By: Karen P
Submitted: 2010-02-26 04:17:08 | Word Count: 858
Nursing careers begins with a degree, preferably a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited school. After earning that all important degree, it is necessary to become licensed. Every state in the United States requires a practicing nurse be licensed and candidates must pass a comprehensive exam. Licensing must also be periodically renewed and continuing education may be required to stay licensed.
Usually a medical facility will hire a nurse right out of school with the condition they take and pass the license exam within a certain time frame
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Once educated and licensed the sky is the limit for a nurse with drive and ambition. Nurses can expect to find employment opportunities in traditional patient care in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities, school nurse, or urgent care centers. But the world of nursing goes beyond a hospital or other types of health care facilities. Here are a few of the places a nurse can find work.
Board of Health: Nurses may find employment with their local Board of Health and work to educate the public on health care issues that minimize health risks and promote a healthy life style with proper nutrition and exercise. They often focus on a particular segment of the population such as children or the elderly.
Complimentary Health Care Nursing: CHCN is a field growing by leaps and bounds and also called “alternative” health care. This is an alternative to traditional western medicines known as allopathic medicine. These alternative health care measures may include chiropractic massage, acupuncture, herbalism, nutrition or reflexology as a way of treating illness and disease. Many nurses practice these alternatives themselves or work in clinics with such practitioners. This type of health care is believed to be an up and coming field of nursing.
Teaching: Perhaps your calling in the nursing field is to teach. You have gained valuable experience in the nursing field and want to pass that knowledge along to an up and coming crew of aspiring nurses. Usually a master’s degree is required to teach. Teaching is an ideal way to combine your love of the profession and the satisfaction of improving the profession. Lack of qualified nursing instructors is one of the reasons there is a shortage of nurses. It is also another reason why nursing programs have waiting lists – there just aren’t enough good teachers to go around. If you aspire to influence the profession of nursing, teaching could be for you.
Occupational Health Care Nurse: An OHCN can usually be found in a factory or similar company that employees a large number of people. Having a nurse on staff for a large population is more cost effective than sending an employee to a clinic or emergency room for non life threatening injuries or illness. An additional duty for these nurses might be outlining health and safety programs, wellness programs and holding seminars to promote work safety.
Substance Abuse Nurse: Alcohol and drug addiction are such wide spread problems in today’s society a segment of medical care can be dedicated just to that field. A Substance abuse nurse works with individuals who are caught in the nightmare of substance abuse. Nurses may work in a detox clinic or a rehab clinic and counseling. A nurse who chooses this field of nursing is absolutely dedicated to helping folks escape the web of substance abuse and putting their life on the road to recovery and becoming a productive citizen. It can be very rewarding to see a success story unfold before your very eyes but equally as frustrating when that story relapses back to destructive ways.
School Nurse: Remember the school nurse when you were a kid? The school nurse has gone from just fixing skinned knees and administering hearing tests to being more involved with the student population. The school nurse will assess illness, track disease out breaks, educate students and teachers with wellness information, administer immunizations to students and staff, work with pregnant teens, deal with school violence, and assisting with student’s medical care such as diabetes shots and catheter care, mandated health screenings as well non medical duties such as monitoring the lunch room. Most likely today’s school nurse is assigned to multiple schools and that increases the work load significantly. If you are looking for a fast paced nursing career with lots of challenge, school nurse might just be the ticket.
Telephone Triage Nurse: HMO’s, managed care and insurance companies, hospitals or clinics may employ a telephone triage nurse. A TTN provides advice, information, consultation and education over the phone. They speak to patients, clients or other consumers and assist them in determining the urgency of medical care needed, providing referrals to medical care, scheduling appointments and giving health information and advice. The goal is to reduce visits to the emergency room, clinic or doctors. This service is not meant to replace health care but provide better management of the health care system. If you are looking for a career with regular working hours, short term patient relationships as well as talk on the phone, you may find such a career in your area.
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