What Nursing Jobs Can I Get With a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing?
A bachelor’s degree in nursing qualifies you to pursue a career as a registered nurse. Many of these nursing roles fall under four broad areas: hospital units, specialized patient care, nursing leadership, and community and public health.
Each path opens once you finish your BSN, pass the NCLEX-RN exam, and earn a license in your state. NCLEX-RN stands for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, the national exam that qualifies graduates to practice as licensed registered nurses.
Hospital-Based Nursing Careers
Hospitals employ the largest share of registered nurses, and these positions often serve as entry points for new graduates.
Medical-Surgical Nursing forms the foundation of hospital practice. Med-surg nurses care for adult patients with a wide range of conditions while building assessment skills and clinical judgment. They manage tasks like medication administration, wound care, and patient education, often coordinating with multiple specialists on a single patient’s care. These roles are widely considered a common entry point for newly licensed nurses, offering a high volume of job openings and broad experience across patient populations.
Emergency Department Nursing centers on urgent and trauma care, treating conditions that range from minor injuries to life-threatening emergencies. ED nurses think on their feet, quickly assessing patients and delivering critical care in a fast-moving environment. The role suits nurses who enjoy variety, hands-on problem-solving, and making a difference in urgent moments.
Intensive Care and Critical Care Nursing focuses on patients with life-threatening conditions who need continuous monitoring. This specialty most often takes place in the intensive care unit (ICU), though critical care can also be delivered in other high-acuity settings before a patient is transferred. ICU nurses work with advanced equipment and complex treatment protocols, and these units typically maintain lower patient-to-nurse ratios than general floors, allowing for closer, continuous assessment of patients on ventilators or other critical support.
Labor and Delivery Nursing supports families through childbirth. L&D nurses monitor fetal health, guide mothers through labor, and provide immediate newborn care. They also recognize and respond to delivery complications, working closely with obstetricians and anesthesia providers as needed.
Operating Room (OR) and Perioperative Nursing combines technical precision with patient advocacy across the entire surgical experience, from preoperative preparation through intraoperative care. OR nurses maintain sterile environments and assist surgeons and anesthesia providers during procedures, while perioperative nursing more broadly includes the preparation and coordination that happens before and after surgery.
Specialized Care Nursing Careers
Beyond general hospital units, registered nurses can focus their practice on specific patient populations or care needs.
Pediatric Nursing concentrates on the health of children and adolescents, from routine wellness to acute illness. These nurses adapt assessment and communication approaches for different developmental stages and often work closely with families as part of the care team.
Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing provides comfort-focused care for patients managing serious illness or nearing the end of life. These nurses manage pain and symptoms while supporting patients and families through the emotional and practical aspects of end-of-life care.
Home Health Nursing delivers care in patients’ homes, often after a hospital discharge, and offers autonomy along with one-on-one patient relationships. Nurses in this role handle tasks such as wound care, medication management, and recovery monitoring, typically with less immediate backup support than in a hospital setting.
Forensic Nursing works at the intersection of healthcare and the legal system, caring for patients while supporting investigations. This can include examining and documenting evidence in cases involving violence or abuse and may involve testifying in legal proceedings.
Nursing Leadership and Administration Roles
Charge Nursing involves running a unit’s nursing operations during a given shift, coordinating staff and patient flow. Charge nurses also act as a point of contact for physicians and other departments, while typically continuing to carry some direct patient care responsibilities.
Nurse Management covers supervising nursing staff and handling the administrative side of a unit or department. This can include scheduling, budgeting, hiring, and ensuring compliance with hospital policies and regulatory standards. You can learn more about becoming a nurse manager through outside career resources.
Utilization Review Nursing evaluates whether healthcare services are necessary and delivered efficiently, bridging clinical knowledge and care coordination. These nurses typically review patient records against clinical guidelines to support decisions on treatment authorization, length of stay, or insurance coverage.
Community and Public Health Roles
Some registered nurses work outside traditional clinical walls to serve broader populations.
Public Health Nursing addresses community-wide health through education, immunizations, screenings, and preventive care. This work often involves partnering with community organizations and government agencies to address health disparities across populations.
School Nursing delivers healthcare in educational settings, managing student health needs, medications, and emergencies. These nurses also track immunization compliance and often serve as a resource for families managing a child’s health condition at school.
Occupational Health Nursing focuses on workplace health and safety, supporting employee wellness and injury prevention. This can include conducting health screenings, managing workplace injury response, and advising employers on safety compliance.
Where Registered Nurses Work
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), registered nurses held about 3.4 million jobs in 2024, with the largest share (59%) working in hospitals. Other significant employment settings include ambulatory healthcare services (19%), nursing and residential care facilities (6%), government agencies (5%), and educational services (3%). Data last updated July, 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Before You Can Pursue These Roles
A BSN degree alone does not qualify you to work as a registered nurse. You must also pass the NCLEX-RN exam and obtain a license in the state where you plan to work before any of these career paths become available to you.