Krista Brown decided to become a nurse after spending two years as a community health volunteer with the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. Working side by side with a nurse-midwife, Brown was impressed not only with how well respected the nurse-midwife was, but also by how easily her skills translated to another country nd another culture.
“I wanted an opportunity to combine my interests in social work and counseling and be able to really help people on a one-on-one basis,” says Brown. After returning to the United States, Brown, who already holds an undergraduate degree in international relations from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, applied to the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing where she is pursuing a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing with the assistance of the Peace Corps Fellowship Program. Brown hopes to become a nurse practitioner, work in an emergency room, and eventually return to Africa as a Peace Corps medical officer. “I’ve finally found a niche that combines everything I want to do.”
It’s only coincidental that Brown has since learned what a good career choice she has made. “This is a great time to be in nursing,” she says. “There are so many openings and opportunities.” Brown is entering nursing at a time when the profession is beginning to see shortages, especially in specialized areas such as Legal Nurse operating rooms, labor and delivery, emergency rooms, intensive care units, and
high-risk pediatric units.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, its 500 member colleges–which offer both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing–reported enrolling 5.5 percent fewer nurses last year than in 1997, the fourth consecutive year in which a decline was observed. A report sponsored by the American Organization of Nurse Executives, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (and conducted in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Nurses Association) indicated that this nursing shortage “appears to be a new and different type.” “Previous shortages,” the report read, “have been about sufficient numbers of nurses, while this shortage appears to be about an increased demand for nurses with competence, skills, and experience tomeet patient demand for care in a changing health care system.”
A number of reasons have been given for the current-and projected–nursing shortage, including demographics. The average age within the nursing population is 45; many of those now working will be retiring in 5 to 10 years. Within the past two decades, women–who still make up the majority of the nursing profession (although the
numbers of men entering the field are growing and have now risen to 10-15 percent nationwide)–have had more career choices than they once did, including becoming doctors.
Barbara R. Heller, Ph.D., dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, points to several other reasons for the nursing shortage, including an “older and sicker” population. “As we live longer,” she explains, “we’re going to see more chronic health care problems and more frailty. We can expect more and more health care services for the elderly, including primary care, chronic care, and intensive care.” Because many of these patients are going to be more acutely ill, Dr. Heller adds, there is also going to be a higher level of skill knowledge required of nurses to manage the technological advances in the health care professions.
“There are so many opportunities and challenges now,” says Dr. Heller. “Nursing can attract the best and the brightest.” Whereas once nurses plied their trade primarily in hospitals, the changing scene of health care is now giving rise to increasing opportunities in different settings, from community health centers to long-term care facilities to home health agencies and more. And within nursing itself there are increasing numbers of options such as telenursing (triaging patients over the telephone), case managers, and outcome managers.
With the nursing shortage have also come increased opportunities for traveling nurses who work from three to six months at understaffed hospitals across the country. The nurses are paid not only their hourly wages, but also benefits, and expenses for rent, utilities, and travel.
“All nurses are going to play a significant role in the changing health care environment,” says Dr. Heller, “especially in an atmosphere in which prevention and health promotion is stressed.” Dr. Heller sees nursing as a lifelong career with growth opportunities, career mobility, flexibility, and attractive salaries.
An acute care nurse practitioner, for example, can earn approximately
$70-$75,000, nurse-midwives (UM is beginning a midwifery program in the fall) from $60-$80,000. To attract qualified nurses, many hospitals are also offering a signing bonus.
With an increasing need for managerial skills, nurses are expected to combine business skills with patient care–the additional knowledge results in higher salaries, says Dr. Heller, adding that UM is also offering joint programs with the University of Maryland-College Park and the University of Baltimore so that nursing students can obtain both an M.S. in nursing, along with an M.B.A.
Like Krista Brown, who is 30, many students now choosing nursing have been out in
the world for several years and are coming back into the classroom. In Brown’s class, says Linda C. Pugh, Ph.D., R.N.C., director of professional education programs at Hopkins’ School of Nursing, the average age of the students is 28, and the class includes former bankers, lawyers, sales professionals, and approximately 30 returned Peace Corps volunteers. At the University of Maryland,
50 percent of the nursing students come in with a bachelor’s or master’s in another field, says Dr. Heller, adding that it’s a very heterogeneous class, with more men, more cultural diversity, and more career changers who are looking to be in a more people-oriented or service-oriented profession.
“These are smart, educated, committed, and very career-oriented individuals,” says Dr. Heller. “At one time nursing was a job-now it’s a career.”
In addition to the increasing numbers of job openings, which are predicted to continue well into the millennium, people are attracted to the intangibles nursing is now providing–interdependence with other professionals, more independent decision making, more critical thinking, and leadership and management opportunities.
“Nurses are much more autonomous and independent than they ever were,” says Dr. Heller.
“Nursing is such a wide open career now,” adds Hopkins’ Dr. Pugh. “There are so many possibilities that weren’t available even 10 years ago.” The growth in nursing opportunities is being seen across the country, but is going to be especially strong in this region, says Dr. Heller, who calls health care the “economic engine of this state.”
