Careers in Nursing

If you are choosing careers in nursing, then you are choosing a career that is filled with both personal and professional rewards. To be a good nurse, you should be prepared to spend your life to help others. However, to have successful careers in nursing, you need to blend scientific knowledge with a heart to care.

There are more than 2.6 million registered nurses (RN) in U.S. There is a need for many more nurses. There are many opportunities for careers in nursing. In fact, there is no shortage of jobs for a nurse.

What do Nurses do?

Everyday of a nurse’s job entails continuous learning, as if learning in a nursing school. Even for those who already have careers in nursing, many take continuing educational courses to keep up with the latest nursing science. Nurses work closely with doctors and other health care professionals. Nurses are also the advocates for patient and families.

What does careers in nursing entails? Nurses gather information about patient’s physical condition, emotional state, lifestyle and etc. They also identify patient’s problems or needs and involves patient to plan for their care. Nurses also implement medication plans and regularly reviews the results of the medical plan.

The Job Market for Careers in Nursing

Statistics have shown that there are great job markets for those who are considering careers in nursing. If you are wondering why, here are some reasons:

• The advancement in health care has help people live longer, hence there are more elderly people who needs care;
• More skilled nurses are required for the growing number of people who gets more sick;
• Nurses are required not only within hospital settings as in the past. Now, nurses are required out of hospital too.
• Many current nurses are retiring, and there are many more who are expected to retire within the next 10 to 15 years.

It is estimated that by the year 2020, there shall be a shortage of 800,000 nurses in U.S.

Taking all the above into consideration, there is great job market prospects for those who are considering careers in nursing. This is in particular true, for those who hold a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

What kind of salary can careers in nursing provide? The typical starting salary for careers in nursing is $44,600. This is higher than the starting salary of for those who are considering career in Accounting, Marketing, Economics or Teaching. The median salary of registered nurses is $52,330 and the highest 10% of this median is earning more than $74,760.

There are also some hospital that is offering a $14,000 sign-up bonus.

If you are wondering how much does a clinic nurse earns, the following figures may provide some insight:

• Clinical Nurse Specialists make about $41,226.
• Nurse administrators average $45,071.
• Nurse anesthetists earn about $113,000.
• Nurse practitioners average $71,000.

Today, careers in nursing is much more broader than what it used to be. Many nurses works out of the hospital environment. Some of those who works out of hospital environment includes:

• Long-term-care centers (rehabilitation, nursing homes, hospice)
• Community health clinics
• Freestanding outpatient and surgery centers
• Medical offices (eye doctors, dentists, obstetricians, surgeons, and others)
• Home care (visiting nurses, private duty nurses)
• Nursing schools (as professors)
• Corporate health centers (occupational safety, consultants, educators)
• Insurance and managed care companies
• Other companies (pharmaceutical, medical technology, biotech, and others)
• Research centers (research nursing)
• Schools (including K-12, university clinics)
• Military
• Peace Corps and international service organizations
• Hospital regulators (conducting surveys, inspections)

For those who are considering nursing careers in hospitals, these are the locations where nurses may work in:

• Patient care units at the bedside
• Operating rooms, trauma centers, and emergency rooms
• Medical records or other hospital offices
• X-ray and other diagnostic units
• Intensive care units
• Surgical and recovery units
• Same-day surgery centers
• Pediatrics, caring for children
• Hospital nurseries or neonatal intensive care units, caring for newborns
• Obstetrics, helping new moms give birth
• Psychiatric and drug treatment centers
• Laboratories
• Helicopters and ambulances, caring for patients in transport to hospitals

Nurses may have great advancement in their nursing careers too. Nurses may advance their career to:

• Clinical nurse specialists, who perform advanced work in specialized fields such as cancer or mental health;
• Certified nurse midwives, who help women through pregnancy, through childbirth, and help care for their newborns;
• Nurse anesthetists, who anesthetize patients in the operating room, emergency room, and elsewhere;
• Nurse researchers, who study ways to improve nursing methods, evaluate patterns of patient care, and more;
• Nurse practitioners, who perform many advanced medical functions that once only physicians were permitted to do; and,
• Psychiatric nurse practitioners, who perform functions that once only psychiatrists were permitted to do.

How do you prepare yourself for a career in nursing? Nursing schools require high school diploma and sound academic knowledge in English, chemistry, biology and psychology. You will also need some soft skills such as leadership, organisational skills, people skills, patience, compassion, problem-solving skills and sometimes a sense of humor too.

If you like to know how it is like to have a career in nursing, you may volunteer at a local hospital. There are plenty of nursing schools around. However, you should only apply to state-approved and accredited schools of nursing. There are generally three types of training programs for nurses:

• The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is usually a four year program offered at colleges and university around the country.
• The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is a two year program offered at junior colleges and community colleges.
• The Hospital Diploma is a two or a three yea program based in hospital settings.

You may also further pursue your education in nursing to a master’s degree, usually for those who are in the fields of nursing practitioner, nurse anaesthetist, nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist or RN first assistant in the operating room.

To be a registered nurse (RN), you must pass a national licensing exam. This exam is offered by the Board of Nursing. Some states may require continuing education or practice to maintain a nursing license.

There is a great job market for those who are considering careers in nursing!