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A registered nurse is a health care professional having an Associate
or Bachelor’s degree under her belt and accountable for nursing patient
with other health care experts. The nurse oversees the condition of
patients and ensures that the sick and suffering get the best possible
attention and care for his speedy recovery. Registered nurse virtually
acts as advocates for the patient helping him / her to get suitable and
professional medical guidance.

In addition to proper qualification and experience, the job of a
nurse demands complete dedication and patience as being a registered
nurse you will be promoting good health and helping patients to recover
from illness. A nurse must have good writing skills coupled with the
caliber to pick minute details. Nurses working in psychology area are
required to take detailed notes of patient behavior, outcome of
medication and doctor’s guidance for effective treatment.

A registered nurse often act as a teacher and guide to communities,
families, individuals and patients. The nurse plays a prominent role in
promoting healthy life styles. The job of a nurse involves planning,
assessing, evaluating, implementing, and co-coordinating total patient
care.

Criteria to become a Registered nurse

To become a nurse you can take the route of various educational
programs in streams such as behavioral science, anatomy, chemistry,
nutrition and physiology to earn degrees in areas like Hospital Diploma
program, Associates Degree in Nursing and Bachelor Degree in Nursing. A
hospital, college, school, or university awards these degrees. As
license is necessary for nursing, as per the state regulations you can
apply for it after you complete your course.  

Generally most schools ask for clinical experience and surely that
experience help you in getting a job of a registered nurse. To become a
certified nurse midwife, certified nurse anesthetist, and nurse
practitioner you need a masters’ degree.

If you have been thinking of a career as a nurse, make sure that you
are willing to work in different areas like clinics, hospitals, home
health care agencies, offices of physicians, outpatient care centers,
temporary help agencies, government agencies, schools, and nursing
homes.

Classification of registered nurse

Registered nurses can be divided into three groups – full-time,
part-time, and casual. The salary of a registered nurse varies
depending upon the category to which they belong.  Registered nurses
working full time commands more salary and enjoys a host of benefits
while part-time and casual nurses receive equal vacation pay as a
percentage of their salary.

Nurses working in specialized areas like neo-natal intensive care or
surgery earn fat salary in comparison to others.  In addition to
salary, most registered nurses get shift premiums also. Many employers
offer profit-sharing plans and bonuses with the aim of attracting and
retaining registered nurses.

The registered nurses possess in-depth knowledge of the requirement
of people of all categories from infants to the aged people. When other
sectors are experiencing a decline in job interestingly, registered
nurses are in good demand. The United States continues to have a great
shortage of nurses, and if the trend continues the country will be
suffering a lack of 400,000 professional nurses by the year 2020.

A Registered nurse provides the primary health care and remains
responsible for the proper supervision of the patient’s health and
happiness.

Within the health care industry, registered nurses constitute the
largest health care occupation with over two million jobs. Three out of
five registered nurses work ion hospitals.

All registered nurses, regardless of their specialty, perform the
basic duties of nursing. Some of these duties include treating patients
and their family members, recording medical history, analyzing
diagnostic test results, administering medications, and helping
patients in rehabilitation. Another important job of registered nurses
is the education of the family members of the patients and the public
on various diseases and preventions of such. Some even take training on
grief counseling to help console family members of chronically ill
patients. Working as a nurse will put you into many hazardous
situations. Many chemicals from sterilizing equipment, infectious
diseases, and electrical shock are harmful and must be avoided at any
cost. Therefore, all registered nurses must follow a strict set of
guidelines to prevent any injuries while on duty.

