Nursing Specialties

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists play a vital role in every surgical team. In your role as a CRNA, you will bring exceptional communication abilities, top-notch patient care, and advanced scientific expertise to every case, which may span various disciplines. If you value face-to-face human interaction, independent decision-making, career opportunity and advancement, and the need for quick problem-solving skills, then beocming a CRNA might be the nursing speciality for you.

The key differences between a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and anesthesiologist is that a CRNA is licensed to practice as an advanced-practice nurse and graduates from an accredited nursing school. An anesthesiologist is licensed to practice as a physician and graduates from a medical school.

Is perioperative nursing for you? Perioperative or operating room (OR) nurses provide patient-focused care in a variety of settings and specialties, with ample opportunities for professional growth. Get the scoop on this fast-paced, team-based, and fulfilling specialty, and find out how health systems and nursing schools are working to strengthen the pipeline of new nurses entering this critical specialty.

Anthony Fortenberry, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the Deputy Executive Director of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which provides comprehensive health services to the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride Month, learn how nurse-led models are poised to strengthen community care, advance health equity, and improve outcomes.

Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, is a nurse scientist at The Ohio State University focused on working in and with her community to reduce healthcare disparities. In honor of Minority Health Month, learn how she’s helping Black patients improve quality of life after breast cancer, boosting heart health in Black men, and bringing more nurses of color into community-based research.

Johnson & Johnson is proud to have supported nurse innovators and entrepreneurs through the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge Awards, which has provided grant funding for nurse-founded healthcare solutions and approaches. But the innovation journey doesn’t stop there. Here, three inspiring QuickFire Challenge awardees share what they’ve been up to since receiving their award, how their solutions have grown and expanded, and their advice for other nurses inspired to solve for healthcare’s biggest challenges.

Meet the nursing student who wants to become a last-line advocate for patients and a helping hand for new nurses on their paths to the profession.

How do you scale sexual and gender-affirming care for LGBTQIA+ patients? Ask nursing students. This Pride Month, Johnson & Johnson is proud to recognize the Eidos LGBT+ Health Initiative, a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to improve gender and sexual health equity.

The role of the nurse has evolved greatly over the past century, but nurses’ innovative and compassionate spirit has remained a constant. Meet Nurse Kevin Moore, BSN, RN, who serves in a unique role dedicated to patient advocacy, equity and improving the patient experience for the LGBTQIA+ community at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

Johnson & Johnson, together with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Association of Public Health Nurses proudly announce the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: Improving Access to Care. This challenge looks to nurses to create potential solutions that aim to improve quality and access to equitable care and ultimately help prevent, intercept or treat disease.

Johnson & Johnson and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association are proud to announce the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge on Mental Health, inviting nurses and nursing students to submit their ideas with the aim to improve mental health for patients and healthcare workers amid the pandemic and beyond.

Many school nurses were already overwhelmed, but as districts across the country return to school amid COVID-19, they are facing the profound challenge of ensuring both student and staff safety. Six school nurses share their thoughts on the pandemic and how they’re innovating to adapt.

Like the pioneering nurses who were on the frontlines of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, nurses on the frontlines of COVID-19 are overcoming challenges and driving new standards of care. Learn how the Rutgers University School of Nursing is inspiring nurse leaders of tomorrow with lessons from the nurses of Ward 5B.

Together with the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS, we’re thrilled to announce the two awardees of the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology: Micah Skeens from Nationwide Children's Hospital and Janet Van Cleave from New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

Together with the Oncology Nursing Society, Johnson & Johnson is proud to announce the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology, inviting nurses worldwide to submit their innovative ideas aimed at improving oncology care.

We’re thrilled to announce the two awardees of the J&J Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Perioperative Care: Debbie Kantor, APRN, Co-Founder at HERO Medical, and Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, RN, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Read more about their ideas to change human health.

