Career In Nursing
Most people have a very narrow view of what a nurse is. They picture a nurse as the woman in the hospital in scrubs who gives medicine and changes dressings on wounds. While this is a somewhat accurate description of a hospital nurse, there are many different paths to take when choosing a career in nursing. Some paths will involve more money than others, some will have better working hours or conditions, and some will place you right in the face of adventure or adversity.
When choosing a career in nursing, you must first decide what is important to you. Do you value a steady schedule with regular work hours? Try going into education or becoming a school nurse. Do you like having a solid home and being in one place? Then travel nursing or flight nursing is definitely not the career for you. Do you think youll need a high salary to cover your expenses? Make sure you bet at least a bachelors degree or higher so that you can apply for positions in management, or go into a specialty that gets higher pay.
The highest paying nursing careers today, that dont involve management, are a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a Nurse Practitioner (NP), and a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). A CRNA receives top pay, generally in the $100,000 a year or more range, but a graduate degree is required. CRNAs work much like an anesthesiologist, and give anesthesia during surgery. Realize that for most of the time you are with a patient, they will not be responding, so this is not always the best option for someone interested in patient interaction. NPs duties vary from state to state, but basically they provide primary care and can sometimes prescribe prescriptions. As an NP, you can expect to earn just about as much as a CRNA, and you get to build lasting relationships with patients. To become a CNS, you must have a masters degree in nursing as well as the CNS certification for your area of expertise. You can specialize in almost any area and will usually make around $75,000 annually.
If above money, you are more focused on location, remember that as an RN or LPN, you can work in more than just hospitals. There are a variety of locations nurses can practice, including schools, offices, health and wellness centers, extended care centers, in-home care, corporations and in the military. If you are bored with the more standard roles of nursing, consider trying out travel nursing, where you will get to experience new locations and people with every new contract. Or become a forensic nurse and help solve crimes. Be a flight nurse and have no idea where you will be by the middle of every shift. Or become a professor or medical writer and shape the young nursing minds of tomorrow. Try flipping classic medicine on its head and try your hand at holistic nursing. The good news is, there are endless options out there for nurses. The hard news is, you have to decide what you want. Now what is the best nursing career for you?
When choosing a career in nursing, you must first decide what is important to you. Do you value a steady schedule with regular work hours? Try going into education or becoming a school nurse. Do you like having a solid home and being in one place? Then travel nursing or flight nursing is definitely not the career for you. Do you think youll need a high salary to cover your expenses? Make sure you bet at least a bachelors degree or higher so that you can apply for positions in management, or go into a specialty that gets higher pay.
The highest paying nursing careers today, that dont involve management, are a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a Nurse Practitioner (NP), and a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). A CRNA receives top pay, generally in the $100,000 a year or more range, but a graduate degree is required. CRNAs work much like an anesthesiologist, and give anesthesia during surgery. Realize that for most of the time you are with a patient, they will not be responding, so this is not always the best option for someone interested in patient interaction. NPs duties vary from state to state, but basically they provide primary care and can sometimes prescribe prescriptions. As an NP, you can expect to earn just about as much as a CRNA, and you get to build lasting relationships with patients. To become a CNS, you must have a masters degree in nursing as well as the CNS certification for your area of expertise. You can specialize in almost any area and will usually make around $75,000 annually.
If above money, you are more focused on location, remember that as an RN or LPN, you can work in more than just hospitals. There are a variety of locations nurses can practice, including schools, offices, health and wellness centers, extended care centers, in-home care, corporations and in the military. If you are bored with the more standard roles of nursing, consider trying out travel nursing, where you will get to experience new locations and people with every new contract. Or become a forensic nurse and help solve crimes. Be a flight nurse and have no idea where you will be by the middle of every shift. Or become a professor or medical writer and shape the young nursing minds of tomorrow. Try flipping classic medicine on its head and try your hand at holistic nursing. The good news is, there are endless options out there for nurses. The hard news is, you have to decide what you want. Now what is the best nursing career for you?
