Nursing Career Search

Posts Tagged ‘Being A Nurse’

Ever thought of Nursing as your occupation? Taking care of the elderly, playing with children, consoling a sick person, being there for someone when they’re on their death bed? These are some of the things that you would do being a nurse. The bond that builds up between the patient and his caretaker - the nurse, is something to be cherished. The patient becomes dependent on you, and as long as he is under your care, you become his guardian angel.

Many people also go for nursing as their second career. To become a qualified nurse, you have to take nursing education from any recognized nursing school or nursing college. Nurse education is just like any other education, where you would be taught and prepared for nursing care. The students will be given lessons on various health education and medicines by qualified doctors, experienced nurses, and educators. Almost everywhere around the world the basic courses are similar; like general nursing, mental health nursing, and taking care of sick children. The courses are usually three years long.

Nursing is taught in nursing schools. You can also get a post graduate qualification in any specialist subject within nursing from a reputed nursing college. In the past, the emphasis was more only on the practical part, but now all nursing schools are focused both on the theoretical as well as the practical part, as nurses have to deal with so many types of patients. They have to know what to do and what not to, incase the doctor is not around. They are given basic education on medicine as well. Nurses today are not just a helper of the doctor concerned, but they are trained so that they would be able to contribute equally to the team.

Nursing education:

The first nursing school was set by Florence Nightingale at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. The curriculum in those days was just focused on hygienic factor and task competence. Nursing at that time was mainly adopted by girls, often taken in religious orders, but now we find many male nurses in all the hospitals, especially in mental health services. So many nursing schools and colleges have come up with the increasing need of nurses all over the world. It is recorded that in America itself there are about 45,000 nursing schools.

A lot of arguments still surround nursing education. Some believe that practical knowledge is what is most important, but some argue that with so many advancements coming in the medical world, these nursing schools should be able to teach them to manage health care and also to see the “future picture”. So to meet all these needs, nursing schools aim to train nurses who can be nurtured and trained to be life long learners, so as to meet any changes in both theory and practical parts of nursing.

Things to remember:

There are some points that you should remember when going for a nursing education:

• Decide on what program you want to take, and then decide on a school that matches.
• Look out for the featured schools around your area.
• Some people want the close attention of a small school, while others prefer the intellectual stimulation of a large institution.
• Make enquiries about the school, and the school’s reputation.
• It is better to take a school where the ratio of the students and the faculty is good. It is better to be in a small class size so that each student will be given equal attention.
• See that the school meets the standards of education set by a national accrediting organization.

To become a nurse you would need to dedicate your time and care whenever there is a need. Remember you can be a nurse at any age. If you are in your thirties or forties, this doesn’t mean you are not eligible. As long as you are ready to dedicate your life into this profession, you can become a nurse.

Nursing is often considered the recession proof career. While it is possible to cut back in many areas of life when the economy goes south, medical care is not one of those areas. Whether you have plenty of money or very little, you still get sick, or you may get injured. This makes visiting a hospital or doctor a necessity. Very few people stop to think about medical bills before visiting the hospital in the case of an emergency.

Medical careers in general, and nurses in particular, are growing at a rate that is quicker than most other careers. The need for healthcare workers is across the board, with a growing demand in hospitals, long term care facilities, home health care agencies and physicians offices. Nurses are also employed in other settings, such as community health departments, schools and as telephone consultants for managed care providers.

<b>Growing needs for healthcare</b>

One of the factors in the need for more nurses is the aging population of the US. The baby boomer population, the largest in our country’s history, is getting older, and in growing need of medical care. Older patients have different needs than younger ones. This will lead to a growing demand for nurses that are willing to work in the long term care setting as well as nurses that work in home healthcare.

Another consideration in the aging population is skyrocketing medical costs. While advancements in medical care mean that many conditions can be treated more successfully than in past years, technology comes at a price. Patients are spending less time than ever in the hospital. Once their condition is managed, they are released to a nursing facility or their home. In the past, many home health agencies employed LPNs or nurse’s aides to visit their in home patients. With the increased medical demands and need for training, registered nurses are becoming a sought after addition to many home health agencies rosters.

<b>Recession-proof yourself</b>

While nursing is one of the most recession proof careers you could chose, there are many people with nursing degrees that are unemployed. Some of these people are not working by choice, and others may not be able to find a job in their area, or the wage is not high enough to justify hiring a babysitter. For some others, the only jobs available may require shift work, which some people are not interested in at all.

