Nursing and the related or associated industries and careers are top career choices and have been for a while. Why? Simply put, the response to the heightened universal need for healthcare focuses on the fact that we all still need the nurse as a critical function of our health and wellbeing.
This need coupled with the increases in remuneration has seen nursing as a whole become one of the most sought-after careers of our time. This article will examine why nursing is still one of the top-rated careers across the world, providing some discussion as to how you too could become involved and secure a long-term career.
How to get involved
Understand the sector
Nursing is one of the broadest career choices that you can make. If you have decided that you aim to give back to society and that nursing is the career for you, the first thing that it is suggested you do is to read as widely as possible as to what type of nursing you want to do and at what level.
Building this understanding of the sector is vital and yes, it is important to want to perform a caring role but understanding how varied and diverse the nursing sector is, will be the best start to plan a career. You don’t have to specialize immediately but having a good idea of where you eventually want to be will be helpful.
The educational foundation required to become a nurse
Regardless of the sector within nursing that you aim to pursue as a career, you will need a good foundation and this education will form the basis from which you will be able to embark on further nursing studies and training.
In the US these basics will be a three- or four-year basic degree in nursing followed by any specialization training or post graduate study that you may want to embark on. This specialization may be difficult to figure out, but options exist and will include working and caring for the entire spectrum of human beings. One of the most highly prized nursing specialization and further study would be the online post masters in primary care to become a professional pediatric nurse practitioner.
Nurse Training options
The nurse training options have changed significantly over time and you now have innumerable options to study nursing online and at an actual college, or a mix of the two options where practicals for specific courses are taught in person and all theory and other skills are taught in virtual classrooms. One of the first things to do, however, is to decipher the many acronyms that dominate the national and international nursing sector.
LPN, the licensed practical nurse is a one-year qualification that will provide entry to the sector and allow you to work under a registered nurse to begin a career in the field. This is also at the same level as a Licensed vocational nurse LVN. These two one-year entry options generally don’t require any pre-requisite course apart from the ability to communicate in English and be able to understand and process the course material. There is a state licensing exam and the remuneration is still above many other similar entry roles.
AND, the associate degree in nursing is one of the most popular 2-year degrees in nursing. There are some prerequisite classes in order to enroll and the wages are pretty much double the LPN. The ADN is allowed, once licensed, to treat patients on their own, be involved in patient education. The ADN licensing exam is a national one and thus enables you to practice across the country.
The BSN, Bachelor of Science in nursing is a four-year American nursing qualification that can be done online but is encouraged to be undertaken in a practical healthcare setting. Many of these programs finish with a clinical residency and as such is one of the most highly prized nursing qualifications in the country and recognized across the world. Once qualified with a BSN, it is then possible to act and be employed as a registered nurse once the required nursing exams have been passed.
Once you have these basics or one of these qualifications then you have begun down a path where the sky is the limit. There are then master’s programs and accelerated specialization programs to consider, any of which will allow you to improve career options and ensure that you maximize you rate of pay.
Job options and remuneration
Nursing is thus more than just about basic healthcare and could also involve nurse training, advocacy, care management and leadership roles and pediatric care and management of such care as mentioned above. The humble nurse is thus one of the top-rated jobs in the US and in fact around the world.
The reasons for this long-lasting popularity of nursing
An older global population
The biggest driving factor for nursing as a profession to remain one of the most important careers in the world is the fact that there is a worldwide ageing population. The predominant reason for this is an ever-decreasing mortality rate as well as fertility rate. We are on average as a society now living longer and healthier and having less children.
Provides for the best Career moves sideways
Nursing provides one of the easiest opportunities for a career change and a switch in mid-career. The ability to move from the emergency room to the elderly care home and everywhere in-between, including the sports field and school playground is something quite unique in nursing.
Nurses and health care managers are required across all walks and sectors of society and as such there are just so many nursing career options in the sector once you have qualified appropriately.
Nursing Provides for the most flexibility
Whether you want to work part time, full time or around your family responsibilities and childcare needs, the nursing sector is one of those that will allow for this. Because there are those instances and jobs where care is required on a 24/7 basis it is logical that the nursing roles offered will be suited to meet the patients’ needs, but also allow for flexibility in the job roles itself. This also refers to overtime and the ability to work in private care in homes as a self-employed carer.
The money
Yes, it would be hoped that most of those who go onto nursing do so because they have an intrinsic need to help and support others, it is after all one of the caring professions. Yet there is no shame in embarking on this as a career because it has some of the best paid jobs in the country. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that the average nursing salary for registered nurses was at $75K in 2020, this is strides above any other similar roles across the labor market.
International travel
Nursing is the best new travel opportunity for those who are adventurous and want to see the world. Join up, train to be a nurse and then apply to work anywhere in the world. International travel nursing as it is known has become one of the main reasons people still see nursing as one of the best careers out there.
You may need a visa to work in some places and it is advised to do your homework thoroughly so you know exactly where you’re going and what type of work you will be doing, but this is an option that many mid-career nurses look to for additional experience and hands on training.
The feel-good profession
Nursing has always been regarded as one of the most noble of professions. The ability to help others when they are in most need and to be able to soothe and calm both physical and mental suffering can be regarded as an honor. Being able to say that you were the difference between good health and illness, or able to be training and guide others in this regard is a wonderful feeling.
The flexible lifestyle around the part time care or nursing that you do also helps with your own wellbeing and work-life balance. It is not easy work, as nurses often deal with life-or-death situations, but it is definitely the most rewarding careers that there is out there at the moment and will be for the foreseeable future.
The feel-good aspect coupled with ongoing available work and the current pay scales makes this a rewarding and sustainable career prospect. Recent research saw that over 83% of American nurses surveyed were happy with their choice of jobs and career.
Final remarks
This article has clearly shown why nursing is still regarded as one of the top career choices across the country and the world. No longer do you have to join the army or navy to travel the world, being a nurse also offers some of the best paid work in the USA.
It is flexible, will give you a sense of achievement and completeness and above all nurses of all levels and specializations are in such high demand that you will be in work for as long as you want.
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