The majority of registered nurses work in comfortable, well-lit,
health care facilities. Others registered nurse’s travel to public
areas like schools, community centers, and to patients’ homes. Many
spend a considerable time standing and walking and must be prepared on
short notices because many patients need twenty-four hour care. In
cause, many registered nurses work nights, weekends, and holidays.
There are three different options to becoming a registered nurse, one
is to obtain a diploma, another is to get an Advanced Diploma in
Nursing, and the third is to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Many registered nurses first obtain a diploma or Advanced Diploma in
Nursing and then later get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Nurses
have a better chance of getting hired if they have a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing. Three years ago the average annual salary of
registered nurses was around fifty-two thousand dollars while the
nurses working in employment services earned over sixty-three thousand
dollars. Many employers will offer bonuses, benefits, flexible working
schedules, and educational benefits.

A school nurse is a special health care professional that improves
the welfare, academic success, and life-long achievement of the
students. The nature of work a school nurse performs involves many
responsibilities. Every year they must perform vision, hearing, dental,
and scoliosis health screening tests. They must be prepared to provide
emergency first aid on short notice and make sure each student has
received all of their required immunizations.

A school nurse also provides counseling for the students on chronic
diseases, nutrition, prevention of illness, and positive lifestyles.
Working with the administration to investigate cases of suspected child
abuse or neglect and training teachers and other staff members on basic
procedures that may save a student’s life are also a part of their
responsibilities.

To become a registered nurse, you need to pass a national licensing
exam and graduate from an accredited nursing school. A diploma, an
Advanced Diploma in Nursing, or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is
required as well. From there, you can begin working as a school nurse
although it is recommended that you continue taking educational courses
to keep up to date with the fast expanding field of school nursing. The
amount of school nursing jobs available is steadily increasing,
especially the ones that involve students with special needs.

A school nurse must also have a certain set of qualities that would
relate to the environment they would be working in to be certified.
School nurses must be caring, sympathetic, and concerned for the
well-being of all the students in the school. Excellent listening
skills are required and the ability to instruct both students and
adults on a variety of health care issues. School nurses must be
trustworthy and mature individuals; they also must be sensitive to the
emotional needs of the students at all times and know when to keep
certain information confidential.

Currently there are about 50,000 school nurses employed in the
United States. These nurses are a very special type of nurse, since
they must have training in dealing with children and their development,
as well as treatment for the younger patient. School nurses are an
integral part of every school, public or private, and are there to
perform a number of very important duties. The job of school nurses is
to help promote health and safety within the school environment, assess
various illness levels with children, and help to treat small instances
of injury if necessary. They can take children’s temperatures to
determine if a fever is present, check for things like lice, and refer
children to a doctor if need be in the event that a child is too sick
to stay in class. Often, school nurses are there to be a comfort to
children who may not feel well, and can really help ease their fears or
discomfort. Most school nurses have some access to children’s medical
information, so that they are aware of any known allergies or other
problems.

The job of school nurses is extremely
important, and it helps ease parents’ minds, too. Knowing there is a
nurse on school premises often helps to relieve some pressure or fear
from the parents in the event their child is sick. A nurse can also
tell if children are “faking it” or not, and can then determine whether
or not the parents need to be called. School nurses have always been a
very special part of the educational system, and their job is one of
educating children and parents, as well as treating them when they are
sick. There are organizations where school nurses can get together and
discuss various practices and methods for dealing with children and
their parents in a clinical setting. The school National Association of
School Nurses is a great resource.

On average, there is only about one school nurse for every 1,100
students in the United States. The concept of school nursing seems to
be considered less and less important by many educational institutions,
when in reality, often the school nurse is the only healthcare provider
many children will see or talk to in their younger years. School
nursing is extremely important and should be treated as such within
every school in America, both private and public. School nursing is
taught much like traditional nursing, and all school nurses must be
registered, educated, and pass an exam before they can administer any
kind of treatment to children. Without the help of a school nurse, many
dangerous errors can occur, such as giving children the wrong
medications. Statistics have shown that people are about 40 percent
more likely to give children incorrect medicine if a school nurse is
not involved in the process. This is an example of the importance of
school nursing.

