10 Nursing Specialties in Demand in 2024

The medical field continues to grow and become even more specialized as technology advances and the population ages. As a healthcare facility manager or staffing director, you’d be wise to keep up with trends and know what type of nurse is most in demand so you can fill those needs.

We’ve put together a comprehensive list of ten of the current most in-demand nursing specialties so you can stay on top of this. We’ll also let you know how you can take advantage of everything a managed services provider has to offer so even your most difficult-to-fill positions are taken care of.

Table of Contents

• What Nursing Specialty Is in Highest Demand?
• 10 of the Most In-Demand Nursing Specialties Medical Facilities Need
• How an MSP Can Help Facilities Fill Positions for the Most In-Demand Nursing Specialties
• Trust Your Contingent Staffing Needs to the Experts at Trusted Managed Services

What Nursing Specialty Is in the Highest Demand?

The most in-demand nursing specialties vary by location and can fluctuate over time, but they usually include areas like ER nursing, critical care, surgical nursing, and long-term care, among others. 

As a healthcare facility manager or staffing director, you might find that you’re focusing on filling these positions with staff or contingent workers most often.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2021-2031, there are projected to be 203,200 openings for RNs each year through 2031 as a result of retirement and other workforce exits (burnout, lifestyle changes, etc.).

Partnering with a healthcare-managed service provider, like Trusted Managed Services, can help. Our software allows hospitals to manage staffing — among other tasks like billing, time tracking, and more — from one point of contact. By streamlining these many workforce solutions, healthcare facility managers can manage their entire company’s contingent workforce with one solution.

We’ve compiled a list of the most popular nursing specialties in 2024 below to help you predict where you may need to staff up in the coming months or years. Contact Trusted Managed Services if you’re ready for more help with your staffing needs.

10 of the Most In-Demand Nursing Specialties Medical Facilities Need

#1: Emergency Room (ER) Nursing

The emergency department of any hospital is typically a very busy place — they are required to treat all patients regardless of ability to pay. 

Several studies report that the increased demand for healthcare workers in the ER is due to a rise in the older population who may have more complex, urgent, and difficult health needs. 

A June 2023 paper also reports that healthcare worker capacity has largely failed to match the rise in patient demand in the emergency room, causing overcrowding and longer wait times in the ER.

As the burden of healthcare workers in the emergency room continues to intensify, ER nurses are experiencing burnout, resulting in higher turnover rates than in other disciplines of healthcare. 

#2: Critical Care Nursing

The demand for critical care nurses has skyrocketed due to the aging population and a higher number of patients with chronic illnesses, and these numbers should continue to rise in the future. 

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) notes that the United States is projected to experience a shortage of RNs as Baby Boomers continue to require a greater need for health care. 

According to the Bureau of Health Workforce, the demand for both critical care physicians and nurse practitioners is projected to grow by 16% between 2013 and 2025.

#3: Skilled Nursing 

Skilled nursing is also one of the most in-demand nursing specialties, also due to the aging population. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that skilled nursing facilities have some of the highest levels of RN employment, but they also need other categories of nurses such as CNAs, LPNs, and NPs.

According to Skilled Nursing News, demand for care rose by 3.4% year-over-year in September 2023. The number of personnel working at skilled nursing facilities remained more than 9% below the year-end count of 2019 during this same time. 

It’s suggested that many skilled nursing facilities are downsizing or closing altogether. Skilled Nursing News also reports that since the end of 2019, more than 25,000 beds have been removed from the field. This, paired with rising operating costs, has led to more facilities closing, causing an increase in demand.

#4: Long-Term Care Nursing

Long-term care is another nursing specialty in demand because it serves the rapidly aging population. The Bureau of Health Workforce predicts that the overall demand for workers in long-term care settings will grow by 44% from 2020 to 2035.

A major factor contributing to the demand for long-term care nurses is that this sector of the healthcare industry lacks adequate funding.

A July 2022 report from the American Health Care Association (AHCA) notes that nursing homes have been facing a workforce crisis since the pandemic, losing nearly 229,000 caregivers (more than 14%). The lack of staff has led to a sleuth of problems, including the forceful limit of new admissions to more than 60% of nursing homes nationwide. In turn, hospitals are seeing an increase in elders who need care and medical attention, occupying beds and preventing seniors from the care they truly need from a long-term care facility.

The AHCA also notes other key findings about long-term care facilities, including:

• 87% are facing moderate to high staffing shortages
• 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring staff
• Nearly 99% of staff are being asked to work overtime

As for long-term care facility managers, AHCA found:

• 71% cannot find qualified or interested candidates
• More than 70% have hired temporary staff
• 76% are unable to offer competitive wages for new staff due to their financial situation/lack of funding

#5: Midwifery Nursing

The BLS predicts a 38% growth for nurse midwives from 2022 to 2032, which is a much faster growth than many other specialties. But still, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated shortage of .31 million midwives is expected by the end of 2030.

