There is no denying the multitude of assistance that nurses provide in the health care profession. Their duties vary based on the type of nursing degree and the type of facility where they live. Regardless of those variables, these are individuals that are caring ,compassionate, and have a desire to help others.
Nursing is mainly a profession for women, but there are also some men involved in this career as well. In fact, they are well received by male patients and they can often help with heavy lifting of patients that cant move on their own. The desire to be a nurse may be something you are interested in. There is no shortage of jobs and you should be able to get a job in just about any area where you may choose to live.
A great place to find out plenty about the nursing profession is the NursingExaminer.com website. This is a resource that will help you to find out the basics and how to get started. The specific requirements depend on your location so you will also need to check out information that pertains to where you live. Some of the basic requirements include a high school diploma or a GED.
To start your nursing career, you will need to be accepted into a college program. Most them require you to take a computerized test and to pass it with a certain score. If you dont score high enough you may be accepted into the nursing program but also need to take some prerequisite classes. If you arent sure if nursing is a good match for you, consider a short CNA program. This is a Certified Nursing Assistant program and allows you to work with nurses in various settings.
From there, you may decide to enroll in a two year program to obtain your LPN which is a Licensed Practical Nurse. A four year degree can earn you an RN which is a Registered Nurse degree. An RN has greater responsibility such as providing medications to patients. There is a great deal of paperwork involved in a nursing career. You will need to document the care you deliver in charts that are updated on each shift for the patients in your care.
You also have to be able to work with other medical staff, the family of patients, and sometimes insurance companies. The capacity of nursing you work in depends on what you like. For example, if you enjoy the trauma setting you may be a good fit for the Emergency Room. There are nurses that specify in helping with the delivery of babies. There are also those that work in home health care or a doctors office.
You can always branch out and work in a new area of nursing over time too. This is a great idea if you want to try something new or you are starting to feel burned out with what you have been doing. Nursing is a career that is never going to be eliminated either as people are always in need of quality health care.
Take a look at the NursingExaminer.com website to help you get moving in the right direction if you feel nursing is a good fit for you. The work can be challenging and the hours can be long. Yet at the end of the day, you can also feel great knowing that your efforts have made a significant difference in the lives of others. You can also enjoy a rewarding career with plenty of job opportunities, great pay, and benefits such as health insurance and a retirement plan.
I hope you enjoyed this guest post, it was provided by Katherine Bengan. She is an author at NursingExaminer. If you have any question feel free to contact her via G+
