8 The four fields of nursing

Nursing, as you learnt in Section 1, is made up of four fields: adult, mental health, children’s and learning disability nursing. When you are choosing nursing as a career you will also need to know which field you would like to study.

For many people, their choice of field will be based on past experiences, both personal and work, and what they see themselves doing as a nurse in the future. In this section, you will explore each field of nursing in turn to help you consider which field you may be most suited to.

If you apply to do a nursing course, you will need to be able to demonstrate why you have applied to the field that you have, as well as show an understanding of the other fields of nursing. Even if you think you have decided which field of nursing you are interested in, watching all the videos in the sections that follow will help you to develop an understanding of all of the specialisms.