Archive for the 'Nursing Careers' Category

Nursing Careers

Nursing is a smart career choice for both men and women who are interested in the field of medicine. In terms of job availability and security, it is one of the most reliable careers to pursue. Because there is a shortage of people entering the field of nursing, the future outlook is also favorable. Once a person has decided to become a nurse, he or she will want to determine a specialty. There are many nursing specialties that a person can choose from depending on his or her interests, personality and career goals. Some of the common specialties involve caring for children, the mentally ill, or people who are critically ill or suffering from a trauma. Hispanic Nurse.

Critical Care Nursing

Critical care nursing is an intense branch of nursing in that it entails the treatment and care of patients who are suffering from critical illnesses or injury. People who are critical care nurses work in flight units, nursing homes, outpatient facilities, and can also be found in hospitals in the intensive care, telemetry, or progressive care units. Neonatal, pediatric, and adult intensive care are all sub-specialties of critical care nursing. A person who wishes to become a critical care nurse must first complete nursing school and obtain an associates of science degree in nursing or bachelor’s of science degree in nursing. He or she must then become an RN by passing the NCLEX. Once an RN, the individual must take continuing education courses according to the specifications of the hospital in which he or she works. In addition, he or she must be employed for two years in a critical care setting before applying to take the critical care nursing certification exam. Upon successful completion of the examination, the now certified critical care nurse must continue taking continuing education classes in order to stay abreast of any changes in the field and the latest technology.

Trauma Nursing

A trauma nurse is one that treats patients in emergency situations. They work in a fast-paced, intense, and often chaotic environment in which the cause of the injury or illness may not be readily known. Typically a trauma nurse works in the emergency room of a hospital, however, this type of nurse may also be found in ambulances, urgent care centers, or as flight nurses. Because they will regularly see people who are severely injured, a trauma nurse must be able to act in clear, calm, and decisive manner no matter the severity of the injury. People who do well in this type of job are people who are good at handling stressful situations, conflict, cultural and language barriers, grief and anger from patients and their families. In terms of education a trauma nurse will need to have obtained an associates of science degree in nursing or a diploma. Ideally, a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing is preferred. He or she will also need to complete the NCLEX-RN to become an RN. Following two years working as an RN in a trauma setting, a trauma nurse may wish to pursue trauma nurse certification. A nurse may be certified as a trauma nurse specialist (TNS) or as a certified emergency nurse(CEN).

Pediatric Nursing

A pediatric nurse provides care to children from the time that they are infants to adolescents. In providing care for children, this type of nurse may provide emergency aid, assist in the treatment of common childhood illnesses, immunizations and screening, or assist in various other aspects of child medical care as instructed by a physician. They also counsel families on issues such as nutrition, disease prevention and other issues that may affect child growth and development. Pediatric nurses work with pediatricians or family doctors in hospitals, family practitioners offices, critical care facilities, and even in schools. In order to become a pediatric nurse a person must successfully complete a nursing program in order to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing degree or an associate of science in nursing degree. He or she will have completed child psychology and child health courses and upon completion of the nursing program must apply for and pass the NCLEX exam to become a registered nurse. As an RN, the person may work in pediatrics and after gaining experience, he or she may also choose to seek further certification as a Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN).

Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing

A psychiatric nurse is a nurse who aides in the treatment, assessment, examination of patients with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In addition to patient care they are also trained to interact with the families of mentally ill patients and to help teach them how to live with their loved one’s condition. Mental health and psychiatric nurses work in places such as mental health clinics and correctional facilities. To become a psychiatric or mental health nurse a person must be a registered nurse. He or she will need to have first obtained either a nursing diploma, an associate of science in nursing degree or a bachelor of science in nursing degree. After nursing school and successfully completing NCLEX-RN he or she may then seek employment in a psychiatric or other mental health setting.

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Nursing Information: Dealing with Stress

Stress is a common condition that affects nearly everyone to some degree on a daily basis. The amount and the nature of the stress that a person faces will vary, depending on an individual’s responsibilities, lifestyle, and overall circumstances. Both the amount of stress and one’s ability to handle it play a large part in how someone is affected. If it occurs on a regular basis, stress can prove detrimental to one’s physical and mental health. Excessive stress can also have a negative affect on other areas in one’s life, such as school, family, and work. Because of its ability to cause harm in so many different ways, it is important to learn how to both recognize and positively deal with stress. Stressed Out.

