50 Ways Nurses Make Our World a Better Place

Capable, compassionate nurses are hard at work helping to heal the world’s people—every day.

Every year, we honor these trusted professionals during National Nurses Week in May. 

The time is always right to thank a nurse.

Here’s a special tribute to 50 of the ways nursing professionals are using their skills to make the world a better place. Nurses:

1. Provide compassionate care for terminally ill patients.
2. Provide critical care in hospital emergency rooms.
3. Deliver behavioral health services as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners.
4. Work in schools promoting healthy lifestyles for students and their families.
5. Use health informatics to ensure hospitals’ accuracy and efficiency.
6. Interact with patients via telephone or computer in telehealth roles.
7. Teach other working professionals earning a degree in online master’s in nursing programs.
8. Address the needs of older citizens as adult gerontology nurse practitioners.
9. Set the strategic course for healthcare organizations as nurse leaders.
10. Share medical expertise with attorneys as expert witnesses and consultants.
11. Recruit top professionals for in-demand nursing careers.
12. Take to the skies aboard helicopter and airplane transports to care for injured patients.
13. Treat individuals and families in the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires.
14. Care for the smallest and most-vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units.
15. Contribute to the drop in annual cancer deaths through oncology nursing.
16. Work on HIV care teams to improve prevention and treatment outcomes.
17. Motivate patients to meet diet, nutrition, and fitness goals.
18. Bring quality nursing care to prison and jail populations.
19. Learn new languages to prepare for nursing jobs with international NGOs.
20. Improve workplace safety.
21. Provide home infusion therapy services.
22. Specialize in wound care as treatment specialists or educators.
23. Lobby Congress for policies that improve health outcomes across the United States.
24. Manage and assess health issues in patients of all ages as family nurse practitioners.
25. Deliver new life into the world as nurse midwives.
26. Teach people how to manage diabetes and other chronic conditions.
27. Assess, monitor, and help treat patients’ critical needs—as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic—in ICU units.
28. Work at summer camps treating scrapes, sprains, coughs, colds, and other childhood maladies.
29. Direct disaster management and preparedness programs.
30. Manage community outpatient clinics.
31. Serve their country as nurses in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and the recently added Space Force.
32. Oversee nursing units in hospitals as nurse executives.
33. Build healthy communities by creating and leading wellness programs.
34. Volunteer in the Peace Corps as international nurse educators.
35. Serve as nurse mentors to RNs earning master’s degrees in nursing.
36. Lead municipal health departments as directors of public health nursing.
37. Address children’s medical needs in pediatric practices.
38. Help break the cycle of substance abuse for people experiencing addiction.
39. Join the Department of Veterans Affairs as members of Patient Aligned Care Teams, addressing veterans’ long-range, holistic health.
40. Choose and specialize in a preferred area of patient care such as nephrology, cardiac care, and others.
41. Perform diagnostic tests and assess results.
42. Administer anesthesia for patients undergoing surgical procedures.
43. Work in memory care facilities with patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
44. Serve on forensic care teams treating victims of violent crimes.
45. Plan and present community health screenings.
46. Provide in-home care as visiting nurses.
47. Work in rural communities providing care to underserved individuals.
48. Advance their careers with doctoral degrees in nursing (PhD in Nursing or DNP).
49. Teach patients about proper use of prescribed medications.
50. Earn the public’s trust as the most ethical and honest of professionals.²

Serve the Greater Good With a Master’s Degree in Nursing

For more than 50 years, Walden has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and communities. Walden is committed to empowering the greater good, a principle that helps guide Walden’s more than 80 online degree programs, including its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), PhD in Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

In Walden’s online MSN degree program, you can earn a degree while continuing to work and balance your other responsibilities. Choose a specialization that meshes with your career goals and future vision. Prepare for advanced leadership and educator roles in specializations that include Public Health Nursing and Nursing Education. Walden’s direct patient-care specialties, like Family Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, prepare you to pursue certification and credentialing as a nurse practitioner.

Walden provides the knowledge and the tools. You choose to excel for your patients and your career. Set off on your path to serving the greater good by developing the skills that will help you build healthy communities.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Science in Nursing online. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

¹Source: www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/year-of-the-nurse-and-the-midwife-2020
²Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/274673/nurses-continue-rate-highest-honesty-ethics.aspx

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.