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What
is a Registered Nurse?
Registered Nurses (commonly abbreviated RN) are professionals,
licensed by the state in which they work. They work as active
members of the health care team. They provide and manage care
for patients and their families. They work with healthy
individuals to educate them about wellness and disease
prevention. They work with people of all ages promoting
physical, mental, and social well-being.
RNs work in a variety of settings including hospitals, home care
settings, public health, extended care facilities, clinics,
offices, schools, the military, in business and industry,
hospice and wellness centers. Nurses have enormous flexibility
related to where they work and what specialty they choose to
work in. They work a variety of shifts including nights,
evenings and days and often are required to work some weekend
shifts. Some nurses work as travelers accepting assignments for
a 13-week period, getting to see the world as they earn a
living!
If you're ready for a challenging but rewarding career, consider
nursing!
With the nursing shortage and the
increasing demand for nurses, this may the career for you! Let's
examine some of the qualities needed to be a good nurse.
1) It's important to have a sense of compassion and desire to
help others.
2) You should like to teach people and share information with
others.
3) You must be able to work well with others and enjoy being
around people.
4) You should possess good decision making/problem solving
skills.
5) You should desire variety in career opportunities.
6) You should enjoy learning and analyzing things.
7) You must be dependable and have good verbal and written
communication skills.
8) You should enjoy health, science, and math classes.
9) You should have an interest in learning about the human body
and how it works.
Helpful Links:
www.discovernursing.com
--Johnson and Johnson's
Campaign for Nursing offers free pamphlets, posters and video
to promote nursing as a career.
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm
--Government site that provides good information about
salaries and future demands for nurses.
www.nursesource.org/facts_shortage.html
--Offers facts and information about the current nursing
shortage.
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