One postgraduate nursing training option allows a nurse to become a certified nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners are trained to provide routine medical care that in the past was performed by doctors. For example, nurse practitioners are licensed to give physical examinations; order X-rays and laboratory tests; provide care to patients with common chronic conditions such as high blood pressure; prescribe medication; and offer preventive medical education to patients.
Nurses looking for a career in health care administration have several options, typically offered through joint degree programs. Common options include a master of science in nursing degree paired with a master's in health administration (MSN/MHA), a master's in business administration (MSN/MBA) or a master's in public health (MSN/MPH). Graduates of MSN/MHA and MSN/MBA training typically work as health care administrators, directors of nursing or chief nursing officers, whereas those completing an MSN/MPH program are employed by community health centers and government health policy agencies.
Another postgraduate training option for nurses is specialized post-master's certificate programs offered by both accredited online programs and bricks-and-mortar universities. Nurses can pursue advanced clinical training in primary care, nursing informatics, neonatal intensive care, emergency care, occupational medicine, forensic nursing, pediatric nursing, rural and remote mental health, preventive medicine, palliative care, oncology and cardiac care.
Several doctoral-level degrees are offered in nursing, nursing education and nursing practice; these degrees prepare nurses for careers in scholarship, education, research and advanced nursing practice. Nurses who graduate from a doctoral nursing program "possess a unique blend of abilities stemming from clinical experience, rigorous intellectual development and participation in the study of issues significant to nursing," according to La Trobe University.
Postdoctoral research fellowships are also available for nurses highly trained in clinical research. Nurses accepted for these two-year programs typically receive a stipend and funding for their research work. A postdoctoral fellowship offered by the University of Iowa College of Nursing, for example, allows nursing scientists to work with geneticists to explore relationships between genetic developments and nursing, with the idea of helping people understand the results of genetic testing and certain disease diagnoses.