Stress is a mental or physical response to situations that are excessively demanding, difficult, or threatening. When a person is under stress, their body responds by releasing hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin. This causes a chain reaction of changes in the body that are meant to help the body cope with threatening situations. These changes include the tensing of muscles, a rise in blood pressure, and an increase in both heart and respiration rates In certain circumstances, these changes are positive and can help people in certain situations, such as during a life-threatening event or at times when they need to perform at maximum capacity. However, these changes are problematic when they occur on a regular basis, or when one stress factor constantly occurs after another.

Any number of daily situations can trigger feelings of stress. In college, it can be caused by anxiety over classes or a fear of failure or living away from home for the first time. Lack of free time, finances, relationships, and work may also result in heightened feelings of stress for anyone, regardless of whether they are in college or otherwise.

Symptoms of stress can develop in different ways. Physically, a person may experience headaches, an upset stomach, or feelings of fatigue when under large amounts of stress. Emotionally, it may manifest as feelings of anger or irritability, restlessness, anxiety, depression, and an inability to concentrate. When a person is under stress, it may also result in changes in his or her behavior, such as withdrawal from normal social activities, excessive eating or an inability to eat, insomnia, or even substance abuse.

Alleviating stress is crucial in preventing its negative effects from impacting the important areas of a person’s life. In order to successfully accomplish this, a person must determine where in his or her life the stress is originating from. Once this is determined, most people will find that it isn’t always possible to entirely eliminate it. The key is to then reduce exposure to stressful situations and to learn and practice coping techniques that can help manage and reduce the stress.

There are numerous methods that can be used to alleviate stress, although which technique works best will depend on the individual person. Learning to relax is immensely beneficial in accomplishing this. Common relaxation techniques include massages, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga. Aromatherapy is a method of relaxation and uses various essential oils to soothe the senses. Ylang ylang, lavender, and chamomile oil are some of the essential oils that are helpful for stress relief, and can be combined and used with other techniques such as massage or meditation.

For some people, a change in habits and lifestyle can help them to better deal with stress. This can be done by establishing a regular sleep schedule and switching to a healthy diet. Incorporating physical activities is also beneficial. During breaks, after classes or after work, some form of physical activity such as walking or riding a bike can work off stress and relieve tension. Exercise can be as little as 20 minutes a day and still reduce stress.

People who learn to recognize, reduce, and manage the stress in their lives can reap numerous benefits for their efforts. Although it may not be possible to entirely eliminate stress, there are ways to live as close to stress-free as possible. Doing so may eliminate the risk of potential future health problems, such as high blood pressure or heart disease. A more relaxed lifestyle can also improve relationships and a person’s performance in school or at work.

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Nurses by the Numbers

Nursing by the Numbers.

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The Best Nursing Careers – of Today and of the Future

Nursing is one of the careers which are overflowing with never-ending personal and professional rewards. Once you are in this career, it means that you have chosen to have your life spent helping others while using your skills; the skills of uniting knowledge of science and medical procedures with being compassionate for others. There are also a few professions that offer such rewarding experience; however, it is incomparable with the best nursing careers.

Being one of the largest professions, nursing needs a lot of individuals to fill in positions and many are still needed in the future. Nurses are the largest components in the hospital staff and primarily play a very significant role in managing the patients and taking care of them while being hospitalize. Also, nursing is the most versatile career since it works in a variety of settings and environment.

Every day on the job, nurses use the science they learned in nursing school. And even when they are in the field, they take continuing education so they can be updated with the latest trends in medical and nursing sciences. Science is a never-ending struggle to find new treatments, medications, and new procedures to help patients. So, keeping up with the latest in the medical and nursing sciences is essential for nurses. Best nursing careers would definitely become in demand as time goes by. With today’s population steadily growing, nurses will never find themselves jobless from now on and well into the future.

