How To Become A Nurse
In the next 20 years, there will be one million positions for nurses not filled in the United States. The profession is in dire need of qualified applicants. Taking care of sick children, the elderly, or people that are not able to care for themselves can give people a sense of satisfaction. For those in high school and just starting to figure out what they want to be, nursing has evolved into a lucrative profession for anyone looking for a job. Nurses can make over $55,000 a year starting out with little experience.
Classes in High School
It is important to have a good math and science background if you are serious about nursing. Taking the four years of math and four years of science can help you prepare for the nursing journey. Science classes that include chemistry and biology are imperative to your understanding for nursing. Many high schools have strong health care programs. Students can graduate from high school with either a Certified Nursing Assistant, CNA license or License Practical Nurse certification, LPN. If you have a vocational high school in your community, check those out. Graduating with CNA or LPN will allow you get a job right out of high school.
Registered Nurse
When most people think of nurses, they are thinking about registered nurses or RN. These nurses have either a two-year college degree or a four-year degree. RN’s can get training at the local community college, a university, or a training hospital. The student will take math and science classes along with medical terminology, anatomy, biology, and chemistry. Competition is fierce for most nursing schools. Try to keep your grades up in high school to help with acceptance into a nursing program. Some schools have a waiting list that is several years long.
Specialty Nurses
Nurses can specialize, so depending on the specialization they may take extra classes in pediatrics to work with children, or geriatrics to work with the elderly. They may have an interest in surgery where they will get the training to work in the surgery unit at the hospital.
For every type of specialty, there are nurses who specialize in that disorder. Alzheimer’s, oncology, obstetrics, and gynecology nurses all work in a specific field assisting doctors to treat patients. Once you have your degree you can get the added training at the hospital, clinic, or other facility where you work.
Travel Nurses
Nurses that usually travel with affluent families or people who have illnesses are usually RN’s or nurses that specialize in the disorder they are treating. For patients that are on dialysis, the traveling nurse will set up and monitor the procedure for the patient. If a parent has sick children with a specific disorder, the nurse will oversee the child’s health care and monitor the medications.
Visiting Nurses
Many organizations that provide health care for people in their homes have a need for visiting nurses. These nurses visit the home of the ill patient. They provide sponge baths, medication checks, monitoring wounds, dialysis, or other medical procedures that are needed.
Hospitals/ Doctor’s offices
Most doctors’ offices have a nurse to do the pre-screening before the doctor sees you. The nurse usually takes your weight, temperature, blood pressure, and charts why are you visiting the doctor for the day. You can find doctor’s office nurses in small town, rural, suburban, and urban cities.
If you are more interested in hospitals, nurses are on every floor in the hospital. From the emergency room, to the surgery floor and every floor in between you will find the need for nurses. The pediatrics floor is where the sick children are in a hospital. If you have, a preference to work with people that have had surgery you can work on the recovery floor helping people to recuperate after surgery. Some nurses work side by side with doctors in the surgery room, assisting in the process.
You may want to work in the laboratory as the lab nurse. Most hospitals have a pharmacy and nurses may work in that pharmacy. A nurse may also, work in the office helping with the insurance for the many patients being seen in the hospital. There are so many different jobs for a nurse in the hospitals and doctor’s offices.
Other Places for Nurses
RN’s can work in other places outside the hospitals. They may take a job for an insurance company. Pharmacy nurses may work for a large pharmaceutical company or drug store. RN’s may work for other big companies where employees have to have notes to come back to work after being ill. Nurse may do blood pressure checks or other minor procedures to employees while at work to assure wellness of workers. Nurses may work at a large church or a daycare facility. Most nursing homes have several nurses on staff. Some large pharmaceutical stores are putting nurse’s stations in the stores to provide simple procedures like flu shots, blood pressure procedures, and diabetic screens.
Nurse Educators
Nurse Educators are usually nurses with Master’s degrees. They teach nursing skills to the many nurses looking for a nursing certificate. They work in hospitals, colleges, and vocational school. There is a high demand for these nurses.
Job Search for Nurses
After thinking about your specific training, and what you really like doing in the nursing profession, finding a job is the next step. Depending on what you want to do your search my take a different route. If you are interested in being able to work the same schedule as your children, you may want to consider being a school nurse. Searching different school districts will help you find a job. If you are interested in working at a hospital, you may start your search at the local hospitals in your community. There are specific recruiters for traveling nurses or nurses that want to work for large companies.
Having a current resume with all of your training and certificates will start the process. Make sure you have a current license. If you are interested in working on a cruise ship as a nurse you should search out the various cruise lines, make sure you have a current passport for those positions. There are jobs out there waiting for you to get your paperwork in order.