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A Career in Nursing
Nursing has always been a highly regarded profession where nurses
are often described as angels. In the current economic climate,
nursing is also regarded a relatively safe profession that is
relatively immune to cutbacks and layoffs. Therefore it is a great
profession for someone who wants to make a contribution to his/her
community and a safe and steady job a the same time.
1. Nursing Schools
The medical, as well as the dictionary, definition of a nurse is the healthcare professional engaged in the practice of nursing. Nurses are men and women responsible for the safety and recovery of chronically ill or injured people, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide-range of healthcare settings. Nurses are involved in medical and nursing research. Nursing schools are educational institutions, where aspiring nurses undergo training to become a full-fledged nurse. The nature of training and qualifications varies considerably across the world. Currently, nursing schools offer more than 350 master's programs in nursing. The degrees awarded by various schools may differ, but the core or essence of most masters?programs remains similar.
2. Training
Nursing is one of the most satisfying careers to pursue, but is not what you see in movies or soap operas. It is hard work, and learning to become a nurse requires dedication and long hours of study and preparation. Unlike many other disciplines in which the academic curriculum has foundation courses with many related subject areas, nursing schools offer courses usually build on one another. As such, a weakness in one area may cause academic problems in the remainder of the nursing sequence. In nursing schools, some programs are specially designed for students who are already registered nurses, but want to give their career that extra boost. The students should make certain whichever school they attend, is accredited by the National League for Nursing (NLN).
There is an ever-increasing demand for nursing school graduates in hospitals, schools, clinics, public health agencies, and many other establishments throughout the world. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) predicts a nursing shortage of 12% by year 2010 or an estimated shortage of 260,000 professional nurses. For prospective nursing graduates that represent an astounding opportunity, to safely secure their career both on a personal and financial level. The opportunities presented are all the more, for students graduating from top nursing schools.
Capitalizing on these mind-boggling figures, the number of nursing schools in recent years has grown exponentially. Therefore, the aspiring student must verify the credentials of nursing schools, before actually enrolling in one. Nowadays, a variety of online nursing schools have also spawned for working professionals. These online institutes allow the students to attend their classes virtually, and complete the training modules from the comfort from their homes. However, the sustainability and dependability of such online nursing schools is very much in doubt, since the students need on-site clinical training if they aspire to work in the healthcare industry.
3. Nursing Jobs
The Department of Health and Human Services or HHS has estimated the nation's supply of registered nurses at 1.89 million, while the demand is at 2 million, highlighting a nursing shortage of 6%. The nursing shortage is expected to triple to 20% by 2015, and by year 2020 there will be a estimated shortage of 800,000 nurses. In an effort to balance this demand-supply mismatch, President Bush recently signed the Nurse Reinvestment Act. In a world, where employment opportunities are becoming scarcer in other fields, nursing jobs are growing exponentially.
Florence Nightingale is considered as the founder of modern nursing, which proliferated in the World Wars. Nursing should not be considered as a secondary career move, for aspiring students unable to seek admission in medical schools. Both professions, although complementary, require different aptitudes and temperament. Nursing jobs are an indispensable component of the healthcare industry. Nursing bears the critical responsibility of patients?care and restoring the patients?health. The common characteristic of all nursing jobs is that there are a variety of people a nurse has to communicate with, like the doctor, patient, patient's family, hospital staff etc. Thus, nursing jobs not only demand specialized care, but also excellent communication skills to tackle any adverse situation.
Nursing also necessitates altruistic or selfless service. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that traditionally more women then men have taken up nursing jobs as a full-time profession. Truly, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Today, nursing jobs constitutes the single largest female workforce in the world.
4. Opportunities
Whichever nursing program you select, you have the opportunity to offer an important service to the community. You may enter nursing jobs at a lower level, and widen your abilities through practice and additional training. Evolution within the nursing jobs comes about in several ways. A nurse may study further to receive a master's degree and a doctorate with majors, either in clinical expertise, administration, teaching, or research, depending on his or her career move.
Nursing can also prove to be a smart career move. According to American Nurses Association - The average staff nurse working in all settings earn $35,212, hospital staff nurses earn $36,618, administrators earn $45,071, the average Clinical Nurse Specialist earns $41,226, nurse practitioners earn $71,000, and the Nurse Anesthetists earn a whopping $113,000.
5. Conclusion
There is an ever-rising demand for nurses in hospitals, schools, clinics, public health agencies, and many other establishments throughout the world. Nursing jobs provide the groundwork for many career opportunities and, more importantly, an individually and financially gratifying vocation.
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