To best position yourself for the growing need for nurses, and make sure that you are recession proof, take some proactive steps.<ul>
<li>Invest in a bachelor degree. Although you can become an RN with an associate’s degree, and you will still be an RN once you complete your bachelor degree, it is very worthwhile and beneficial to your career. Many healthcare settings require anyone in management to have a four year degree, and you will definitely need it if you want to pursue a nurse practitioner degree.</li>
<li>Consider a nurse practitioner program. Many hospitals offer tuition reimbursement, so pursuing a graduate degree is surprisingly affordable. As healthcare needs continue to grow, nurse practitioners, who can diagnose, treat and prescribe, just like a doctor, are becoming increasingly in demand.</li>
<li>Specialize. Whatever area you work in, or want to work in, consider a specialization program. Take continuing education in emergency care, pediatrics or any other field you work in. The point is, make yourself an expert.</li>
<li>Socialize. Get to know nurses at other care facilities. There are more job opportunities for nurses than you can imagine. If you find yourself on the hunt for a job, networking is the quickest way to find a new position.</li>
<li>Understand that recession proof does not mean lucrative. Although the pay scale for nursing today is strong, there is no guarantee that it will remain that way. As hospitals search for ways to cut costs, there are only so many ends to trim. At some point salaries and hours may be cut, and a nurse’s patient load may increase. If this happens, the job becomes infinitely more stressful.</li></ul>

<b>Finding a Balance</b>

Because of the demand for nurses, many in this profession work long hours in multiple positions. Per Diem positions are lucrative for the nurse who wants to stay home with her children, but desires a little extra cash. As more people realize the job security offered by nursing, it is expected that more people will choose it as a career. What is currently unknown is if the supply will keep up with the demand.

If youre going to take up a career, why not choose a career in healthcare. Okay, being a doctor may not be your thing but what about being a nurse? There are a number of benefits of a nursing career. If you join the nursing field, you will be joining a career that is the largest in the field of healthcare.

Probably one of the most notable advantage of having a career in nursing is the opportunity to work practically anywhere in the world. Nurses are always in demand. Developed countries like the US, Canada, countries in Europe and Japan, needs health care professionals to man the needed posts in their hospitals and clinics. And job opportunities abroad seem to be always increasing and is continuous.

The demand for nurses is not limited to medication facilities like hospitals and clinics. There are demands for nurses in other areas, such as in schools, colleges, universities, as well as companies and corporations. Nurses are also being hired to join non-government and inter-government organizations. They are being sought after as private home nurses, nurse midwives, clinical nurse practitioners, and even nurse anesthetists.

With the right license and certification, nurses can diversify their field, going from one area of specialization to another. Theres chance a nurses life will be boring. The opportunities are very spread out and the number needed is quite significant, so nurses in general will always have a high level of job security for they are always needed.

In terms of employment, there is always a need for nurses. Then lets go to another important aspect of being a nurse: the pay. A career in nursing pays well, at least that remains true in developed countries. Nurses that came from developing countries like in Asia and in Africa are more engaged to having a rewarding and fulfilling.

There are different kinds of study program available to would be nurses. There are vocational training schools which offer short nursing education which lasts for more than a year or so. Those who want to be included in the registered nurse list of passers need to have a diploma showing that they have finished an associate or baccalaureate program.

Nurses also function as educators and can take on the responsibilities of such, having to explain the details to the disease to the family of the patients and their immediate community. As nurses, you will be able to interact with families and people in their community. Unlike any other health care profession, nurses are perhaps the only ones that are able to form bonds with their patients. The rest of the medical community, even the doctors, does not establish such close personal bonds between the nurses and their patients.

However, those who decide to enter the career of nursing needs to be prepared for shifting schedules, holiday work, and working around sick and dying patients a lot. It you cannot take any of these situations then a nursing career is probably not for you.

You can learn more about the career by browsing the Web, looking at career websites, brochures and newsletters. You can even talk to actual nurses and get their say about the matter. But in a nutshell, the benefits of a nursing career include career flexibility, a chance to grow career wise and as a person especially with the satisfaction one receives from helping people out.

When you graduate from nursing school and pass the state licensure exam, you can start applying for work. While some will work in a hospital, others may find employment in labs, schools, private companies and non-profit organizations. This is when your nursing career choices are available to you.