Hip fractures can have serious health implications for patients and cost of care implications for hospitals. Meet the nurse duo who helped develop the pioneering Hip Fracture Care Program that is transforming fracture care for patients and health systems – Stacie Cox and Shandy Welch.

Becoming a new mom can be an overwhelming time for many women, especially if they are experiencing poverty. Using insights from their nurses, Nurse-Family Partnership has launched Goal Mama, a platform that provides mothers with resources they need to achieve goals for themselves and their newborns.

In San Francisco General Hospital’s Ward 5B and 5A, nurses like Guy Vandenberg, RN, treated HIV/AIDS patients with compassion and found innovative ways to improve care. The film 5B shares the stories of those who worked in the ward in the 1980s, but Guy shares why the film is so relevant for today.

VA nurse researcher Shannon Munro, PhD, APRN, BC, FNP, discovered an easy and inexpensive solution to reduce cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia in her hospital: encouraging patients to brush their teeth. Munro explains the science behind the nurse-led innovative program, HAPPEN.

By empowering black women professional nurses to own and operate their own sustainable healthcare clinic, the Unjani Clinic initiative is transforming healthcare in South Africa by helping alleviate burdens on public health systems and improving access to quality, affordable primary care.

Shaken by the experience of witnessing a child nearly die from heat exhaustion after accidentally being left in a hot car, emergency room nurse Maria Striemer, RN, BA, channeled her insight to invent the Backseet Buddy, an app that provides parents with peace of mind that it won’t happen to them.

At the dawn of the AIDS epidemic —when no one knew how the disease spread and diagnosis was considered terminal — the nurses in San Francisco General Hospital’s HIV/AIDS Ward 5B defied convention, found an innovative way to improve care and treated AIDS patients with compassion.

Following her recent keynote at the 2019 ONS Congress, we sat down with nurse inventor and advocate Rachel Walker, PhD, RN, to get her perspective on how we can increase participation in the healthcare innovation space from nurses of all backgrounds and at any stage of their careers.

In collaboration with the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), we’re excited to announce the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Perioperative Care. We’re inviting nurses to submit their innovative ideas to improve perioperative care and change human health.

In observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we’re sharing our interview with nurse innovator and educator Sheri Carson, DNP, CPNP-PC, who embraced the challenge of creating a comprehensive child abuse screening program and is hoping to inspire other nurses to bring their solutions forward.

Nurses are more likely to come in contact with human trafficking victims during the time of their exploitation than any other profession[1], but very few are identified by staff and helped to find safety. Nurse innovator Danielle Jordan Bastien, APRN, DNP, FNP-BC, was determined to help those potential victims who might be in danger by developing a screening protocol that helps healthcare workers identify signs of abuse.

Sheri Sawchuk, DNP, APRN, NP-C, CNE, fell into nursing by providence – she attended an informational session for a local nursing program after driving a friend there and ultimately enrolled in classes herself for the following semester. In 2013, Sheri first learned of the Global Health Education Program (GHEP) at Chamberlain University from the program’s founder, Susan Fletcher, EdD, MSN, BSN. Today, after finding her passion at the intersection of nursing, education, and global health, and with 15 years of international relief work under her belt, Sheri leads nursing students on international GHEP trips to help up-and-coming nurses identify their nursing passions.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)1, more than 500,000 people who work in the operating room – including many who are perioperative nurses – are exposed to surgical smoke each year. Surgical smoke is the by-product of surgical procedures in which an electric device is used to ablate, cut, coagulate, desiccate, fulgurate, or vaporize tissue, and can decrease site visibility and impact air quality in the operating room. In fact, the American Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) estimates being in an operating room for just one day has the potential to expose operating staff to surgical smoke that is equivalent to smoking 27 to 30 unfiltered cigarettes2.

Rebecca S. Koszalinski, PhD, RN, CRRN, CMSRN, was inspired to become a nurse after experiencing a nurse’s care during her own health journey.

