Nursing is a career path that allows you to truly explore your passions. And we’re not just talking about having a passion for caring for others. We’re referring to delving deep into a certain area of medicine that fascinates you. With more than 100 specialties to choose from, nursing is a career that allows you to really live and breathe the subject matter you love.
One of the field’s many specialties is urology nursing. In this career, you’ll become an expert on issues that affect the human urinary tract and help patients suffering from these conditions. Does this sound like something for you? If so, we have all the details you need to learn how to prepare for this career, what you’ll do on a day-to-day basis and how much you’ll earn.
What is a urology nurse?
In short, urology nurses diagnose and treat all sorts of conditions affecting the urinary tract and reproductive organs. In this specialized, advanced nursing career, you’ll treat patients with everyday issues such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and more severe conditions such as incontinence, kidney stones and cancer. You can also specialize by working with a specific population—for example, pediatrics.
What tasks do urology nurses perform?
Saying that you’ll care for patients is all well and good, but what will you really be doing as a urology nurse on an everyday basis? Here are some of the key tasks you’ll perform:
- Documenting patients’ medical history
- Providing direct care to urology patients
- Preparing patients for procedures
- Sterilizing and performing maintenance on equipment
- Educating patients on their conditions and procedures, such as in-home self-catheterization
- Performing catheterization, catheter care and bladder irrigation
- Performing studies and scans
- Working in a team with other healthcare professionals and a physician to create and implement care plans
How do you become a urology nurse?
The short answer to this question is to get the right education and appear for some important exams. Here’s how to become a urology nurse step-by-step:
Get your degree
All nurses, regardless of whether they specialize in urology or one of the many other “ologies,” must hold a degree in nursing from an accredited program. You can choose between a two-year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). If you’re unsure of which to pursue, we recommend a bachelor’s degree because it’s a more widely accepted credential for specializations and advanced nursing careers.
Get licensed
All nurses must also pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to become a registered nurse (RN). Once you do, you can apply for licensure from your state.
Get clinical experience
Start working right in the field of urology nursing, and rack up at least 800 hours of experience. You’ll need to prove these hours when you apply to get certified as a urology nurse. Take it from us—the experience will significantly help you train to give your best patient care.
Get your urology nurse certification
We recommend taking the Certified Urology Registered Nurse (CURN) exam, held by the Certification Board for Urology Nurses and Associates (CBUNA). Although this certification isn’t required, it will surely give your resume a substantial boost.
What’s the average salary of a urology nurse?
You’re going to need a way to pay off student loans and save up for retirement, right? Right! So let’s talk salary.
Because of the United States’ growing aging population, urology nurse jobs are in high demand, with some projections showing up to a 38% growth rate. Finding a job should be fairly easy, but how much will it pay? On average, a urology nurse’s salary is approximately $90,000 per year, but some even stretch into the six-figure range.
If you want to secure an even better income, have more responsibility and stay in the field of urology, you can advance your career by becoming a urology nurse practitioner. On average, a urology nurse practitioner’s salary in the United States is approximately $110,000 annually. In fact, urology nurse practitioner jobs are also on the rise, so you should have no trouble finding work.
Whether you become a urology nurse, a nurse practitioner in urology or any other type of medical professional, we’re here for you. We want to ensure that you look and feel good while on the job with our high-performance scrubs and to support you with break-room reads on how to live your best life as a healthcare professional.