The nice thing about being a nurse is that wherever you work, everyday is different than the day before. Why? Because of the human factor as new patients are brought in and old ones are discharged. This means that in the field of nursing, you will never get tired because change is always constant.

Lets take a look at the two nurses. One who is a resident nurse or RN and the other a licensed practicing nurse or LPN. Yes, they are both nurses but what makes the two different is the fact that the RN is a specialist while the LPN is a generalist.

The LPN reports to an RN. This is the person that makes the rounds and takes the patients blood pressure and temperature. They administer shots and monitor the catheters. The resident nurse can do the same thing but they are more concerned about other things which is why they have the opportunity to work for instance in ambulatory care, diabetes management, cardiac and vascular nurse, dermatology, HIV/AIDS, oncology, pediatrics and a lot more.

If you dont want your career to be stagnant as an LPN, you can go to school and work at the same time until you are able to earn your degree and finally earn the title of a resident nurse.

Another career choice that can you places is by being a nurse practitioner. Being in this position allows you to perform many of the functions that doctors do that includes prescribing medication. They handle the most common illnesses as well as provide counseling and prevention. For this you need to get a masters in nursing. A study shows that NPs make an average of about $61,000 per annum.

Since we are talking about advanced degrees, another career choice is that of the nurse anesthesiologist. When a patient is undergoing surgery, this person is there to make sure the right dosage is given so the operation is painless. This is considered to one of the highest paying nursing jobs today.

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the US. While there are steps being taken to reduce these figures, there are still patients that have to be treated and that is where cardiac care nursing comes in. Cardiac care nurses work with doctors as they perform angioplasty, bypass surgery or install pacemakers. They work in the hospital and at times conduct house calls.

Some patients require long term care. For that, you need a case manager nurse that will keep track of the patients condition at the same time in a cost effective matter. These individuals usually help the young and the elderly who are suffering from illnesses such as AIDS, cancer or heart disease.

There are other nursing careers aside from those mentioned. What happens after you graduate will determine how successful you will become in the future. Nurses who want to go on further are advised to take up advance courses in nursing and then specialize in a particular field.

Its the digital age, actually it was the digital age ten years ago. Today, we have the full benefits of technology, and the World Wide Web. The web is so full of information that you can practically find everything in it. And with the high technology internet connectivity, access is much faster. With fast access to the web it would be a shame to not bring this technology for your own practical use.

Regardless of career or job you have, the web is a great resource even if its nursing career websites, Im sure there are a lot of them out there which caters to things that you will need as a nurse.

I made a search on the web on websites about nursing careers; I got more than two million search results. Although, probably most of the websites in the search results will be useless to your needs, there are still many where you can get adequate and useful information. There are different nursing websites out there and the key is to know what to search.

Yes, in the web what matters is being specific on your searches. If you want to search about nursing careers, you can enter nursing careers. But you can limit that further by including in your search item nursing careers in Chicago for example, or nursing careers benefits and disadvantages. Searching the web can be quite tasking if you dont know how search engines work.

When you perform a query in a search engine, it searches its database and based on its index and various other parameters, the most visited sites that contain the keywords you searched will be displayed on top search results. The next most popular will follow, and then the next one, and so on. So, being specific with your search will most likely give you the website youre looking for.

When it comes to websites about nursing careers, there are a lot to search for. We have information on how to be a nurse. Such websites will contain information on nurse career developments, the ups and downs and being a nurse, the education required to have the degree, the top schools where you can go to, the kinds of qualifying examinations that you need to take, the kinds of licenses you will need, and more.

Career websites about nurses, hopefully can inspire people who wants to be nurses to pursue the career. Ideally, everything should be there, no sugar-coating is necessary. It is imperative, at least in my opinion, to include the things that make nursing a noble and interesting profession. Some websites will claim only the good stuff, not saying anything about the profession even though we know the possible downsides.

Aside from the already mentioned information about nursing, the industry and the profession, various websites might also contain career advancement opportunities. These include websites that offer nursing career path orientations, announcements on nursing career fairs, and job postings of registered nurses and practitioners.

Others are online forums or communities which help each other in the profession to keep in touch. An online network of nurses that help each other, gives advices, tips, referrals, and news about their profession in general and their friends.