There are many factors that influence the path nurses take not only as professionals, but also as individuals, in pursuit of a way to make a difference in the things they believe in. As a nurse researcher, educator, and leader of the recent National League for Nursing (NLN) "Diversity & Inclusion: Facilitating Race-Related Discourse that Matters" workshop, Kenya V. Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, NP-C, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, demonstrates the many reasons why nurses should work to influence and inspire change in policy and practice.

As the healthcare system in the United States continues to evolve, nurses are continuing to play a larger role in providing comprehensive healthcare to patients in vulnerable areas. Not only are organizations like Family Practice and Counseling Network (FPCN) working to make care available to those in low-income and underserved communities, they’re also working to ensure that care takes into consideration a patient’s complete wellness and gives them access to knowledgeable experts so they can thrive.

In November 2017, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) School of Nursing Simulation Center introduced an addition to its inventory of cutting-edge technology: Robo-Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (RoboAPRN). The robot is part of the program’s “RoboAPRN: Telepresence Robots in Healthcare Education” project, which introduces student nurses to remote telehealth technology.

Healthcare delivery — particularly in operating rooms across the country — changes rapidly each year, requiring nurses to innovate solutions for patients that are both effective and practical for the operating room (OR) team to implement. To help provide OR nurses with the skills needed to achieve this, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses’ (AORN) created the Nurse Executive Leadership Seminar (NELS) series.

After a nearly 20-year nursing career, Patricia (Tricia) Cady, RN, ADN, BSN, decided to return to school to pursue her BSN at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing, where she observed a long-standing problem with extubations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). To help address this issue, Tricia developed the idea for the Cady Hug, a flexible vest that helps protect neonates from accidental extubations while keeping them comfortable and their tubes accessible for their care providers.

For years, the best practice for protecting a certain type of birth defect called an omphalocele before surgery was to dry it out, which shrinks the surface area of the exposed organs, but requires a lengthy hospital stay. Enter Roxana Reyna, MSN, RNC-NIC, WCC, CWOCN, FNP-C, a nurse with 20 years experience as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

While working for Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids, Mich., Lauran Hardin, MSN, RN-BC, CNL, met one patient whose complex social issues and challenging life circumstances led to his frequent visits to the emergency room — not because he was injured or sick, but because he needed somewhere to go to feel safe. She realized that there is much more complexity to every patient than just their medical conditions, and healthcare providers can make a difference for these vulnerable people.

Though some forms of CHD do not result in health problems later in life, about 25 percent of infants with CCHD have a critical CHD, which can lead to negative outcomes if not diagnosed soon after birth.

When Jana Lauderdale, PhD, RN, FAAN, took the stage at the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) 66th Annual Convention plenary session presented by Johnson & Johnson, she introduced herself in a unique way: “I’m a Comanche Indian and I’m a nurse.” These descriptions shape Jana’s personal identity, but they also shape how she approaches and analyzes the world around her.

Nancy P. Hanrahan, PhD, RN, FAAN, executive director and associate dean of healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship at the Bouve College of Health Sciences and professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at Northeastern University, is firmly committed to evolving the reputation of nursing.

Since 2011, Give a Spit About Cancer has mobilized more than 8,000 young people to change patient lives through registering to become a bone marrow donor. Last year, Johnson & Johnson teamed up with DoSomething.org and the Give a Spit About Cancer campaign to help amplify those efforts.

While working as an organ procurement coordinator and and pursuing his Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP), Adam K. Schneider was inspired to help his team reach a higher standard of care and education around maintaining donated lungs.

In an environment like a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), constant improvements and dedication to patient safety are essential to provide efficient, up-to-date care. Maureen Maurano, BSN, RN, NICU nurse manager at Children’s National in Washington, D.C., knows firsthand how important patient-focused care is and has implemented initiatives at the hospital that ensure top-level care for the smallest, most fragile patients.

Each year, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival brings together the world’s most forward-thinking industry leaders to talk about today’s best practices and tomorrow’s most exciting trends. SXSW Interactive sessions highlight recent technology advancements and feature forward-thinking innovators looking to make positive change around the world. This year, SXSW featured a panel comprised of some of healthcare’s top innovators: nurses.