Midwives are an integral part of care in the United States, reducing perinatal health disparities and increasing outcomes for infants and mothers during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum time.

Although midwifery can be associated with births outside of the hospital, 87% of midwife-attended births in 2020 were in hospital settings. 

As the desire for midwife-attended births continues to grow, the need remains unmet.

#6: Correctional Care Nursing

This may not be a specialty that comes to mind when you think of nursing, but there’s a growing need for it as more correctional care facilities begin to understand that they should provide compassionate, quality nursing care to inmates.

Naturally, many nurses are hesitant to work as a correctional care nurse. Working inside a prison while examining and caring for inmates who have allegedly committed a crime leaves a safety aspect to consider.

The U.S. Department of Justice explored factors that might be affecting the nursing shortage in correctional health care. The findings showed more than 60% of nurse managers and jail administrators have difficulty finding registered nurses with an interest in working in correctional care. When they did, 33% reported that it took more than 60 days to fully recruit a nurse for the position.

Besides the fear of working in a correctional facility, many believe that salary is the greatest contributing factor to the 21% vacancy rates, followed by:

• Increased career options for women
• Decline in nursing school enrollments
• Poor image of nurses
• Decrease in the number of high school graduates
• Reduced job satisfaction due to:
  • Inmate overcrowding
  • Inmate complaints
  • Threats of lawsuits
  • Constraints imposed by security conditions
  • Lack of nurse involvement in policy decisions

#7: Psychiatric and Behavioral Health Nursing

The Behavior Health Workforce projects a demand for 84% of behavioral health workers of all types by 2030.

Why is this?

The rise of mental health issues and awareness surrounding seeking treatment is a major contributing factor. 

Our world continues to face many mental and behavioral obstacles, including:

• The opioid crisis
• Mental health issues post-pandemic
• PTSD
• Postpartum depression
• And more

As of March 2024, there were only an estimated 37,000 psychiatric nurses in the United States. It’s also reported that an estimated 157 million Americans live somewhere with a shortage of mental health care professionals.

The dire need for psychiatric and behavioral health care is obvious — Trusted Managed Services can help.

#8: Neonatal Nursing

As medical technology continues to advance and more newborns with complications can be treated and saved, the demand for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses will keep rising. 

Zippia projects employment for neonatal nurses will grow 6% over ten years, from 2018-2028. The impending need for neonatal nurses stems from the critical and complex nature of working with vulnerable newborns that can only be done by nurses with specialized skills and experience.

Why is there such a demand for neonatal nurses?

• An increase in preterm births
• Improved NICU technology
• Larger NICU capabilities
• Advances in neonatal medicine
• Continuity of care
• A need for long-term support
• Nursing shortages
• A desire for increased quality of outcomes

#9: Pediatric Nursing

Similar to neonatal nursing, Zippia reports the projected pediatric nurse job growth rate to be 6% from 2018 to 2028. The demand for pediatric nurses is expected to remain strong as this population continues to require specialized care tailored to their unique medical requirements and developmental stages.

The BLS reports the need for pediatric nurse practitioners is projected to grow 40% through 2031. Unfortunately, only 3.7% of RNs are certified in pediatrics.

One study shows these key contributors play a part in the shortage of pediatric nurses:

• Reduction in undergraduate pediatric content
• Student advisement to choose family NP programs
• Decreased PNP student enrollment

#10: Med-Surg Nursing

Medical-surgical nurses, also known as OR nurses, assist with surgical procedures, so the demand in this field is only expected to grow as the aging population causes an increase in the number of surgeries across the country.

One report notes that when it comes to the nursing shortage, the med-surg department is feeling the hardest effects, which accounts for most of an emergency department’s beds.

There are many suspicions surrounding the shortage of med-surg nurses in the United States:

• Misperceptions about the specialty
• Lack of on-the-job support and flexibility
• Compensation

How an MSP Can Help Facilities Fill Positions for the Most In-Demand Nursing Specialties

When you partner with a healthcare MSP like Trusted Managed Services, you’re going to benefit from the use of a vendor management system (VMS) that can supply you with contingent workers to fill in-demand specialties. Your MSP will filter through the pool of contingent workers by specialty or credentials to place them in positions where your organization has the most need.

Trusted Managed Services stays abreast of the current trends in healthcare staffing and focuses on finding contingent staff that can meet any specialty needs a facility may have. Our goal is to make your job as a healthcare director or a staffing manager easier by providing you with the workers you need in a streamlined onboarding process — and, best of all, this all comes at no cost to you.

Trust Your Contingent Staffing Needs to the Experts at Trusted Managed Services

In today’s complex and ever-evolving healthcare landscape, managing your staffing can be a daunting task. Trusted Managed Services provides a comprehensive solution that helps you fill vacancies, but our services don’t stop there. Our software also helps to:

• Streamline processes
• Increase efficiency; and
• Improve patient outcomes

Trusted Managed Services will take care of your healthcare operations so you can focus on providing the best possible care to your patients in every specialty. Contact us today to request a demo and book a free consultation.