Aside form nursing career websites, the internet is a hub of information which is at the disposal on the capable hands of our nurses.

Who said traveling and being a nurse cant work together when there are a lot of job opportunities right now for those who experience in the market.

Traveling nurses are given the choice to work closer or farther from their home. If they accept an assignment, they have a chance to work in some of the countrys most prestigious health facilities, earn decent pay with bonuses and enjoy free living expenses.

Nurses who want to be a part of this have to sign up with a travel nursing company. In fact, there are many around and aside from your base pay, you get to have comprehensive insurance, a 401k plan, clinical support, an incentive program and the opportunity to further enhance your education.

To qualify, you must be a graduate from an accredited health care institution in the US or Canada and have a license. You should also have served at least a minimum of 12 months in your specialty.

If you qualify to be a traveling nurse, the company you will be working for will present a number of openings that are currently available. You dont get to sign any long term contract with them since everything is done on a per project basis so iIf you find something you like, you may begin work in less than a week.

You also shouldnt worry about getting a license to work especially if this will be in another state because the company you will be working for normally takes care of that.

Traveling nurses work almost the same hours as a regular nurse. That is about 8 to 10 hours on each shift or 40 hours per week but there are some work 12 hours and work about 36 hours per week.

As for how much you make, this depends where you will be working and your specialty. Resident nurses for example are paid $40 per hour while licensed practical nurses earn a little bit lower. When you accept an assignment, you are usually given a sign on bonus that could reach up to $6,000 which isnt that bad.

The money that you make as a traveling nurse is usually deposited in your current bank account so you dont have to open a new one when you are working in another state. This will enable you to withdraw this at any time using your ATM card for shopping and other things.

It was mentioned earlier that housing as a traveling nurse is free. You will usually be housed in a two bedroom apartment or condo that is close to where you will be working. If you choose to live somewhere else other than what was given, you will get the housing allowance in the form of cash and you will be responsible taking care of the utilities.

If you want to succeed as a traveling nurse, you have to be optimistic, be open-minded and have the ability to learn things quickly. This is because your employer expects you to know what needs to be done since they assume you have already done this in the past.

You can stay as a traveling nurse for as long as you want and your experience will look good on your resume as this will probably make you stand out among other applicants when you want to find a permanent nursing job.

There is a shortage of nurses in the US. The short term solution is to hire nurses from other countries but since this deprives the locals from working for the same job, the government and the private sector have set up more schools that will encourage students to take this noble profession.

If you are seriously considering being a nurse, the first question you have to ask yourself is why you want this job? Should your answer be for money or for fame, then you better think of another career path.

Nursing is a demanding profession that requires dedication. It is not a 9 to 5 job because sometimes, you may be assigned to work the graveyard shift or extend beyond 8 hours of work especially when there are a lot of patients to attend to.

For those that just graduated from high school and still dont know what to do, you may sign up as a volunteer in a clinic or hospital so you get to see first hand what do these individuals do. Some activities nurses do on a regular basis include collecting samples from patients, checking their vital signs, blood pressure and temperature.

Should you be able to handle the pressures and feel good helping patients, then you should consider being a nurse.

A career in nursing can take you to places. For instance, traveling nurses who work on a contractual basis can be employed in some of the best medical facilities in the country. That is after they specialize in something for more than year like working in the emergency room department or the operating room.

Critical care nursing could be another possibility where you are assigned to look after patients in intensive care. This is perhaps the most challenging since the life of the patient is in the balance. For those that dont want to work in such a stressful environment, you can try working in a home healthcare facility, outpatient surgery center or teaching in a nursing school.

Hospitals and clinics have also shifted to the digital age which is why computers are needed to link one department to another. You could get a job as a programmer here and updated their programs or write one. Since you built the system, you can train others who will use it in the future or sell a similar program to other hospitals and work as a consultant for them.

If you love children, you can find work in neonatal nursing. Here, you get the chance to work with healthy newborn babies as well as those that are born prematurely. Your job does not end there because there are pediatric home health care facilities which you can find employment and teach parents about the importance of prevention against certain illnesses.

Considering a career in nursing should not be taken lightly especially when the life of a patient is in your hands. This is why you should think about it very carefully because you could be happy doing this for a long time or regret it if this is something you were not mean to do in the first place.

How things will turn out is entirely up to you. Dont do it for the money or the fame but in the service of others.