Top 10 High Paying Nursing Specialties Careers 2012 - 2022

According to Indeed.com, PayScale.com and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013 Edition, the following 10 high paid nursing careers are the 10 most highly in demand across America. The demand for these positions, including travel nursing positions in all of these job titles, will remain high through 2022.

1. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Salary range $105,848 to $131,694. September 2012; 5,400 job openings were available in the USA. Best hiring companies for this time period: Locumtenens.com, CompHealth, US Air Force, Core Medical Group, US Navy Reserve, US Navy, Julia Edmunds Associates, Staff Care, and Enterprise Medical Service.
2. Pediatric Intensive Care Nurses (PICN), salary range $42,492 to $67,878
3. Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses (PICN), salary range $57,979 to $71,713
4. Perioperative Nurses, salary range $61,437 to $108,101
5. Clinical Nursing Specialists (CNS), salary range $57,098 to $104,546
6. Orthopedic Nurses, salary range $76,614 to $129,000
7. Nurse Practitioners, salary range $78,355.00 to $96,437.00
8. Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM), salary range $55,413 to $96,436. Usually requires a master’s degrees, e.g. MSN.
9. Geriatric Nurses, salary range $73,866 to $123,135
10. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, salary range $65,167 to $101,817

Given the rise in development of electronic prostheses, participial organs, and aerospace medicine, Information Technology is becoming a part of all areas of nursing, but most specifically at this writing in the position of

Nursing Informatics Analyst

These professionals complete important work. They manage healthcare data and communicate it to other nurses, doctors, patients, insurance companies, medical foundations, and related entities such as the Veterans Administrations and State Bureaus of Workers Compensation. A Nationwide Medical Statistics Database would use their services. Aerospace Medicine in the 2010s opens a number of new IT related possibilities as well.

Requirements: A BSN with the RN license is the minimum educational requirement. An increasing number of hiring companies require the MSN or other master’s degree, such as in Health Informatics, Healthcare Management, or Quality Management. A Doctoral Degree is also available.

Requirements: The American Nurses Credentialing Center requires two years of continuous experience as a licensed RN, with 2,000 hours of experience in informatics for a Certificate in Nursing Informatics. Work involves large medical complexes such as hospitals, medical records storage companies, software companies, government agencies, and several others. Median salary: $80,596.

Certified Dialysis Nurse (CDN)

The Need:

In the late 1970s, my large city did not have enough dialysis machines for the patients in need of them. Some patients died in transport, attempting to travel form one hospital to another in order to use the next available kidney dialysis machine. By the early 2000s, this situation was solved with large Dialysis Centers in Columbus, Ohio, each fitted with dozens of dialysis machines. No longer would these patients be stuck in heavy traffic and die. Given the increase of obesity and Diabetes Types I and II in some parts of America, the Certified Dialysis Nurse will come in greater demand.

The Job:

These nurses assist patients that require dialysis machines for elimination of the usual waste products the human body processes and expels through the renal system as urine. Certified dialysis nurse is one of the fastest growing nursing specialties in the US. Interestingly, these nurses are in high demand on cruise ships, because diabetic passengers must maintain their dialysis schedules, even on a cruises. Fortunately, the usual schedule for CDNs is dayshift, although some might work other hours.

Requirements

The professionals require the RN license, 2,000 hours experience caring for dialysis and nephrology patients during the most recent past two years, 15 hours of Continuing Education credits in nephrology, and success in the CDN certification test. Median salary: $63,500.

Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC)

The professionals work not only within law practices, but for corporations, the government, and insurance companies. The CLNC consults on medical lawsuits and researches for discovery, standards of care, medical records accuracy, and other needs.

Requirements: RN license. Median salary: $62,000

Nurse Case Manager

Many have heard of the Nurse Case Manager and might not know what their duties entail. They monitor and evaluate patients’ recovery and will suggest alternative treatments that may be more appropriate. They balance care between patient needs and cost savings for the medical care system. In fact, some work for insurance companies and advocate for cost containment.

Requirements: A BSN or MSN is needed and some fast track education programs for RN-to-BSN are growing around the country. A Case Management Nursing Certificate exists as a credential, but is not always needed. $68,000.

Nurse Researcher

Nurses have not always performed research, but have grown into this work especially since the 1990s. However, as early as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Administration, some nurses involved themselves in Polio research.

For example, Nurse Sister Kenny in Australia found that when the limbs of polio-infected children were wrapped in warmed cloths, that paralysis did not occur. Slowly, nursing research began to gain credence and more rapidly developed in the latter half of the 20^th Century. See Cutting Edge Nursing Research.

Requirements: An RN license and a BSN degree. Many of the most successful have the MSN or a PhD of Nursing degree. Median salary: $95,000