While in the field of nursing one can say that they constantly do similar tasks, however, they do them in different environment setting. Here are some of the things that nurses do:

  • Assessments: Gathering information about the physical condition, emotional state, lifestyle, family, hopes, fears, etc of a patient is among the jobs of nurses.
  • Diagnoses: This job entails nurses to recognize what specific problem or need the patient might have; this can either be spiritual, emotional, or physical.
  • Planning: Nurses find ways to solve problems and set specific goals for their improvement. They also encourage patients to participate in planning their care.
  • Implementation: Nurses automatically implement what is in their nursing plan. They are tasked to manage the proper medications and treatments needed by the patient. They can also teach their patients on how to take good care of themselves.
  • Evaluation: In this stage, the nurses need to review the results of the plan regularly and make adjustments if it is needed.

In the world today, there is a significant shortage for nurses. And in the years to come, this world would crave for the services that nurses do. This is due to several underlying reasons. One is that advances in health care help people to live longer and in the years to come there are more elderly people who will need care. Also, the current nursing workface is aging. As more nurses retire, more will be needed to replace them.

Best nursing careers have more options than ever before about the nature of work. Nurses have different kinds of work and vary where they do it. There are many other settings in the nursing career environment such as long-term-care centers, community health clinics, corporate health centers, home care, research centers, military, Peace Corps and international service organization, nursing schools and medical offices.

There are absolutely a lot of options that nurses can choose from. And for sure, in the many years to come, nursing would still be the most in demand career in the world.

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Looking for Alternative Nursing Careers?

For some nurses, the daily hospital life can be too demanding and stressful. You need to provide care to your patients eight hours a day, and this means you can get caught up dealing with other people’s problems. Also, at some point in time you can make a mistake that would take away someone’s life. That’s pretty painful, right? If you’re growing sick and tired of your traditional hospital job, you better start looking for alternative nursing careers.

There are lots of career routes out there that will pave your way out of the clinic or hospital. But it doesn’t mean you have to give up your hard-earned nursing expertise; you just have to use it in a different way.

Yes, there are numerous opportunities that require your nursing skills in alternative settings. So if you are an experienced nurse who’s not happy with your job anymore, you have no reason to fret. Remember: you are capable of more than you think. You got skills and talents so you are generally well-equipped for working out of the traditional clinical setting.

Here are some interesting career alternatives for nurses:

Clinical Research Associate

A CRA ensures that clinical trials are done properly and without compromising the patient’s wellbeing. She also ensures accuracy of the gathered data. So if you want to be a CRA, most of your time will be spent visiting clinicians who perform such trials. You can work on different companies such as biotechnology, academic medical centers, pharmaceuticals, government agencies, the list goes on.

Clinical trial is a research study of a medical device, a drug, or a biologic treatment in humans. Pharmaceutical products, for example, undergo clinical trials to find out if they are safe and effective before they will be approved. Clinical skills are so important in this job; that’s why nurses are the most ideal candidates for such.

Telecommuting Nursing Career

It is one of the most practical options for nurses who want t stay away from the traditional nursing jobs. You can work by telecommuting for Health Information Technology Companies, Clinical Research Centers, health organizations, medical transcription centers, and freelance sites looking for writers in the medical field.

Nurse Contractor

Unleash the entrepreneur in you by becoming an Independent Nurse Contractor or by setting up a Nursing Agency Business. This career will not only give you financial freedom but will also make you recognize your worth. You just need to know the ins and outs of such business and voila, you can be a successful nurse entrepreneur.

Legal Nurse Consultants

Why not use your nursing expertise and be a healthcare professional? You can take Certified Legal Nurse Consultant training and after that, you can start accepting consulters on medical-related cases. You can work for attorneys who aren’t really familiar with medical records and terminologies. Also, you can provide services to government agencies, private corporations, and even for insurance companies. Among the services you can give are researching and reviewing medical records, preparing reports on the area of illness and injury, classifying standards of care and many other services.

