Health Care Career Report
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Health Care Career Report
Introduction
There are numerous healthcare career paths one can pursue if they are interested in healthcare. This report presents the health care occupation of my choice. I am interested in researching Registered Nurses (RNs) occupations. The report begins with a comprehensive discussion of the chosen occupations’ job descriptions. Further, the educational requirements for the profession are provided. The employment availability of RNs and professional activities are also discussed. Finally, the report concludes with a personal reflection on how I see myself fitting in this profession.
Job Description
A Registered Nurse (RN) is an individual who has graduated with a diploma, Associate and Bachelor degree in Nursing from an accredited nursing school and passed the NCLEX-RN exam, which is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCBSN) and has achieved conditions of becoming a nurse as required by Nursing State Board. RNs coordinate and care for the patients, sensitize the patients and the society on variety of health conditions, on prevention and management of infections, and provision of emotional assistance and advice to general society and pateints (Orton et al., 2022). Their roles and responsibilities include assessing patients’ health conditions, recording patients’ medical symptoms and histories, observing patients and keeping records, administering medicines to patients, collaborating and consulting with doctors and other health practitioners in conducting medical research, operating medical equipment, analyzing results and performing diagnostic tests, educating patients and their families management of diseases, and explaining to patients what to do at home.
Education and Certification
Federal, State and Local governments require a Registered Nurse in the United States of America to complete the educational requirements leading to the certificates ward. As such, an individual is required by the government to earn an associate degree in nursing, degree in nursing, and diploma in nursing to practice as a nurse. However, many states like Texas and California require a condition for the registration as a nurse with a degree in nursing to attain the license. The types of institutions offering nursing in the United States of America are private and public-run institutions (Zimmermann et al., 2010). As such, the total number of colleges and universities offering nursing degree programs adds to 2600. Consequently, 1,631 schools train nursing certificates and associate degrees in practical nursing. The bachelor’s degree registered nursing program amounts to 1 033 schools (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). The major schools offering the nursing program in USA are the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Alabama, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan. A diploma in nursing takes one to three years until completion, while an associate degree in Nursing takes two years (Juraschek et al., 2012). A Bachelor in nursing takes four to five years to complete. Further education in nursing, like a Masters in Nursing, takes five to six years. Moreover, the certificates earned are the certificate in nursing Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, Bachelors degree in Nursing, and Masters in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Ph.D. in Nursing.
Employment
Registered Nurse is a job profession that has been on-demand in the United States of America for years. The trends have shown an accelerating increase since major hospitals continue hiring more nurses with essential roles (Mahoney et al., 2020). The nursing profession employs 194 500 of nurses registered annually, as per the United States Bureau of Statistics project. According to Herald, the growth trend from, 2020 to 2030 in registered nurse employment is at nine percent (Every Nurse Staff, 2022). Notably, nursing requires two years of nursing experience, one-year of pediatric experience, and travel experiences at the children’s hospital. The completion of the experience enables the government and the private organization to hire registered nurses by paying the annual salary of $77 460. However, the salary ranges from state to state, with some states offering higher payments while others are offering slightly lower payments than the average. Registered are allowed to advance their education from the Bachelor degree in Nursing to Masters in Nursing (Buerhaus et al., 2009). From a master’s, an individual can quickly obtain a Ph.D. in nursing with further education.
Professional Activities
An individual registered nurse must join the professional organization during the training duration as a student. The organization covers the state, local and national levels. The leading professional organization is the American Nurse Association, American Academy of Nursing, National League of Nursing, and the International Council of Nurses (Hunsicker & Chitwood, 2018). The other organizations include the Emergency Nursing Association, the American Board of Nursing Specialists, and the National League of Nurses. Majorly the National Student Nurses Association provides mentoring services to students that hope for the licenses as registered nurses, which cost $30 per year, where new members are granted a $5 discount in their first application year. Continuing education is available and expected in the registered nurse profession. With a certificate, diploma, associate degree, and degree, nurses can proceed to their higher education provided terms and conditions are met (Hamric et al., 2013). Most importantly, continuing education units are required for the profession due to changes in the nursing trends. The number depends on the specialty of an individual nurse.
Conclusion/Reflection
As a member of the nursing profession, being a nurse is a unique profession that requires perseverance because it requires extended education duration. Also, nursing requires keenness since it deals directly with human life. I discovered that most states currently require a Bachelor Degree in nursing for the registration in the nursing healthcare profession. Consequently, the healthcare field requires continuous research and learning to handle patients comprehensively. Furthermore, I found that nursing is meaningful because it gives an individual registered nurse to exploit social and financial opportunities because of the increasing need for registered nurses in the United States of American hospitals.
References
Buerhaus, P., Staiger, D., & Auerbach, D. (2009). The future of the nursing workforce in the United States: Data, trends and implications. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=avRGAcF3ASMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Registered+Nurses+in+the+United+States+book&ots=dyRV0A8KS6&sig=3f9MoF7jyrKNOuoZrLWH5D9Y-JcEvery Nurse Staff. (2022). Registered Nurse. EveryNurse. https://everynurse.org/careers/registered-nurse/Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C. M., Tracy, M. F., & O’Grady, E. T. (2013). Advanced practice nursing-E-Book: An integrative approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Hunsicker, J., & Chitwood, T. (2018). High-stakes testing in nursing education: A review of the literature. Nurse Educator, 43(4), 183-186. https://journals.lww.com/nurseeducatoronline/Fulltext/2018/07000/High_Stakes_Testing_in_Nursing_Education__A_Review.9.aspxJuraschek, S. P., Zhang, X., Ranganathan, V., & Lin, V. W. (2012). United States registered nurse workforce report card and shortage forecast. American Journal of Medical Quality, 27(3), 241-249. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1062860611416634Mahoney, C. B., Lea, J. D. N. P. M. B. A. C., Schumann, P. L., & Jillson, I. A. (2020). Turnover, burnout, and job satisfaction of certified registered nurse anesthetists in the United States: Role of job characteristics and personality. AANA journal, 88(1), 39-48. https://www.aana.com/docs/default-source/aana-journal-web-documents-1/turnover-burnout-and-job-satisfaction-of-certified-registered-nurse-anesthetists-in-the-united-states-role-of-job-characteristics-and-personality-february-2020.pdfOrton, M. L., Nelson Follin, N., Dannapfel, P., & Wengström, Y. (2022). Registered nurses’ roles and functions in clinical care with a Ph.D.—A systematic literature review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 36(1), 16-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12979U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022). Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses. Retrieved 22 June 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm.
Zimmermann, D. T., Miner, D. C., & Zittel, B. (2010). Advancing the education of nurses: A call for action. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(12), 529-533. https://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/Fulltext/2010/12000/Advancing_the_Education_of_Nurses__A_Call_for.6.aspx
