Opportunity - Nurse
Position Title: RN / LPN
Significant Points:
Nurses, also called registered nurses or RNs, take care of sick and
injured people. They give people medicine. They treat wounds. And they
give emotional support to patients and their families.
Nurses ask patients about their symptoms and keep detailed records. They
watch for signs that people are sick. Then, nurses help doctors examine
and treat patients.
Some nurses help to give tests to find out why people are sick. Some
also do lab work to get test results.
Nurses also teach people how to take care of themselves and their
families. Some nurses teach people about diet and exercise and how to
follow doctors' instructions. Some nurses run clinics and immunization
centers.
Nurses can focus on treating one type of patient, such as babies or
children. They can also focus on one type of problem. Some focus on
helping doctors during surgery, for example. Others work in emergency
rooms or intensive care units.
Many nurses work in doctors' offices. They help with medical tests, give
medicines, and dress wounds. Some also do lab and office work.
Home health nurses go to people's homes to help them. Flight nurses fly
in helicopters to get to sick people in emergencies.
Some nurses have special training and can do more advanced work. Nurse
practitioners can prescribe medicine. Nurse midwives can help women give
birth.
Helping sick people and dealing with medical emergencies can be
stressful. Nurses in hospitals often have to help many patients at once.
Many nurses spend a lot of time walking and standing. Nurses also need
to be careful in order to stay safe. Nurses care for people who have
diseases that they can catch too. And nurses can get hurt while helping
to move patients. Nurses also need to guard against radiation from
x-rays and chemicals in medicine.
Because patients need 24-hour care, hospital nurses often work nights,
weekends, and holidays. Office nurses are more likely to work regular
hours. Many nurses work part time.
Nurses must graduate from a nursing program. It takes about 2 years of
college to finish an associate degree in nursing. It takes about 4 years
to finish a bachelor's degree in nursing. And a nursing diploma program
usually takes about 3 years.
Deciding what kind of training to get is important. Some career paths
are open only to nurses who have a bachelor's degree.
Nursing education includes taking classes and hands-on learning with
experienced nurses in hospitals and other places. This is called
clinical training.
Nurses study anatomy, chemistry, nutrition, psychology, and nursing
theory.
After graduating, nurses need to pass a test to get a nursing license.
They have to take classes every few years to keep their skills current.
Working Conditions:
Very good job opportunities are expected for registered nurses. BLS
expects jobs for registered nurses to grow much faster than the average
for all occupations through 2016. Many new jobs will be available for
people who want to be nurses.
New ways of helping people will let nurses treat more problems. And the
number of older people, who need more health care, will grow very
rapidly. They will need nurses to treat them when they get sick.
Hospitals will need nurses, but many new nurses will also work in home
health, clinics, doctors' offices, and nursing homes.
Employment:
The middle half of all registered nurses earned between $47,710 and
$69,850 in 2006. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $40,250.
The highest-paid 10 percent made more than $83,440.
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