What Does It Take To Be A Women’s Health Nurse?

Nursing is a big career path for anyone to take on, especially people who are interested in helping others and making the world a little bit better.

We Need Better Women’s Medicine

Women’s medicine is not only one of the fastest-growing fields of nursing, but it is also one of the most under-represented in nursing school. 

There is a lack of respect shown nearly everywhere in healthcare, and women’s health is one that is drastically lacking. There are plenty of female nurses already working in the industry and making a difference with their own patients, but more nurses are needed, and there is a need for them to be represented by a more diverse range of people across the nursing specialisms. 

Diversity is what is needed in medicine as a whole as well as the nursing profession. It’s important to have nurses who are able to relate and understand what patients and clients with different backgrounds and experiences than themselves are going through.

Study Options In Women’s Health Nursing

Nowadays, there are different options available to people, especially in the medical field. We need more women to enter the world of medicine, and nursing in particular. The General Practitioners course for nurses can be an excellent way to explore the nursing profession.

To be a registered nurse in any field, a higher level of educated is required, such as a master’s or bachelors’ degree.

In previous times, these degrees and study programs were very expensive and took a long time to complete, but these days, with the advent of courses such as the online ABSN programs, realizing your dream of being a registered nurse -and a women’s health nurse specifically- is more realistic.

Women’s Health Nursing Is Becoming An Important Field Of Study

There are many benefits to being a nurse, but one of the main ones is making a direct difference in someone else’s life. You are helping them get through an event or situation that would otherwise be hard for them on their own. 

There are many fields of nursing out there, each with its own unique path and requirements for the individuals who want to pursue it. One of these fields is women’s health nursing.

Careers Within Women’s Health

Women’s health nurses have a high demand in the workforce. In fact, it is highly competitive, to say the least.

Women’s health nursing is not just a path to becoming a nurse. It is a long-term career path as well as an exciting and fulfilling lifestyle. 

In general, as with any nursing career, you should expect to have your work schedule change from time to time so that you can take time off for vacations or at the end of each session so that you aren’t worn out from overworked and overstretched.

The field of women’s health nursing covers a wide array of specialties and experiences to provide the right education and the right type of care that your patients need. Women’s health nurses can assist with:

• Post-partum care
• Childbirth planning and delivery
• Pelvic floor problems, such as urinary tract infections and prolapses. 
• Other intersexual issues, such as menopause and other common problems associated with this stage of life. 
• Sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS or other STDs, as well as providing emotional support to patients who have contracted these illnesses.

Women’s Health Roles

Women’s health nursing can be a challenging and exciting career path. 

There are many rewards to working as a nurse, such as the satisfaction of helping people and having a positive impact on their lives, but it is important to remember that any medical field is extremely competitive, so you must do what it takes to be the best possible candidate.

Women’s Health Nursing Specialties

Women’s health nursing is a growing area in the medical sector.

Obstetrics/Gynecology Nurse

Women’s health nursing is a highly rewarding career path, especially for those who have a love and passion for helping people. If you are looking to work in the healthcare industry, this is one of the top five specialties to consider.

The average salary for an obstetrics/gynecology nurse tops out at around $162,286 per year. You also get the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping people who need your services most.

Perinatal Nurse

This role is a bit more specific in that you tend to work with mothers who are going through a difficult pregnancy.

You will take care of pregnant women and help them through their pregnancies, periodically providing prenatal care and helping them get ready for the big day when their child is finally born. This is a great role for someone looking to become an obstetrics/gynecology nurse but doesn’t have the required experience yet or who isn’t quite ready to handle delivering babies just yet.

Labor and Delivery Nurse

This is the most well-known role in women’s health nursing. This stresses out the standards of care you will provide, but it is also one of the more fulfilling roles in women’s health nursing because you are helping women give birth to their babies.

You may see your patients having babies or giving birth multiple times, especially if they are women who have many children while you are working in one area!

Corporate Women’s Health

Corporate women’s health is another new branch within the field of women’s health nursing. 

As with any new field of study or work, many new ideas and concepts are being developed so that new generations of health care providers have better methods for helping their patients achieve their best quality of life while they are dealing with their own illnesses or some other type of medical emergency. 

Certified Nurse Midwife

A Certified Nurse Midwife, or CNM, is a registered nurse who has specific training to provide prenatal care and who will deliver babies for their mothers.

The job of a CNM is not an easy one because there are very few CNMs as compared to the number of nurses in the field. In fact, many hospitals still do not permit Certified Nurse Midwives to provide pregnancy care nor do they allow them to deliver babies.

Lactation Consultant

A lactation consultant helps women with breastfeeding. They are able to help the mother with the proper positioning of their infants, helping them know when to feed their baby and how to breastfeed them properly.

A lactation consultant is not just limited to helping women exclusively with breastfeeding. They can also help mothers with other issues that may arise regarding the breastfeeding process, such as mastitis.

They can also help men who are trying to feed their children, providing them with suggestions on how to feed their children.

Men in Women’s Health Roles

Women’s health has traditionally been a very female-dominated field of nursing, and although this is still true today, there are more men than women working in the field.

However, women’s health nurses are generally considered to be the cream of the crop of nurses, so they can get paid very well for their work. As with any other field in nursing, you can expect to receive a higher salary when you are in this type of specialty.

If you really want to have a job promoting healthcare and self-improvement, this is a good fit for you. If you have the correct skills and education, you can consider yourself a very lucky person.

Women’s Health Nursing Degrees & Career Paths

There are many different ways to study women’s health nursing, from studying it as part of another course of study such as nursing or studying it as a stand-alone degree at university or online school.  

Definitely consider looking into it as part of another degree program if you already have one because this will increase your chances of getting into a women’s health nursing program later on down the road.

Nurse Management and Administration

Working within women’s health is an interesting field and a passion for many highly qualified nurses turning up to work every day.

If you are considering moving beyond a career in just women’s health and going into a broader field of nursing management and administration, then you’ll be interested to know that as far as career options go, this is a very good one. 

There are many different schools of nursing that allow you to open up to the possibility of moving into women’s health management and administration as part of your studies.

In this kind of program, your online RN-to-BSN programs will all be centered around the study of women’s health and learning how to run hospitals and other medical facilities.

Nursing and healthcare administrator jobs are very well paid. Many nurses find that moving into administrative and leadership roles allows them to have a greater say in how hospitals and other medical facilities operate.

There are also opportunities for you to work in the private sector, managing health care centers and centers for women’s health.

Summary

Nurses do a lot more than just assist with the physical needs of their patients; they also look after their emotional and mental well-being. 

It is a great career path for those who want to form a bond with their patients and help them feel comfortable and confident and make sure that they can continue living full and productive lives.