Why Is Nursing a Good Career?

Why is Nursing a Good Career?

Since I became a Certified Nurse Aid (CNA), I kept asking myself if I had chosen a good career. After taking care of one of my patients named Maria, I felt in my heart that a least I was going to be doing something that would make me feel good about. Maria loved to sing and tell jokes I remember a lot of times when she made me laugh. Sadly Maria had Alzheimer’s disease and she couldn’t perform a lot tasks by herself. She needed supervision to do everything: to get fed, to take a shower, to go to bed. And today I can say that I had a great experience on the three months that I took care of her at the Nursing Home, and sometimes I wonder how she’s doing. Therefore, nursing has been one of the most valuable and rewarding careers for decades and data indicates that it will continue to be in high demand for decades to come. The population is living longer because of the medical advances so there are many more senior citizens now than few years ago. These seniors need more medical care so more and more nurses will be needed to help provide the special care that they need. As the Baby Boomers begin to retire, a large portion of the nursing workforce will retire with them and this is going to increase the demand for nurses even more. As people have babies and raise families, every child will have to see a nurse dozens of times before they reach the age of 18. These children are going to need shots and check-ups and the nurses take on a majority of this work. Children and teenagers are also more prone to injuries such as broken bones and scrapes and usually will need to be treated a few times for mild illnesses and infections. Unfortunately, according to the “American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) studies shows that, the United States is projecting to have a shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) and because of that they are working with schools, policy makers, kindred organizations, and the media to bring attention to this health care crisis.” Also according to the “U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other ambulatory care settings added 21,000 new jobs in November 2009, a month when 85,000 jobs were eliminated across the country. As the largest segment of healthcare workforce, RNs likely will be recruited to fill many of these new positions. The BLS confirmed that 613,000 jobs have been in the healthcare sector since the recession began.” Gail, RN, BS, Rehabilitation from Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin said, “When a nurse is interested in coming into a hospital and work as RN, you to want to come into the best hospital that you can possibly get into, and this is it.” Sue Hunter, RN-Bed Controller from the same medical college said, “The medical nursing community is not content to be adequate or status quo. We exceed expectations and offer exceptional care and exceptional services.” Moreover, there are few different types of nursing you can become depending on what kind of job you would like to perform or how many years of school you are up to taking. The first type would be the Certified Nurse Aid (CNA), this program only takes about to three in half months to get a licensed. This position is more hands on than any other type of nursing and includes a lot of physical work like, feeding the patient, giving a shower, putting to bed and so on. The second type is Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), they can work in different settings of the hospital and get paid little more than the CAN. This position normally takes one to two years program to get a licensed. The LPN nurse should supervise all CNA nurses on their shift. Also the LPN nurse who is in charge is responsible for ensuring that all patients’ charts and medications are properly and they are safely cared. Another type is the Registered Nurse (RN) the program is 4-years in college or university. The RN nurse can exercise a variety of job skills, but one of their responsibilities is to observe and record symptoms and changes in the patient’s overall condition. Besides all the positions mentioned above there are many others nursing positions that you can to go school for. However, it won’t matter if nursing is in high demand it has to be something that you feel passionate about. You cannot become a nurse just for the money, because you probably won’t be successful.

In Text Citation:
Roosevelt, Robert. "Nursing Shortage." U.S. Bureau of Labor September, 2010. n. pag. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Web. 9 Apr 2011.