In this article, I will answer the following question: What is the largest nursing specialty in the U.S.? Why is that specialty the largest?
If this nursing area interests you, make sure to check out the NurseMoneyTalk job board.
What’s the Largest Nursing Specialty?
The answer might not be that surprising.
The largest nursing specialty area is medical-surgical nursing. Medical-surgical nurses care for adult patients who are experiencing acute or chronic illness.
They care for various medical problems, from patients prepping for recovering from surgery to patients with specific organ dysfunctions such as endocrine or cardiac issues.
Med-Surg is the Largest Nursing Specialty (& other Demographics)
Med-surg is by far the largest nursing specialty, employing almost 1.9 million nurses in the United States.
About 90% of med-surg nurses are female (10% are male).
The average age is 44 years of age. The current ethnic breakdown of medical surgical nurses is as follows: 69.9% White, 11.7% Black or African-American, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino, and 7.9% Asian.
Why is medical-surgical nursing the largest nursing specialty area?
There are a few reasons.
Medical-Surgical nurses take care of the most diverse patient conditions and ailments.
From endocrine disorders to diabetes disorders or even neuro, just about any bodily dysfunction or issue could end up on a med-surg floor.
This means that Medical-Surgical nurses require a wide range of knowledge and skills to effectively care for the many types of patients they come into contact with.
Also, medical-surgical nursing is seen as the foundation for all other nursing specialties.
Many nurses start in medical-surgical and then branch out into more specialized areas once they’ve built up their experience.
Growing and Aging Population
As the population ages, the need for med-surge nurses will continue to increase. This is related to the large percentage of the older population.
Still, it’s also because as you age, people tend to have more health concerns requiring hospitalization.
A Med-Surg For Every Interest
No matter your interests, if you’re interested in pursuing a career in nursing, chances are there’s a medical-surgical specialty that’s a perfect fit for you!
If you are interested in becoming a nurse, you can go here to look for nursing programs.
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