Job
description
Nurses
provide a variety of services to their patients. In general, they
help to prevent injury and disease, promote healthy living, and care
for the sick. They provide direct care for their patients through
administering medications, and assisting with convalescence and rehabilitation.
Nurses help people improve and maintain health by creating and managing
care plans for their patients. Nurses can either choose to specialize
in an area or many are general nurses that perform a variety of duties
as needed for the physician. Areas of specialty include surgical,
neonatal, anesthetist, gynecological, and many others. Nurses often
advance to become department heads and supervisors, managing over
other nurses, setting standards of patient care, and even composing
the department's budget.
A day in the life…
Nurses work in many different settings, including hospitals, clinics,
nursing homes, schools, corporations and even patient homes. Home
health and public health nurses travel more than other nurses, to
patients' homes, schools, and other sites.
Nurses generally work eight hour shifts, but some hospitals have
nurses work ten and twelve hour shifts for three or four days a
week. Nurses in hospitals, and nursing and residential homes tend
to work weekends, nights, and even holidays, and are often on-call.
Nurses are on their feet a lot at work and therefore must be in
relatively good physical shape. They must also have good communication
skills in order to deal effectively with patients by practicing
good listening and giving clear directions to both patients and
aides. A positive disposition and mental strength is essential to
this position as it can be stressful and emotionally challenging
to deal with human suffering and emergency situations on a day-to-day
basis. A nurse should have a caring and sensitive nature in order
to best care for patients.
Education and training
There
are four main educational programs available for nursing. To become
a licensed practical nurse you must complete a state-approved practical
nursing program, which are usually offered through community and
technical colleges, and last between one and two years. There are
three programs available for registered nurses, including the A.D.N,
the B.S.N. and the diploma program. The associate degree in nursing
(A.D.N.) program is a two to three year program offered at junior
and community colleges and combined with hospital training. The
Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (B.S.N.) program is offered
at colleges and universities, and normally takes four to five years
to complete. And lastly, diploma programs are offered at hospitals,
and typically last from two to three years.
Students
are required to graduate from an approved nursing program and pass
a national licensing examination to practice nursing. Periodic licensing
renewal is required, and usually involves continuing education and
additional training. It is important that nurses pursue higher education
in order to be eligible for promotions to supervisory and higher
paying roles. Also, a bachelor's degree is required to pursue a
career as an advanced practice nurse such as a nurse practitioner
or certified nurse anesthetist.
Pay
The following chart shows national salaries for selected nursing
positions.
|
Level
|
Years
of Experience
|
Median
Salary
|
|
Nursing
Assistant
|
0-2
|
$20,700
|
|
Registered
Nurse
|
2-4
|
$45,577
|
|
Obstetrics Nurse
|
2-4
|
$47,483
|
|
Occupational
Nurse
|
2-4
|
$55,289
|
| Clinical
Nurse Specialist |
2-4
|
$61,892
|
| Nurse
Practitioner |
2-4
|
$66,154
|
|
Nurse Manager / Supervisor
|
At
least 7
|
$70,043
|
Source: Salary.com, September 2003
For this month's salaries: Salary
Wizard |
Job
outlook
Nursing
is the largest healthcare occupation, with more than 2.2 million
jobs. It is projected to grow faster than the average occupation
through the year 2010. There are several reasons for this growth,
but the main causes are the aging population of registered nurses
and recent declines in nursing school enrollment. This demand will
prompt changes in the industry to try and attract more nurses in
the form of pay increases, improved working conditions and subsidized
training and education.
Employment
in hospitals, the largest in nursing with about 60 percent of total
jobs in the profession, is expected to grow slower than other areas.
However, rapid growth is expected in outpatient facilities, such
as same-day surgery, rehabilitation, and chemotherapy. Employment
in home healthcare, clinics, doctor's offices, and nursing homes
is expected to grow faster than average as well. In addition, opportunities
are expected to be even greater for those nurses with advanced education
and training.
Nursing careers
There are many different types of nurses, with hospital nurses representing
the largest number. There are also office nurses, nursing home nurses,
home health nurses, public health nurses, occupational health or
industrial nurses, and head nurses or supervisor nurses.
Those in the nursing profession with advanced degrees can become
nurse practitioners. They diagnose and treat common sicknesses and
injuries like colds and fractures and give out prescriptions to
their patients. Other advanced practice nurses include clinical
nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and
certified nurse-midwives. Advanced practice nurses such as these
must meet higher educational and clinical practice requirements
than registered nurses.
Nurses can also advance to higher managerial roles, taking on more
responsibility as head nurses, director, and even vice presidents.
These types of management roles generally require a graduate degree
in nursing or health services administration.
In addition, nurses will sometimes go on to become instructors at
hospitals and schools. They also move into business positions in
the healthcare industry, using their expertise to help manage healthcare
services, and assist with development, marketing and quality assurance
for corporations. A recent comeback for nursing related professions
has been midwifery.
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