Nurses are educated in healthcare and have the responsibility to administer care for patients, families, and communities.
For instance, nurses may provide physical exams; help with feeding; assist with inserting catheters; teach about dieting; show how to run blood tests; answer questions about medications.
Nurses can be found in hospitals, outpatient clinics, doctors’ offices, residential care facilities, schools, and universities.
Nursing careers are innovative and rewarding as they provide a wide range of job opportunities, no matter what your educational background (or skill level).
The Benefits of Nursing as a Career Path
While being a nurse comes with many benefits, it also has its downsides.
Some of those benefits include the following:
Flexibility and variety.
One of the best things about nursing is that it offers a lot of flexibility in terms of jobs, locations, and schedules.
Nurses can work wherever they want, whenever they want; however, in most cases, this will require changing from one place to another every couple of years or so.
Educational Options
If you’re someone who loves learning, you’ll love working as a nurse! There are so many educational options open to you, from your basic BSN accelerated programs right up to your specialist doctorate studies for specialist roles.
Education in nursing is also very prestigious, and this can be an excellent way of earning lots of money with little effort.
Hospital-Based Nursing Opportunities
One of the highlights of a nurse’s career is working as a hospital nurse.
This role usually involves working in the intensive care unit (ICU), emergency department, or operating room (OR).
At some hospitals, they may use nurses’ aides to assist doctors with operating procedures and provide other general nursing services; however, most nurses will obtain this role after receiving their BSN degree.
Nursing Home Care Opportunities
There are also many nursing opportunities to be found in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
In these cases, nurses will often work as healthcare aides, where they’ll assist with the daily activities of the residents.
Or they can work as a nurse aide, where they’ll actually have their own patient. As a result, this role is ideal for more experienced nurses who have been providing care for some time.
Becoming an RN
How do you become a nurse? First, you must earn a license.
Requirements for getting your nurse license can vary between states and countries; however, generally speaking, you’ll need at least an associate degree.
Once you’ve earned your degree, you’re eligible to take a licensing exam for instance, the NCLEX-RN, and after passing that test and completing these other requirements (such as being of legal age), you’ll have the opportunity to apply for your license.
The Licensing Process
Most nurses will start the licensing process by obtaining their BSN degree.
Next, it’s important to understand the different career paths that nursing offers.
Types of Nursing Careers
There are many different types of nursing careers that you can choose from, including:
- Psychiatric nursing
- Geriatric nursing
- Long-term care nursing
- Pediatric nursing
- Surgical nursing
- OB-GYN (obstetrics and gynecology)
- Oncology (cancer) care
- Family practice.
There is a huge variety of nursing jobs available, and it’s worth considering what sort of person you are and what sort of work you like to do before you start applying for jobs.
Some of the things you may need to consider are:
- The salary you can expect to earn (some roles will pay better than others)
- The type of working environment (some jobs will give more opportunities to use your nursing skills)
- Whether there are different job roles available in the same team (for example, a nurse who can work both in a hospital and an outpatient clinic would be ideal for some employers)
- If there is a specific specialty that you would like to work in.
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Nurse?
Nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, home health and rehabilitation nurses, oncology nurses, and nurse midwives are just a few of the many roles that are available to you.
You should also think about how much time you want to devote to your career.
Some of these careers will only require part-time work, but others will be full-time jobs that can take over your life (particularly if you choose one of the demanding specialties).
What’s more, most nursing careers are very stressful and can leave little time for a social life; however, this might not bother you if all you want to do is work hard and earn money.
How Do Nurses Make Money?
Nurses generally earn over $40K a year, with some specialty areas paying even more; for instance, nurse anesthetists can earn over $95K.
This kind of salary you should expect obviously depends on what type of nursing job you choose, with nurse anesthetists earning the most.
The best way to secure a job is by getting experience while still at school (or even before); this way,you’ll have a lot more choice when it comes to jobs and salaries.
What Does the Future Hold for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals?
Many healthcare professionals believe that the nursing profession will be transformed with the introduction of new technology and high-tech therapies.
This is because nurses are trained to work with people, not machines; therefore, they’re in a prime position to deal with these developments.
There will also be greater demand for nurses due to the aging population and continued growth of healthcare services in developing nations.
In addition, the number of international nurse volunteers is growing rapidly, which means that there will be more opportunities for international nursing graduates.
Although it’s hard to predict what the future holds for nursing and healthcare professionals, there’s a good chance you’ll have many options if you continue your education.
Conclusion
If you’re considering taking the leap into nursing as a career, organizing some volunteering and clinical experience is a great way to see if you’re interested in doing this type of work.
As with most careers, many entry points are available, but you may want to take a few years to decide which role is right for you.
The nursing profession has come a long way since its origins, and there are more opportunities than ever before if you’re dedicated and focused.
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