Search and Find Registered Nurse Career| Do you want to start a career as a registered nurse? Is being an RN an excellent choice for you? In this career guide, let’s outline what a Registered Nurse does, what she does, where she works, the salaries of Registered Nurses, and how to become a Registered Nurse.
ABOUT A REGISTERED NURSE
A registered nurse (RN) is a licensed health care professional with at least a college or baccalaureate degree who provides skilled care to patients. Registered nurses have earned a degree through an accredited school of nursing and have successfully passed the NCLEX-RN exam. Registered nurses are employed in many different settings ranging from acute emergency care, operating rooms, private clinics, or community health services.
Nurses are respected professionals and members of the healthcare team. In fact, nurses are consistently voted as the most trusted and ethical profession each year in Gallup’s annual poll. The registered nurse (RN) also took the 19th best job in the latest US News list of the 100 best jobs in the US while two nursing majors took the top ten.
How much does a registered nurse make?
Registered nurses earned a median salary of $75,330 in 2020. The best-paid 25 percent earned $93,590 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent earned $61,630.
There is a large discrepancy in the average salary for nurses between states with the highest median in California at $120,560 and the lowest in Puerto Rico at $35,600. However, keep in mind that salaries are also affected by the cost of living in different states and between urban and rural areas. Registered Nurse Career
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Registered Nurse Career 2022: How to Become Registered Nurse (RN)
How long does it take to become a registered nurse?
If you are wondering how long it takes to become a nurse or how long a typical nursing program is, you need to understand that there are different pathways to a nursing degree that will make you eligible to be licensed. Students can take between 1 and 4 years to earn a nursing degree, depending on their educational path. They are discussed later.
How To Become a Registered Nurse (RN)?
So, what education is needed to become a registered nurse? To become a registered nurse, you need the complete a nursing program at an accredited nursing school and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to obtain your licensure (legal authority to practice as a nursing professional).
Currently, there are three ways to be eligible for RN licensure: diploma, associate degree, or baccalaureate program.
Diploma Program
Diploma programs in nursing are hospital-based educational programs and typically take one to three years to complete depending on the curriculum. The first nursing schools established for educated nurses were diploma programs and many nurses working today receive their basic nursing education through these programs. The number of nursing diploma programs has been steadily declining in recent years as many institutions require an ADN of at least two years. Registered Nurse Career
Associate Degree Programs
Currently, an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) is still the most popular way for nurses to become qualified. An associate’s degree in nursing usually takes two years. Coursework includes basic sciences, social sciences, nursing theory, and nursing practice.
Baccalaureate programs
The nursing profession set a target in 2010 to have 80% of practicing practitioners qualified with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or higher degree by 2020. The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” report states that nurses must achieve higher levels of education in the face of developments in the health care system. Recommendations by various nursing organizations that the entry level for professional practice at the baccalaureate level has led to an increase in the number of BSN programs and some employers have higher salary scales for nurses with a BSN degree than for those with an ADN or diploma.
A BSN qualification provides you with more opportunity for promotion including positions in Nursing Administration and Administration. A BSN degree is also required as an initial core degree if you wish to pursue a nursing major or if you wish to study for a master’s or doctoral degree in nursing.
- There are three ways of how to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): traditional baccalaureate programs, BSN accelerated programs, and RN to BSN completion programs.
Traditional Baccalaureate Programs
Baccalaureate programs generally span four years and are located in top colleges and universities. Coursework is more in-depth and includes liberal arts, sciences, humanities, nursing research, nursing theory, and nursing practice. Registered Nurse Career
BSN Expedited Programs
If you already had another degree before you decided to become a nurse, you can enroll in the BSN Accelerated Program which can usually be completed in about two years. Expedited BSN programs (also known as “second-tier” or “fast-track” BSN programs) have been introduced by some nursing schools to address the significant shortage of registered nurses. Accelerated nursing programs are rigorous and have a modified curriculum designed to shorten the time required to gain clinical experience. It usually includes summer courses, so there are no breaks between semesters. Registered Nurse Career
RN to BSN Completion Programs
If you are a licensed registered nurse with a diploma or university degree and wish to continue your education to BSN, there are BSN completion programs you can enroll in. If you are not able to study full time for four years, many nurses still qualify for a diploma or ADN and then go on to complete the RN to BSN program while working as a nurse. Part-time RN to BSN programs are available, including online, and some employers have nurse assistance programs to obtain a BSN this way. RN to BSN programs typically take two years to complete.
What is the role of a certified nurse?
The functions described below apply wherever RN operates. However, the specific duties of a nurse will vary between different jobs and different healthcare settings.
- Meet the patient’s needs. Nursing is about meeting a patient’s healthcare needs – physical, mental, emotional – and sometimes the needs of their family as well. Nursing is a very complex task that is performed at many different levels making sure that the patient takes adequate fluids up to end of life support.
- Health assessment and evaluation. A registered nurse’s duties include assessing a patient’s needs – including basic needs and those related to their own health problem. The registered nurse continuously monitors and evaluates the patient’s condition. In critical care settings, they may be assisted in this task through electronic monitoring systems. Any changes in the patient’s health status – for better or worse – are evaluated and then, through critical thinking and problem solving, the nurse plans the following procedures. Registered Nurse Career
- Provide nursing interventions. RNs are also responsible for various interventions such as administering prescribed medications, wound care, patient education, discharge planning, health instructions and much more.
care coordinators. Registered nurses also act as patient care coordinators. This may entail accompanying physicians on their rounds and providing feedback on patients’ progress, or calling them when a patient’s condition deteriorates. The nurses also communicate and arrange a plan with other health care providers about the tests and treatments their patients need. Among other health care providers, the nurses may collaborate with physical therapists, radiographers, laboratory technicians, psychologists, specialist nurse practitioners, and many others. - Document care. Everything a registered nurse does must be recorded. This record of care serves as a legal document and proof that the nurse has carried out her duties responsibly and ethically. Registered Nurse Career
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Where do registered nurses work? (Registered Nurse Career)
One of the advantages of becoming a registered nurse is that there are a variety of settings in which you can choose to work. Although the majority of registered nurses work in a hospital, nurses do not always work in hospitals.
As a registered nurse, you can choose to work as a hospital nurse, school nurse, long-term care nurse, teacher nurse, flight nurse, travel nurse, home health nurse and even as a cruise ship nurse! Every nurse has the opportunity to develop their career in line with their interests, personality and strengths.
Changes in career direction can also be made in accordance with the changing requirements of personal and family life. School nurses and registered occupational health nurses are among the nurses who work for employers who are not health care workers. Then there are the nurses who serve as educational nurses at colleges and universities and as advisers to government at the federal or other level. Registered Nurse Career
Are you ready to become a registered nurse?
While today’s registered nurses require a very high level of knowledge and skill, it is still a calling! Nursing is an art as well as a science. There are going to be tough days both in nursing school and as a nurse but it is worth it! You see people at their lowest and ability to help raise them. Despite the challenges, most nurses reported high levels of job satisfaction and would not change their career for anything.
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