Registered Nurse Schools, Salary, and Career Field

Registered nurses form the majority of health care industry workers. They usually assign tasks within the hospital. They are senior over nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses. This career can be both rewarding and challenging. The registered nurse salary is very rewarding and jobs are very diverse depending on their specialization and work setting. Over half of registered nurses are employed in hospitals while others work in insurance companies, mental health agencies, public health agencies, in colleges as educators, in the military and many other places.

Registered nurses provide care for the needs of injured or ill patients in various settings including intensive care, health care clinics, operating rooms, ambulatory care and other specialized practices. They are concerned with assessing, planning, providing and evaluating curative, preventive and rehabilitative care to patients, residents and clients in various settings. Their job involves very little or completely no direct patient care.

The general registered nurse responsibilities can include:

Providing technical and physical support and nursing care for patients.
Providing psychological and emotional support to patients and even their families.
Supervising or sometimes carrying out nursing care for patients.
Making sure that the patients receive the prescribed treatment.
Observing, monitoring, assessing, reporting and documenting the patients’ conditions and how they respond to treatment.
Assisting in patients rehabilitation.
Assisting with planning of patients discharge.
Providing necessary information and answering patients’ and their families’ questions about health improvement, care and treatment.
Preparing patients for operations and providing post-operation care like nutrition management and wound care.
Supervising enrolled nurses and most hospital staff.
Assisting in clinical training of midwifery and nursing students.
Assisting in medical examinations, providing first aid, advising on health issues and maintaining sickness records.
Controlling medical equipment that are used for patient treatment and care.

The above duties only give an overview of a registered nurse job guide. The duties of a registered nurse are endless.

NURSING SPECIALISATIONS

There are many nursing specializations and the choice of the area to specialize in mostly depends on passion and available opportunities. Some of the most common areas of specialization in the nursing field include critical care nursing, aged care nursing, mental health nursing, community health nursing, nephrology nursing, neonatal nursing, occupational health nursing, orthopedic nursing, surgical nursing, cardiac nursing, ambulatory care nursing among others.

Critical care nursing- Nurses specialized in this field work in intensive care units and other critical care units like emergency evacuation helicopters. They take care of patients with critical issues like heart attacks, strokes or respiratory failure.
Mental health nursing or psychiatric nursing-Nurses in this field treat patients with mental conditions in an in-patient or out-patient setting. They assist psychiatric doctors in providing care and administering medications.
Community health nursing- These nurses work in the community providing health counseling, nursing care, health forums and various family health programs.
Pediatric nursing- Concerns with providing treatment to children. These nurses know how to relate, help and talk with children and adolescents and handle their problems and illnesses.
Respiratory Nursing- They help patients with breathing problems. Such problems include asthma and tuberculosis. They have proper training on how to diagnose and administer medication to reduce breathing difficulties.
Neonatal nursing-Nurses in this field have knowledge on proper care of new mothers and newborns. They work with new mothers and their babies till the baby reaches 28 days.
Hospice nursing- This field focuses on care for the terminally ill patients. The nurses take care of the patients in a home setting. They give emotional support to the families in order to cope with the illness.
Nephrology nursing-This specialty is concerned with kidney diseases. The nurses have knowledge in diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.
Occupational Health Nursing- Nurses in this specialty are involved in the treatment and prevention of on-job injuries and illnesses. They are employed in various places of employment to maintain the required health levels.
Aged care/Geriatric nursing- This deals with providing medical care to the elderly. They are well informed on issues relating to end of life and aging. They are the elderly peoples’ advocates.
Correctional nursing- This area of specialization is concerned with provision of proper treatment and care for inmates in prisons. The nurses know how to deal with dangerous patients or those with prison life issues.
Peri-operative nursing-Nurses with this specialty help patients in the entire operation phase; before, after and during surgery.
Addiction nursing- This nursing specialty deals with patients suffering from drug addiction. The nurses assist the patients improve their health, relationships and behavior.
Orthopedic nursing- Orthopedic nurses treat musculoskeletal problems in patients.
Cardiac nurses- This field of specialization deals with patients who have heart related problems. These nurses have knowledge in different specialized treatment given to such patients like those undergoing transplants.
Nursing educator- A nurse educator is usually involved with the development, implementation and assessment of nursing education programs. These nurses also manage educational resources.

REGISTERED NURSE PROGRAMS

To become a registered nurse, you must have gone through one of the following registered nurse programs:

A Diploma program
An Associate Degree in Nursing
Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing

Many registered nurse schools also offer online degrees. A diploma program is offered through hospitals while the Associate Degree is offered through community colleges. These two programs take two to three years to complete. On the other hand, the Bachelor of Science Degree takes four years and is offered through universities. A registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science Degree has better career opportunities.

All the above registered nurse programs have both classroom work and clinical experience. The course work includes nursing, anatomy, physiology, psychology, chemistry, nutrition and microbiology. The students must also pass a licensing exam.

Personal Requirements

A registered nurse should meet the following personal requirements in order to efficiently deal with nursing job requirements:

Good communication skills
Ability to take a leadership role and assume responsibility
Ability to take a personal initiative in case of emergency
Ability to work in a team and independently
Be tolerant and patient when dealing with people
Sound mental and physical fitness.

Employment opportunities for registered nurses are growing much faster and their demand is also on the increase. Their wages and earnings have also increased greatly. The salary varies with the level of education and area of specialization. The mean annual salary is around $66,530. The best opportunities usually goes to the registered nurses with the highest qualifications.