover part of the education and management of health “at street level”. Above all, they work with the most vulnerable people in the community: young children, the elderly or patients with some type of functional diversity, among others.
5. Paediatric nursing
Just as patients over 65 years of age have special requirements, neonates and the youngest of the family also have a series of particularities that require special training to be resolved. These professionalsprovide medical care to infants, children, and adolescents up to age 16.
Dealing with a baby is much more difficult than with a normal patient because, in the first instance, in many cases they do not have enough tools to communicate what pain afflicts them or the nature of their discomfort. Therefore, a pediatric nurse should be an observer and note any irregularities beyond the physiological normality of the neonate.
6. Occupational nursing
Although it may not seem like it, human beings spend a third of our lives working, which is why it is very common for accidents or diseases to happen during the performance of professional work. As its name suggests, this branch of nursing is responsible forpreserving health and monitoring people in their work environment.
Among the tasks of these specialists are to monitor the general health status of workers, provide emergency health care in the event of a mishap in the work environment, promote healthy behaviors by workers in their environment and prevent accidents in the work area.
7. Medical-surgical care nursing
Perhaps this branch would encompass the typical concept that many have of the nurse, that scene in which the surgeon, between sweat and concentration, says to his right hand “pass me the scalpel”. That’s right, surgical nursesshine above all in the operating room, where they provide essential support to anesthesiologists and specialized surgeons.
In any case, the surgical medical nurses will accompany the patient in the pre-operative and post-operative period. Therefore, they are an essential figure, since they are present before, during and after the intervention.
Summary
Here we have described the 7 essential branches of nursing, because we have all been children, we will all be old (hopefully) and almost all of us go through work environments, an operation or a pregnancy (either as fathers or as mothers). These figures accompany us in all moments of our lives and, without them, the public health institution could not sustain itself.
Even so, it is necessary to emphasize that these 7 branches or occupational aspects are not the only ones. There are cardiorespiratory, neurological, ophthalmological nurses and a long list: wherever there is an organ or system that can fail, there will be a specialist to guide the patient in their treatment and recovery process.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.