Nursing practice profiles
Registered Nurses (RNs) may work in more than 50 different areas of practice from public health to palliative care.
Don’t know where to begin? Here are some “practice profiles” (by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario). Get a glimpse of a day in the life of a nurse who works in each of these areas, find out what education you need to work in the field, and learn about the scope of practice.
Check back regularly as new sectors are featured!
Correctional Nursing
Correctional nurses enjoy working to their full scope of practice with a great deal of autonomy, bringing expertise in clinical practice, health teaching and interviewing. Learn more about this unique field that employs about 700 nurses across Ontario.
Gerontological Nursing
Gerontological nursing isn't just about end-of-life activities — it's about maximizing functional health and psychological well being for people over 65. Nursing who specialize in gerontology find themselves working in diverse settings, and caring for older adults in various stages of life. Learn more
Home Health Nursing
The last 20 years, we’ve witnessed nursing care shift to the community from hospitals. Discover all the interventions home health care nurses now deliver, allowing Canadians to successful manage increasingly complex conditions in the comfort of their homes. Learn more.
Occupational Health Nursing
Occupational Health Nurses are knowledgeable, and highly skilled, with specialized education in many related workplace health and environmental safety fields. Learn more about how the OHN may be the employee’s first contact with primary health care.
Palliative care
Don’t be fooled — palliative care nursing is not only end of life care. In fact, as RN, CNS, APN or NP, nurses spend time focusing on a holistic approach to care delivery, attending to the physical, spiritual, psycho-social and practical issues that may arise during an illness period. Learn more.
Parish/Faith Community Nursing
This is one of the newer nursing specialties, though its origins are historic. Find out how, in new and creative ways, the parish nurse role reclaims the historical roots of health and healing. Learn more.
Public Health Nursing
Public health nursing in Ontario is rooted in the traditions of Florence Nightingale, Jeanne Mance, and women in religious orders such as the Grey Nuns. Early North American PHNs understood the importance of social, economic, environmental, and political determinants of health, and believed that social activism and collaboration with community organizations and governments was a fundamental aspect of public health nursing practice. Learn more.
Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioners (NP) are registered nurses with advanced university education who provide personalized, quality health care to patients. NPs offer health-care services to individuals, families and communities. They practise in a variety of settings, including hospitals and community based clinics in Ontario cities and towns.