Where a specialist nurse can go next

12 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a specialist nurse already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.

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.

Table 1 · Within reach

• advanced nurse practitioner 71% covered · difficulty 51
• healthcare assistant 62% covered · difficulty 48.5

Table 2 · A bigger jump

Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.

• nurse responsible for general care 60% covered · difficulty 61.4
• nurse assistant 56% covered · difficulty 55
• dental hygienist 56% covered · difficulty 55.9
• physiotherapy assistant 54% covered · difficulty 59.3
• specialist pharmacist 52% covered · difficulty 62
• dental chairside assistant 51% covered · difficulty 62.5
• dental technician 50% covered · difficulty 56.2
• pharmacy technician 49% covered · difficulty 62.2
• pharmacy assistant 47% covered · difficulty 63.5
• optometrist 46% covered · difficulty 67.8

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specialist nurse is filed under Professionals, ISCO major group 2. The full index lists all ten groups.

How these figures were compiled

Coverage is the share of the target role’s weighted skill requirement a specialist nurse already meets, counting required skills in full and supplementary ones at 0.35. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.