Examining Nursing Specialties 
You have probably seen one or more of the many inspirational posters about decisions. A visual such as a forked road or a street sign is typically pictured, along with a quote designed to inspire.

Decisions are often not so easily inspired. Perhaps you discovered this when choosing a specialty within the MSN program. This decision is a critical part of your plan for success, and you no doubt want to get it right. This is yet another area where your network can help, as well as other sources of information that can help you make an informed choice.

To Prepare:

Reflect on your decision to pursue a specialty within the MSN program, including your professional and academic goals as they relate to your program/specialization

Choose among the following to review your specializations Scope and Standards of Practice or Competencies:

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

The Scope of Nursing Informatics Practice: Functional Areas of Nursing Informatics (pp. 1839)

Nursing Education

Website: Competencies for the Academic Nurse Educator
National League for Nursing. (2019). Nurse educator core competency. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/professional-development-programs/competencies-for-nursing-education/nurse-educator-core-competency
Note: The competencies for the Academic Nurse Educator do not encompass the competencies or scope and standards of practice for the Nursing Professional Developer. The set of competencies associated with that specific role within the Nurse Education specialization will be examined in future competencies throughout your specialization program of study.

Nurse Executive

Website: Nurse Executive Competencies
American Organization for Nursing Leadership. (2015). AONL Nurse Executive competencies. Retrieved from https://www.aonl.org/resources/nurse-leader-competencies

Public Health Nursing

Website: Public Health Nursing Competencies
Quad Council Coalition. (2018). Community/Public Health Nursing [C/PHN] competencies. Retrieved from http://www.quadcouncilphn.org/documents-3/2018-qcc-competencies/

American Nurses Association. (2013). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.