Many people think about nurses as a profession present in traditional healthcare-related settings. Whether it be at doctors’ offices, local surgical facilities or hospitals, there are almost certainly multiple nurses on-staff to assist doctors and specialists with a variety of day-to-day functions.
While the vast majority of nurses employed in healthcare-related settings provide their services in traditional medical settings, many people forget about the hundreds of thousands of nurses who operate in less traditional medical settings. Whether these services are elective or required, these nurses are just as important to the healing process for patients as any other nurses in a different medical setting.
Many people are focused on both health and beauty. Whether that be cosmetic surgery or something entirely different, nurses are there to help. As such, here are five health and beauty settings where nurses are needed and present in today’s modern healthcare industry.
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Skin Care Nurses
Everybody recognizes their own reflection in the mirror. Ultimately, this is due to us recognizing our own skin and facial features. Fundamentally, our skin is defined by many as the single-largest organ of the body. Its health and appearance have a direct impact on everything from physical and mental well-being to employment opportunities and relationships. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that so many care about its appearance.
Nurses in dermatology and aesthetician practices are very common. Helping to manage various procedures provided by dermatologists and other skin care specialists, these nurses ensure that optimal outcomes are accomplished within their facilities. From bandaging superficial wounds to ensuring superficial skin treatments are applied properly, these nurses and practitioners help provide topical care – in the truest sense of the word – to us.
Skin care nurses provide excellent care in a wide-ranging set of circumstances. From potentially life-threatening skin conditions to aesthetic issues that the patient wishes to fix, these nurses are familiar with the protocols established by their physicians and ensure patients’ procedures occur smoothly.
Administrative Nurses
While many nurses staff the front-lines in hospitals, medical facilities and doctors’ offices, there are plenty who also ensure that the day-to-day tasks of each medical facility operates smoothly. These individuals – often known as administrative nurses – can encompass a wide variety of backgrounds. Many administrative nurses will have a doctor of nursing practice degree that allows their previous nursing experience to be combined with refined administrative procedures.
Many DNP programs online and through conventional colleges are available to nurses who want to move into this broader career field. Whether it be a plastic surgeon’s office or a hospital, there are administrative nurses who’ve pursued DNP programs locally or DNP programs online that increase pay and career flexibility. In return, these nursing specialists ensure that your procedures and experience in medical settings are as streamlined as possible.
These nurses might be the least visible group of the five mentioned here today, but nevertheless, their services are fundamentally crucial in improving patient care in health and beauty settings. In many cases, administrative nurses keep the proverbial trains running on time in healthcare facilities.
Spa Nurses
One of the most popular medical settings for those concerned with both health and beauty are spas. Local spas specialize in a variety of medical and topical procedures, depending on your exact choice. From facials and body massages to acupuncture and aesthetician services, spas are at the crossroads of health and beauty.
Spa nurses often provide these services – or assist doctors in the situations where more formal medical training is required. Some of the most common examples in which spa nurses are present include administrating skin treatments, observing and assisting with minor cosmetic procedures, scheduling patients and taking care of patients post-operation.
Their focus is generally aimed at making sure guests at local spas are receiving both a pampering experience and all of the medically-required services for key treatments. Given the relatively laidback atmospheres of these settings for patients (combined with the fact that serious surgeries are not performed in these facilities), nurses are able to better focus on the internal and external wellbeing of patients through other means.
Dental Nurses
Nursing isn’t just a profession that is present in the core aspects of health and beauty; many people forget just how important the field of nursing can be in the world of dentistry. Dental nurses (more commonly referred to as dental hygienists) are often chaperons of the bulk of medical services provided within dentist offices.
These individuals may be responsible for managing the front desk, scheduling appointments and generally interacting with the public outside of the dentist’s chair. However, their primary role is to assist dentists by ensuring each patient is properly treated before, during and after any procedures. This may include cleaning patients’ teeth, conducting x-rays, teaching proper brushing and flossing techniques, and even administering anesthetics.
Ultimately, patients who are interested in maintaining their optimal level of beauty will be concerned with the health and appearance of their teeth. Dental nurses are every bit as responsible for ensuring this outcome as dentists themselves.
Plastic Surgery Nurses
More complicated plastic surgery procedures require comprehensive care before, during and after surgery. In the United States alone, there are more than 15 million procedures performed each year that are described as “plastic surgery”. These procedures can range in scope from relatively minor operations (such as removal of moles or potentially malignant skin tissue) to major surgeries (such as rhinoplasty).
Behind every plastic surgeon and medical facility offering such services is an army of plastic surgery nurses designed to provide care. Whether the goal of the surgery is to provide needed reconstructive surgery for a patient or to remove aesthetically-displeasing features, plastic surgery nurses operate on the order of doctors to ensure patients are taken care of through each step of the process.
From manually assisting surgeons as directed to maintaining a close watch on patients post-op, plastic surgery nurses are a critical component in the fields of health and beauty.
Health and beauty are often inter-sectional; it is difficult to have one without the other. This is why nurses – just like in standard healthcare settings – can so often be found in environments related to beauty and external physical appearance. These five groups help ensure that patients receive adequate care and successful treatment regardless of condition.