Travel Nurse

A travel nursing career will surely make a difference not just in your own but in your patient’s life as well. Aside from fulfilling your traveling desires, you can also serve your patient in a way that satisfies both of you. You can work at your own pace and in different places. You just have to be careful in choosing your placement agency. Pick the one that will help make your dream a reality. Go for the agency that offers a competitive hourly rate, free housing, complete insurance plans and medical coverage, retirement plans and enticing bonuses.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to look outside your exhausting traditional role! Spread your wings for new career adventures. Alternative nursing careers are just there waiting for you.

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Get The Right Nusing Careers In Mental Health

Being at the right place and time will almost always open new opportunities for you and your career. This is true in all walks of life, even in looking for great careers like the different careers in the health care field. Sometimes, it is more challenging to get one of the nursing careers in mental health than the ordinary ones.

You see, nursing, your chosen career is the largest profession in the health care section. It is, as well, the most diversified because a nurse is basically trained to do any of the jobs and responsibilities known to medical practitioners, only that they are not signatories of anything legal like sensitive medical procedures and the likes.

Finding a niche in mental health will require as much responsibilities as any other nursing careers but more challenging. Among these are:

Making assessments.

In charged nurses are required to gather important details about the patient. It includes the physical and mental conditions aside from personal information. Also do background checking with regards to lifestyle, Family, and other factors that may affect his/her being in the short or long term. All of these must be made public knowledge only to the doctor in charge and private belonging of the hospital

Diagnosing patients.

Nurses must do prior diagnosis to know beforehand where the sickness or the patient is stemming up. The doctor will be the one to solidify the findings, though. But still, you are the one doing the first steps in making a patient regain good health.

Plan ahead.

Nurses are supposed to be very capable individuals in or out of the occupation time and facilities. He/she must identify ways on how the patient can progress more rapidly and let them participate in the planning stage. Doing so will make things easier and more possible than not.

Implement solutions.

Nurses are also expected to make efforts by implementing medications or procedures. The best result will be when the patient is already responding and follows all instructions set by the nurse. It’s a very rewarding feeling that you are unlikely to have in other profession; that’s the reward of helping others get back to life and function normally again.

Evaluate results.

The nurse can also provide evaluations as results of the cause and effect treatment strategy. This also implies that the nurse will be making necessary changes if the results call for it.

Getting nursing careers in mental health is not at all easy, given the duties and responsibilities mentioned above. On top of the concerns listed, the notion of having to administer all these to not properly functioning individuals is more worrying.

But then, the key is to be very patient and to think of the mental patients as ordinary patients who are going through difficulties. With this, there will be less conflict on your willingness to help mental patients as it should be to ordinary ailing people.

Nursing mental patients will also provide a broader experience and more challenging career than the routine ones in state hospitals and emergency institutions. It will also open up to greater health care career as nursing careers in mental health are far better paid and more benefited.

So why would you settle for anything less? Get into the career that will surely suffice your every yearning, step up in medical practice now!

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Magnifying the Information on Nursing Careers

Many people are certainly aware that there is a great shortage of nurses in many societies today. Hence, finding a career on this field is easy. But, you can get confused with all the nursing fields and career options available. Therefore, if you want to become a nurse, you can expect to encounter several and different choices when it comes to choosing the right nursing career.

These choices are plenty, and since they are plenty acquiring information on nursing careers vitally matters to you. By acquiring the essential information you need you can be guided in drawing your decision as to which among the numerous nursing careers are most fitted for you.

To help you determine the best type of nursing career that will perfectly suit you, you should grasp the broad idea of the different types of nursing careers and positions that are made available today. This way, you can easily find the specific avenue of nursing career that can help you meet your goals and objectives.

Different Types of Nursing Careers

Critical Care Nursing:

Critical care nurses are in great demand among the other types of nursing careers. Basically, critical care nurses supplies assistance to patients that are affected by life threatening diseases or injuries. In most instances, critical care nurses are allocated to work in departments like emergency rooms and other forms of intensive care units in hospitals and medical centers.

Nursing Informatics:

This career is intended for both men and women who have the heart to provide care as well as love to their patients and who also have the computer knowledge. If you think you have a competitive aptitude with computers as well as management; then, you can consider taking this one since this requires an important responsibility in information management. It has to be taken note that information management is crucial to the appropriate treatment and care of patients in today’s world.

