The Difference between Adult Nursing, Child Nursing and Mental Health Nursing

Have you been stuck between deciding which nursing pathway is for you, and what the key differences are?
Let us help you! :nurse:

Adult Nursing provides person-centred care for adults from 18 years old to end of life care. They assess, plan, coordinate and manage care for their patients, while working closely with other health and social care professionals. Adult Nurses can work in a range of places, including hospitals and in local community services like GP practices and district nursing. There are also opportunities to work in a wide range of specialist services, as well as residential and care homes.

Child Nursing provides family centred care, children's (or paediatric) nurses build good relationships with the children and young people they care for, and with the family. They assess and manage care plans, working closely with the family to support and guide them. As a child nurse, you are often educating parents and guardians about care for their young person. They will also work alongside other health and social care professionals. Children's nurses work in many different environments including hospitals, local community services, mental health, and education.

Mental Health Nurses support patients with mental ill health, both in the community, and in hospital settings. They aim to build good relationships with service users and their families throughout the therapy process, and work with patients in all age ranges. There are many opportunities to also specialise in mental health nursing.

In summary, adult nurses focus on adults whereas child nurses focus on children. Whereas mental health nurses work with patients from a variety of age ranges.

When deciding what nursing degree is for you, it is important to think of the age of patients you would like to provide care for and the common types of conditions that they may have. This should hopefully help you finalise your decision.

What Nursing degree interests you most? :hmmmm: