As medicine grows increasingly complex and specialized, demand is growing for nurses with experience in complex specialties. If you’ve worked as an ER nurse or assisted in the OR, there’s need for your experience in facilities across the country. More and more specialized nurses are turning to travel nursing, and they’re finding opportunities to work in their specialties and competitive pay that makes hitting the road worthwhile.

High pay for every field

Travel nurses who specialize in a particular area of patient care  have more choices about where to work. They’re in short supply and high demand across the United States. Your unique skill set could easily rack up a healthy paycheck, and specialties never go out of style. Hospitals will always need nurses for delivery rooms, intensive care units, and everywhere in between.

If you excel in a specific unit, travel nursing is a lucrative opportunity. You’re an asset to any hospital that’s short staffed, and traveling gives you the opportunity to bring your passion and skill to communities that need it most.

What recruiters are looking for

Nurses are in short supply, and demand is even greater for certain specialties. Here are the top eight niche areas of specialization with the highest demand:

1. Pediatric nursing: Hospitals need nurses who work well with kids and know how to administer care for infants, adolescents, and every age in between.
2. Labor and Delivery Nurses (L&D): Every community needs someone who can assist expectant mothers with labor and childbirth.
3. Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses (NICU): NICU nurses are trained to assess the condition of neonates and infants suffering from critical illness.
4. Intensive Care Unit Nurses (ICU): ICU nurses work with adolescents and adults suffering from critical or potentially fatal illness or injury.
5. Oncology Nurses: These nurses are certified to care for cancer and chemotherapy patients.
6. Emergency Room Nurses (ER): Unlike many other specialties, hospitals place special demand on ER nurses because they must work efficiently under pressure.
7. Post-Anesthesia Care Unit Nurses (PACU): Nurses in post-anesthesia care units assist patients after surgery while they recover from the effects of anesthesia.
8. Operating Room Nurses (OR): As the name suggests, OR nurses are indispensable parts of any surgical procedure; surgeons rely on them every step of the way.

The next step in your career

Specialization gives travel nurses a competitive edge among candidates when they seek assignments. Travel nurses aren’t limited to one hospital, so they can go where the opportunities are. Being highly skilled in a particular nursing specialty will fill out your résumé and diversify your skill set, so you’re ready to take on any role — and the demand that comes with it.