Neonatal Nursing:

Neonatal nurses are responsible in giving care for newly born babies. Their responsibility is delinquent for they will also be holding cases of premature babies including those babies who are not thriving and are sick.

Oncology Nursing:

Oncology nurses are specifically assigned to provide health care and assistance to patients who are afflicted by cancer. These nurses significantly care for the patients at all stages of remission and treatment. This is why oncology nurses are regarded as the backbone of every treatment program for patients suffering from cancer.

Pediatric Nursing:

Pediatric nurses are definitely different from neonatal nurses. The former is responsible for nursing children while the latter is responsible in nursing newly born babies. Pediatric nurses provide health care to children of all ages. These nurses are also responsible in providing all facets of healthcare for children.

Psychiatric Nursing:

Another nursing career that can be of so much challenge is the psychiatric nursing. From the name itself, nurses in this area are expected to provide care for the patients with psychiatric or mental illnesses. Such responsibility is certainly crucial.

The Challenge

If you are truly fascinated in nursing careers, you may take time to reflect on the different facets of nursing careers that were mentioned above. Search for the best venue that will fit on your interest and passion. Carefully study each of the mentioned facets and ask yourself as to where can you give out your full service to the patients who need your assistance and care.

Information on nursing careers abound on the Internet, you just have to take your time to look for the data that you need so you can decide on what journey in nursing you should take on.

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The Advantages Offered by Travel Nursing Careers

If you are a nurse who is tired of hospital politics and is feeling in a rut of your career but wanted to earn more money, then why not try travel nursing careers? This may be just the ‘career cure’ you need. Being a travel nurse, you are given the opportunity to go wherever you want to be. From mountain areas to beaches and anywhere you may opt to, you are free to choose your desired locations where you can help patients in either busy cities or rural areas.

It is your own choice where you want to be! Just imagine a nursing career where you call the shots, deciding when and where you work. This will allow you to enjoy your nursing career to the fullest.

In travel nursing careers, you can return your focus on doing what you truly love, where at the same time you are gaining financial success, flexibility, and most of all freedom. You can escape from the common hustles and bustles in the hospital thus, you can even rediscover your nursing abilities.

But the question now is: how can you possibly do this? The answer is simple. There are various online travel nursing agencies that have the prime goal of helping interested nurses to get the job they want and at the same time travel to places they want to go.

There are countless options offered by different travel nursing agencies. All you have to do is skim through their sites, read on, know their showcased benefits and the guaranteed advantages, and compare each agency to the others. By simply doing so, you can surely find the best one that suits your criteria.

It is always a wise move to go to the most reputable travel nursing agency. Aside from the staggering high pay, lots of benefits are also offered. One of the most frequently asked questions about travel nursing careers is: “How’s the pay?” Well, this varies from different agencies or companies. But often, their offers are satisfactory that you’ll surely get lucrative with the competitive rates.

Basically, hourly wages depends on the facility that you are into and the region where you are located. However, you can expect to get about $22- 40 per hour, depending on your specialty. More than that, some companies also provides interested nurses a qualifying sign-on and completion bonuses in amounts ranging from $500-$5,000 or even more!

If you want to earn even more, you can refer a colleague to become a travelling nurse. Just imagine how much you can earn in travel nursing. There’s no reason not to shift careers from being a regular nurse in hospitals to becoming a successful travelling nurse – huge pay plus travelling advantages are guaranteed.

Some common benefits that can be enjoyed thru travel nursing careers are as follows:

  • Free Deluxe Corporate Housing
  • Free Health, Dental, Disability and Life Insurance
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Financial Success
  • On the Job Traveling
  • Travel Reimbursement
  • Weekly Pay and Direct Deposit
  • Customized Compensation

More than the abovementioned benefits, nothing compares to the flexibility and freedom that you can experience from being a traveling nurse. Whatever your goals are, you have the power to achieve those goals and have the power over your financial future. So if you are a nurse that is interested in having a successful travel nursing careers, rush now to trusted travel nursing agencies or companies and find the best offers that suit you.

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