Aside from the occasional sniffle
or tummy ache, school nursing is also important to help kids with
special needs. A school nurse can help to assist kids with problems
such as diabetes, asthma, or those who are in a wheelchair or battling
other health related issues. Teachers and coaches are not trained to
deal with or treat students with special needs, but school nurses are.
Just having someone there who practices school nursing can give
students a sense of security and emotional support. The job of school
nurses is much broader than just taking a temperature or making phone
calls. They are needed because they have the experience and know how to
help treat kids or make decisions that most faculty and staff cannot
do. Without them, our schools are lacking a vital part of the system
that is in place to help and protect our children.

The health care industry is short of qualified nursing professionals
these days, an issue that began to present itself approximately twenty
years ago and has grown steadily deeper since that time. Due to this
shortage, incentives to attract new student nurses have become quite
widespread. A variety of scholarships and grants are available to ease
student nurses along the path to a nursing license, and once it has
been obtained, the employment opportunities are plentiful in nearly
every health care category.

Nursing careers have changed
quite a bit over recent years. Advances in medical treatments and
technologies have made nursing more challenging, with the standards of
qualification and education more stringent. Nurses these days,
responsible for procedures and treatments that were the exclusive
domain of the physician years ago, are no longer relegated to bandages
and bedpans.

Nursing students graduating today will find
themselves doing much more than the simple bedside care that was
standard for earlier generations of nurses. Nursing professionals can
choose from a wide variety of specializations that include acute care,
trauma, operating room practice, pediatrics, newborn or adult intensive
care, and coronary care, to name just a few of the hundreds of
available options. These are highly skilled professional positions,
requiring critical thinking and technical skills, offering exciting
career opportunities for current nursing students.

With the
spiraling demand for nursing professionals in the job market today, a
vast array of incentive programs have become available to nursing
students. Grants and scholarships abound in the field, especially in
areas hardest hit by the nurse shortage. Many hospitals across the
country offer full school funding for nursing students, in return for
an agreement to join their staff upon graduation and remain for a set
period of time.

Affordable nursing school education is
easier to find these days than ever before, and the field is wide open
for advancement for those graduating nursing students. Few careers
offer the satisfaction and security that can be found in the nursing
profession today.

Nursing has become a more complex and challenging field these days,
with the proliferation advanced technology in the everyday practice of
health care. Student nursing education involves much more than teaching
direct patient care, good bedside manner, and emergency care in today’s
healthcare industry. Student nursing must include training on high tech
equipment, and instruction in computer and information skills. New
technologies have changed the way medicine is practiced in the average
hospital, making it necessary for much more ground to be covered by
nursing school programs.

Student nursing is the clinical
portion of nursing education, when nursing students are taken into the
hospital setting for their first experience in hands on nursing care
under the supervision of a clinical instructor. This process has
traditionally included practice in such matters as wound dressings,
vital signs, bedpans, catheters, injections, medications, and a long
list of other such personal care issues.

While these skills
are still the basis of a good nursing education, technology skills have
become increasingly important in today’s student nursing programs, as
nursing professionals must be proficient in handling the high tech
tools and equipment that have become the standard in the practice of
routine healthcare.

Information technology is becoming more
important in the typical student nursing program, as many healthcare
facilities are beginning to phase out the paper patient information
chart in favor of information management technologies. Student nursing
programs have had to teach more extensive computer skills to adjust to
these new record keeping practices.

While the advanced
medical technology used today can make student nursing education a bit
more difficult, students are rising to the challenge. Student nursing
programs are graduating classes of extremely capable and tech savvy new
nurses every year, ready to face both traditional nursing care concerns
and the latest in medical technology with confidence.