In today’s modern world, technology and innovation are essential to furthering the nursing profession. As the founder and CEO of NurseGrid, Joe Novello, BSN, RN, is using his nursing skills to help improve the nursing profession and advance outcomes for patients.

Advances in technology are improve outcomes for patients of all ages, including babies born with single ventricle heart disease.

What do a nurse, a handyman, and an occupational therapist have in common? Each plays an integral role in providing in-home health services to older adults through the Community Aging in Place — Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) intervention. This multidisciplinary team approach aims to equip low-income older adults to live more comfortably and safely in their homes by letting patients set their own functional goals, like taking a bath or walking to church, while also improving their living environment though renovations like installing hand rails or lowering shelves.

By providing bedside care, nurses often have unique insights into the needs of specific patient populations.

Within the armed forces, thousands of medics and corpsmen are trained to care for service members, Veterans, and their families in Department of Defense hospitals and clinics around the world. These individuals have experience and robust knowledge about medical care and patient safety both in the hospital and deployed setting.

While seasonal influenza (flu) viruses can be detected year-round in the United States, flu viruses are most common during the fall and winter. The flu is serious and can even be deadly, but it’s also preventable — and the flu vaccine has been shown to be one of the best ways to protect against the flu.

Nurses have a long history of supporting disaster relief efforts through the American Red Cross. In the past six weeks, the Red Cross has launched a wide-ranging relief effort to help people devastated by three historic, back-to-back hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

Johnson & Johnson sees the threat of infectious disease as one of the most pressing, yet addressable, public health challenges. Over two million are infected with HIV each year — mothers, fathers, children, men and women, gay and straight, on every continent — and over one million die each year.

For more than 25 years, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) to eliminate mother-to-child-transmission of HIV in India and seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The rise of startup companies, expanded technologies that make working remotely accessible and a proliferation of freelance or short-term opportunities have significantly transformed the way people work across the United States. Nomad Health is hoping to bring this flexibility to the healthcare industry.

Are you drawn to a nursing career, but want to avoid working in a hospital setting? Visiting nurses meet patients where they are, by providing care for them in their homes. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, home healthcare is one of the nation’s fastest-growing industries, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5 percent for 2014–2024, which translates to approximately 760,400 new jobs.

When a patient is in critical care, nurses are there through every step of their care, from performing assessments and administering therapies, to educating patient families and opening new pathways to improving patient care.

What does it take to excel as a new nurse leader? How can you impact healthcare on a broader scale? These are questions that Kaitlyn A. Gregory, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, grappled with as she participated in the AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy.

Perseverance can often be the ultimate key to changing your career. This certainly rang true for Sarah McDonald, RN, BSN, when she found out she was not selected for the highly competitive perioperative program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Mass., in the fall of 2015.

Linda Ankrom MSN, MHA, RN, is an infusion nurse in Pittsburgh, Pa., who still lights up about her chosen specialty after nearly 20 years as a practicing nurse. Read on to learn what she enjoys about this increasingly popular nursing specialty.

Tim Lenth, RN, and his son Adam Lenth, RN, are air medical flight nurses. They must work together to administer care in high acuity situations — all while flying 145 miles per hour, hundreds of feet above ground, in the tight confines of a helicopter.

“When the music played, the patients went to a beautiful place in their mind. We saw them dancing or tapping their feet and moving their heads. It was amazing to watch.” - Kristine Carpina, LPN

The most exciting milestone I have witnessed in mental health nursing over the past few years is the continued acceptance of mentally ill patients and the growing popularity and success of anti-stigma campaigns. These types of initiatives help encourage individuals to seek mental healthcare sooner and discuss their mental health symptoms.

“The services I provide positively impact the Fire Department and make it stronger,” said John Modrzejewski, FNP-C. “Now we have another resource to quickly and effectively care for patients.”