Another bonus that Dr. Pugh points out is that becoming a nurse is an affordable–as opposed to medical school–way to work within the health care profession,
but she is quick to point out that it shouldn’t be seen as a lesser alternative.
“Nursing is very different from medicine,” she observes. “In nursing we work with people directly…we’re much more involved with people on a one-on-one basis. Nurses want that people contact, they want to be critically involved in people’s lives.”
Marie Stokes, like Krista Brown, a senior at Hopkins’ School of Nursing, was a pre-med student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, when she started re-thinking her career choice. “Did I really want to spend eight years becoming a doctor,” she recalls asking herself. “Doctors don’t spent as much time with patients as I wanted to spend.” Stokes changed gears, received her undergraduate degree in psychology, and then applied to Hopkins,
in large part because of the number of students who already had degrees in other fields as well. Stokes hopes to become a nurse practitioner (a master’s level nurse with more specialized training) and is interested in working in critical care, taking care of patients when they are at their most vulnerable.
Like Krista Brown, Marie Stokes did not choose nursing because of its career opportunities, but she is encouraged by the positive outlook. “It’s a flexible, portable career,” she says. “You can find a job anywhere in the country. And you can move from specialty to specialty, or from patient care to administration to education…the opportunities are tremendous.”
Written By: Carol Sorgen
If there ever was a time to go into the nursing profession the time is now. If you do a little digging you will see that Nurses are in tremendous demand. That being true it doesn’t take a way from the fact that one still has to work hard at finding a really good job.
When you are applying for your first nursing job be persistent, exhibit a positive attitude and stay flexible you may not get the exact job you wanted on your first try. You may have to go at it again and you might have to take a different position.
In any case be positive, the odds are in your favor, do a little networking, stick with it, have a good attitude a great resume, and sharp interview skills and you won’t fail.
Working hard at this is will pay off in the end. Every year the income for nursing professionals grows as of this last year More than 25% surveyed earn at least $64,000 per year and a larger percentage of women reported earning $75,000 or more in 2006 (11 percent up from 5 percent).
Nursing is a profession that focuses on assisting people: individuals, families, and communities. It assists them in attaining and maintaining their health and assists them in recovering a high level of health.
Nursing can be defined as a science and an art. Either way what it does in the end and what you do in the end is to promote the quality of life for your patients young ,old, small or large to highest edxtenet possible.
You also have many choices within the field. In addition to hospitals you can work in a variety of locations.
Here are just some: Hospitals, prisons, schools, clinics, home healthcare, Doctor’s offices, colleges and universities,
and research facilities.
If there ever was a profession that offered you choices it is the nursing profession.
So do your homework, know where you are going, get an outstanding Resume, polish up your Interview Skills and go get your self a new Job!
It is broadly agreed upon in the employment sector that the need for Nursing positions will grow faster than the national job average for the next few years. This is great news for all you interested in Nursing as a career.
Just like in any growing profession there is the inevitable competition for these very desirable nursing positions.
How do you get a head of the competition?
First…Know your stuff. You have to be good at your job. So learn your job well.
Second…Have confidence in yourself, be proud of what you do.
Third…You need an outstanding Resume built specifically for the Nursing Profession.
Remember you are competing for a job in a profession that is growing and you are competing in the in the age of the email application process. (That means there are hundreds of resumes sent in by
email for each position advertised.)
Once your training is complete and you begin your job search you are stepping out of the world of medicine and stepping into the world Of “Marketing and Sales”.
Your Resume has to have all the important Technical aspects of your training and all the applicable experience that you also have to offer and every bit of relevant education. But your Resume also has to stand out from the crowd, and it has to quickly grab the attention of the reader.
Another thing to be aware of, as a result of the volume of resumes generally received for an advertised position, Resumes are not typically read all the way through, they are quickly “scanned”.
Did you know that the typical resume is looked at for only about 7 to 8 seconds! Now you see what I mean when I say you have to GRAB the ATTENTION of the READER FAST!
An Outstanding Resume is just as important to your job search as making sure that a patient’s Meds are administered correctly o the patients.
Every situation has it’s challenges whether you are entry level an RN, BSN, whatever your level of education and experience, there is a need to be thorough and yet maintain a quality of Interest in your resume.
Most hiring managers hire nurses based on their experience or knowledge (education if you are new) in a specific area of the nursing profession. Make this stand out when writing your resume.
While detailing your License Qualifications, grants, academic honors, fellowships, scholarships, GPA, your clinical rotations, or your nursing mentorships is an important thing to do while writing your resume, remember also that your resume format, layout, structure, phrasing, and design are just as important!
In many many cases it is a smart thing to have a professional resume prepared for you. A certified resume writer with experience in the Nursing Field can help you get a better job with higher pay much faster than if you wrote it on your own.
If you go with a professional resume here are a couple of things to look out for:
1: Don’t go with a Resume Template. (They don’t work)
2. Go with a Professional Certified Resume Writer, experienced in Nursing,
that will guarantee their product. (if it is good it will be guaranteed)
3. Don’t skimp on your Resume. This is your career. It is important. Treat it like it is important and don’t go to the $.99 Resume Service. (A cheap resume isn’t worth the price.)
Also see: LPN Jobs in NYC
