Specialist nurses promote and restore people's health, and diagnose and care within a specific branch of the nursing field. Examples of such specialist nursing jobs include but are not restricted to; ambulatory care nurse, advanced practice nurse, cardiac nurse, dental nurse, community health nurse, forensic nurse, gastroenterology nurse, hospice and palliative care nurse, paediatric nurse, public health nurse, rehabilitation nurse, renal nurse and school nurse. specialist nurses are general care nurses prepared beyond the level of a nurse generalist and authorised to practice as specialists with specific expertise in a branch of the nursing field.

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Planning, providing and evaluating nursing care for patients according to the practice and standards of modern nursing;
(b) Coordinating the care of patients in consultation with other health professionals and members of health teams;
(c) Developing and implementing care plans for the biological, social and psychological treatment of patients in collaboration with other health professionals;
(d) Planning and providing personal care, treatments and therapies including administering medications, and monitoring responses to treatment or care plan;
(e) Cleaning wounds and applying surgical dressings and bandages
(f) Monitoring pain and discomfort experienced by patients and alleviating pain using a variety of therapies, including the use of painkilling drugs;
(g) Planning and participating in health education programmes, health promotion and nurse education activities in clinical and community settings;
(h) Answering questions from patients and families and providing information about prevention of ill-health, treatment and care;
(i) Supervising and coordinating the work of other nursing, health and personal care workers;
(j) Conducting research on nursing practices and procedures and disseminating findings such as through scientific papers and reports.