Nursing is a very long-standing traditional career that most of us know of without a second thought. But how many have considered nursing as a career path today? According to the United States Department of Labor most recent published report, here are just a few up front facts about the profession:

• Nurses and Home Health Care Providers are two of the fastest growing career occupations for the next seven years (until 2014)
• Frequent job listings for new facilities, or growing facilities, means job security and regular wages
• RN’s (Registered Nurse) in larger metro areas average $53,000/year with rural counterparts averaging approximately $5-10,000 less/ year
• LPN’s (Licensed Practical Nurse) in most areas average approximately $36,000 per year
• The vast majority of nursing career positions available are not only in hospitals; residential care facilities and licensed home health care

Many nurses specialize within the field of medicine where they feel they will be the most effective: surgery, emergency, pediatric, psychiatric, school, public health, nurse-midwives; although some of these areas require more schooling and/or training for proper licensure. Within any of those disciplines, a nurse will be required to assist in assessing patients, diagnosing and planning a patient’s treatment, assist in implementing the proper procedures a patient must undergo during treatment and then help evaluate how the treatment is coming along for a patient and report any inconsistencies in treatment to the doctor on call.

Nurses work flexible schedules, which is great for the public as illness or emergencies can occur at any given hour, day or week. Aside from first contact with patients, nurses must also maintain and regulate medical supplies. They must be almost intuitive in how to best regulate such supplies in emergency and long term situations. A career in nursing at times offers a very think fast on your feet approach to emergencies, as well as a regulated monitoring of long term patient health needs.

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