Choosing a career as a nurse is a path that will involve the care of all types of people. If you specifically love babies and children, then there are many paths you can take to becoming a nurse that specializes in that specific field. When choosing a nursing college, you can select programs that focus on certain areas in your nursing fields. By getting a start on this career path, you know what type of courses to focus on and move forward with. Browse through the following five types of nursing careers to choose a path that will lead you to a career filled with babies and young children.

Family Nurse Practitioner

Through your general studies, you can start training to become a family nurse practitioner. This job usually takes place at a family doctor's office. The general duties of the job includes treating children for physicals, general check-ups, and illnesses when they are sick. By working at a family doctor's office, the majority of your patients would be children, from newborns to their early teens. As you advance through college courses, you can get real-life experience by training at a family's doctor office and gaining experience through the treatment of children.

Certified Nurse Midwife

Instead of treating children or babies directly, a certified midwife is a nursing position that allows you to provide care through a pregnancy and up until the birth of the child. Through college courses, you will learn about common pregnancy treatments, proper prenatal care, and the birthing process. In some cases, you will continue working with a mother after the baby is born. This includes areas like breastfeeding and proper newborn care. As a midwife, you can work in an individual practice or get a position at a hospital.

Pediatric Nurse

One of the more general areas for nurses that work with children is a pediatric nurse. Taking studies in this field gives you a number of different opportunities for future careers. A lot of hospitals hire pediatric nurses to help treat younger patients. You may also end up working directly at a children's hospital. There are many different areas in a children's hospital where a pediatric nurse is needed. This includes injury wings, surgery wings, or sections of the hospital for children that need chronic care. When looking for a nursing college, search for programs that work with or associate with a local children's hospital. This will help you gain experience and hands-on nursing skills.

NICU Nurse

When a baby is born early or has health issues, they are typically transferred to the NICU. This stands for the neonatal intensive care unit and is a career option for nurses who love babies. When working as a nurse in this unit, you will care for newborn babies and provide the delicate treatment that they need. Through your training, you will learn to use a bunch of tools and devices that are used in the NICU. This includes an incubator, a baby warmer, and infusion pumps to help deliver medicine.

School Nurse

If you're interested in caring for children past the toddler age, then consider a career as a school nurse. School nurses are an essential part of daily school and can lead to a stable career path where you interact with hundreds of children on a daily basis. As a school nurse, you will help with school-related injuries, administering medications, and providing general health updates for the entire school. While in college, you may have the opportunity to shadow a real school nurse and see what the experience is like on a daily basis. This can include elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

By starting out your college studies with a specific area, you can get the most out of your learning and be prepared for a great career in a field that you love. To learn more about nursing colleges, go to sites like the one linked to here.