Specialist nurse
Also called company nurse, vascular nurse, diabetes nurse
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.
What you'd do
Nursing professionals · ILO- Planning, providing and evaluating nursing care for patients according to the practice and standards of modern nursing
- Coordinating the care of patients in consultation with other health professionals and members of health teams
- Developing and implementing care plans for the biological, social and psychological treatment of patients in collaboration with other health professionals
- Planning and providing personal care, treatments and therapies including administering medications, and monitoring responses to treatment or care plan
- Cleaning wounds and applying surgical dressings and bandages
- Monitoring pain and discomfort experienced by patients and alleviating pain using a variety of therapies, including the use of painkilling drugs
- Planning and participating in health education programmes, health promotion and nurse education activities in clinical and community settings
- Answering questions from patients and families and providing information about prevention of ill-health, treatment and care
- Supervising and coordinating the work of other nursing, health and personal care workers
- Conducting research on nursing practices and procedures and disseminating findings such as through scientific papers and reports
- Indoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Constant contact with people, including the public
- Good freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospects19 EU countries are short of nursing professionals now, and many jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Well above averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,800 a month (Bulgaria) to €9,700 (Luxembourg), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among professionals in the EU, women earn 21% less per hour than men. Professionals · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Usually a degreeA degree in nursing and midwifery is the usual route.
946 institutions in the EU offer health and welfare bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.25 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 10 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for nursing professionals. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).