Nursing Careers

A career in nursing is a great choice with all of the job losses and high unemployment rate that is effecting everyone around us. Obtaining a nursing degree requires dedication and time set a side for achieving this career. Nursing offers a great income, flexibility in your work schedule, and satisfaction in knowing that you are making a difference in people’s lives everyday.

If you can offer a caring personality, and have compassion, then this is definitely the right career path for you. There is some information that will help you get started in obtaining a nursing degree, for example, how much is the cost, how long is the nursing program, what do nurses do, and  what is the demand for nurses?

There is definitely a high demand for nurses. There is a variety of healthcare settings that desperately need nurses. Nurses can work in clinics, physician offices, home care, hospitals, schools, hospice facilities and other healthcare settings. A nurse’s duties include assessing the patient, administering medications, notifying physicians when a change in the patient’s condition warrants attention, and provide care to the patient. Some common tasks may include changing dressings on wounds, bathing a patient, educating patients about conditions and medications.

A high school diploma or GED is required prior to sending an application to a college or university. If you are a high school graduate that has passed the SAT, the college will not require you to take an entrance exam. But, if you have been out of high school for over 5 years, the college will require you to take a college placement exam.

Depending upon the results of the college placement exam, it will determine if you need to take college prep courses that will assist you in getting on college level. For example, if your English scores were extremely low, then you will have to take 1-2 semesters of remedial English before you can take the college level English. Same goes for the Reading and Math.

Depending on the college or university of choice, there are 2 year nursing degrees and 4 year nursing degrees. The 2 year program provides an Associate Degree in Nursing and the 4 year program provides a Bachelor Degree in Nursing. If you are considering a management career in nursing, you will need to attend a 4 year college. The majority of healthcare facilities do not require a nurse to have a Bachelor’s Degree unless you are applying for a management position.

Most nurses obtain the Associate’s Degree and then they are able to work quicker and later decide to go back to college to further their education. The cost of tuition will vary based on the college of choice and if you choose a 2 or 4 year nursing program. For a 2 year nursing program the cost will vary from $2500.00 and $8000.00 per semester. Additional costs may include fees for books and labs.

The program for an Associate’s Degree in Nursing is divided up into 4 semesters. The first 2 semesters concentrate on Medical/Surgical nursing with clinical rotations. Medical/Surgical nursing gives information about caring for patients with medical diagnosis (diabetes, COPD, CHF) and how to care for patients that have had surgery (appendectomy, hysterectomy, knee replacement, etc.)

There is lecture class time as well to correlate with the clinical aspect of learning. The last 2 semesters usually focuses on Mental Health Nursing with clinical rotation with lecture, and Pediatrics and Obstetrics along with lecture and clinical studies. The mental health portion exposes the student nurse to patients diagnosed with mental illness ranging from mild to severe. The Pediatric portion educates the student about how to care for children and the Obstetrics portion exposes the student to women and childbirth and how to care for mother and baby. A registered nurse needs to be well educated about treating all types of patients, especially in a hospital setting.