Registered nurses are licensed to care for patients under the supervision of a doctor. They work in hospitals, doctor's offices and clinics. Other nurses, like visiting nurses, parish nurses and school nurses, tend to the health and safety of specific populations. Nurses earn good salaries and there will never be a lack of available jobs for trained nurses.
Potential
In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that the United States must train a million new nurses by 2016. This is due to a combination of factors. Baby Boomers who are nurses are leaving the profession for retirement. In addition, each year a larger percentage of the nation's population is elderly. Elderly people need more medical attention and nursing care than any other age group.
Significance
So, a big effort is being made by groups like the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to recruit new nursing students. Prospective nursing students are being encouraged to obtain bachelor's degrees in nursing even though an associate degree in nursing is sufficient to make a person eligible to take the NCLEX examination. It costs 200 dollars (in 2008) to take this test. Passing it means that your state board of nursing will award you with a license to practice nursing in your state. You will be a registered nurse, RN for short.
Identification
Registered nurses must take a combination of academic college courses, courses in nursing concepts, and clinical practice during college. Before being admitted into the degree program, nursing departments often require candidates to pass some pre-clinical prerequisites. Usually these courses include English, psychology, biology and sociology. More core academic courses are also required before graduating: microbiology, anatomy and physiology.
Types
After satisfying the pre-requisites and being admitted to the nursing department at a college or university, students take courses about nursing theory and practice such as "Concepts of Nursing," "Holistic Health Assessment," "Family Health," "Nursing Leadership and Management," "Computer Applications in Nursing" and "Introduction to Nursing Research." Other elective courses in nursing make up the balance of the classroom training. Clinical rotations in a hospital introduce students to the hands-on aspects of being a nurse, from learning to take blood pressure and giving shots to finding out support a surgeon during an operation.
Expert Insight
It takes 2 years to earn an associate degree in nursing and 4 years to earn a bachelor's degree. Even though either degree qualifies a nurse to apply and take the test to become licensed, the research indicates that the best nurses are the ones with the 4-year degrees. Registered nurses earn an average salary of 52,000 dollars per year in the United States (in 2008). Nurses who earn masters degrees and PhDs in nursing make even more money. The nurses with advanced degrees usually teach in nursing education programs and work in nursing research.
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