Recent studies have shown that sub acute care is becoming a booming
business, with projections of becoming approximately a $5 billion per
year industry within the next decade or even less. With that being
said, the need for sub acute nurses is ever growing. One of the reasons
sub acute care is becoming so popular is that it serves as a
preventative measure for patients who may otherwise become chronically
ill or “stuck in the system” getting services they may not need. With
the help of sub acute nurses, problems can be diagnosed, treated, and
handled regularly. This helps to prevent an onslaught of patients from
coming into the health care system and getting treatments or care that
really may not be completely necessary if they have someone to keep
their symptoms at bay or regulated without expensive or extensive care.
The fact that more Americans are living longer these days just adds on
to the need for sub acute nurses and care.

Today
there are many sub acute care facilities that help patients with their
ailments. Some of the treatments that sub acute nurses and doctors
perform include physical therapy, infectious disease care, wound care,
cardiac rehabilitation, and post transplant care, just to name a few.
These centers help to focus on patients who are in need of constant
monitoring or care without placing them in a permanent clinical setting
or providing them with in home care. The sub acute facilities serve as
a place for healing and rehab, and a time to make sure the patient is
getting better. Sub acute nurses help to perform a wide variety of
tasks that allow them to be more focused on the patient’s needs without
compromising them. It gives both nurses and patients a chance to take a
closer more in depth look at what their health issues are, and begin
the healing process in an environment designed specifically for their
needs.

While many people in the hospital are there for a serious illness or
life-threatening injury, other people need care around the clock, but
may not have to stay in the hospital. For these people, sub-acute
nurses can be real lifesavers. The job of sub-acute nursing is to help
patients who are suffering from an acute illness or injury and even an
acute chronic condition, but they are not considered to be in need of
acute treatment. In other words, the patient may need a little bit more
intense care than a nursing home or in home care can provide, but not
quite as intense care as would be needed in the ICU area of a hospital.
This is where sub-acute nursing comes in. They are specially trained to
help meet the needs of these types of patients. In most cases, the
elderly fall into this group of people, and some typical patients
include those with certain infections, brain injuries, endocarditis,
and even AIDS in some instances.

Sub-acute
nurses can have several jobs including coordinating the patient’s needs
with their doctor, communicating with family members, taking careful
notes of patient behavior and reactions to certain medications, and
much more. Nurses of this type need to have outstanding clinical
ability and skill, and should typically already have some kind of
experience in an acute care environment. Most nurses with this job
title work in clinics, hospitals in special wings, or even at home in
some cases, but all have a vast knowledge of various treatment types,
and can usually administer emergency care when needed. Extended care is
a large part of sub-acute nursing, so they gain an in
depth knowledge of a particular diseases or illness since they deal
with one patient for a long period of time. This skill is essential to
good nursing and is something that can be used in other facets of the
field as well.

Many hospitals around the country, particularly those that are
running non profit, are finding themselves in a fiscal bind. With more
Americans than ever living without health insurance, the burden is
getting stronger on clinics and hospitals to provide care to people who
cannot afford to pay for the services they receive. Today, there have
been some new preventative measures taken to help release some of that
burden. Telephone triage nurses are one way that many hospitals are
trying to prevent “unnecessary patients.” These telephone triage nurses
are there to help people who are uncertain whether or not they should
seek more serious medical care, or if the problem can simply be treated
at home with either over the counter medication or some other form of
do it yourself treatment. Patients simply call one of the telephone
triage nurses, describe their problems, give a brief description of
themselves and answer a few questions. The nurse then makes a
determination based on this information as to what the caller should do
next.

Of course, this medical advice is not fool proof, but
all telephone triage nurses must be educated and highly trained, and
real nurses that do not just work on the phone. They are informative
and helpful and if there is any doubt, the nurse is usually advised to
seek a doctor to assist them or recommend that the patient come in
personally. On the other hand, telephone triage nurses are a great help
to our overcrowded health care system. By providing advice and
information to people who otherwise would immediately go to the
hospital or doctor’s office, they are saving medical care facilities
millions of dollars per year in care that may not be needed. In today’s
busy world, it’s nice that people can have someone to talk to and get
medical answers from without having to make a set appointment or sit in
a waiting room for hours.