Living Life to the Fullest Before a Career in Nursing

Those of you who have been kind enough to read my blog, know that I like to travel a lot. In fact, I now realize that most of you get the impression that’s all I do in life, and I don’t blame you, because I rarely share anything from my personal life.

In an era where every last piece of privacy and intimacy is shared on Facebook, Twitter or wherever, I choose to take the high road. I’m quite the rebel, aren’t I? All joking aside, even though I use those social media platforms, I prefer to share myself with the world in a different way, by actually experiencing it first-hand. Being in contact with different cultures, meeting different and interesting people, sure beats tweeting as far as I’m concerned.

But, I do realize that, at some point, I might have to settle down. Perhaps not location-wise, but as far as my lifestyle is concerned. And that got me thinking about my future career choices. Naturally, I would choose something which would allow me to travel all across the globe. Of course, most of you will advise me to become a tour guide, but believe me, being in charge of a bunch of pasty tourists and seeing the same sights over and over again is not my idea of a good time, let alone a career.

I would like to do something more meaningful with my life, and choose a profession where I can make a difference, even if I’m the only who will know it. I thought about becoming a doctor, but such long-term commitments never work out in my case.

Considering a Nursing Career?

Since I like to help people, I entertained the idea of becoming a nurse or a medical assistant. Okay, so it might not the greatest job as far as money is concerned depending on the specialty you choose. I came across this nursing salary website which breaks down the different careers in nursing and what they can earn - very enlightening! But, there is more to life than money. In fact, my best trips across the globe have been the ones where I’ve spent the least amount of money possible.

But, a career such as nursing still gives me a chance to travel the world. The only difference is, I would experience each place in a totally different way, since I would be there to help people. And one thing is for sure: you can’t truly get to know a country unless you’ve seen all of its sides, both the good and the bad, which ultimately gives you an entirely different perspective. But, I won’t decide on it anytime soon and surely not overnight, but it is one of the things I think about. Maybe I should tweet about it. Just kidding.

For the time being, I plan to visit as many different and exotic destination as I can. I have seen most of the “trendy” places anyone should visit, so now my focus has shifted to finding locations and countries which are somewhat of a hidden gem, not yet discovered by tourists and travel agencies. I’ll be sure to send you a postcard from wherever the road takes me.

Better than Average Growth Expected for Medical Careers

Working as a Registered Nurse for so many years, I can say, without a doubt, that I have definitely made the right choice as far as career is concerned. But, I often get approached by people asking me if they should try and become nurses themselves. They usually want to know more about the job itself, the opportunities for further education and development, the nature of the job, and, of course, the financial side of things.

Since this career has been good to me, I will always recommend it, but, the truth is, I became a nurse at different time, when the job market was significantly different, and the economy a bit more favorable toward careers of almost any kind, so I don’t really know much about the situation future nursing staff might be facing.

I can tell them about the ins and outs of the job, and give them valuable tips, but my knowledge is scarce when it comes to external factors that haven’t got much to do with the job itself. So, I decided to do some digging online, and find out what it is really like on the job market for registered nurses and for medical professionals in general.

After doing some research, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that employment opportunities for health care workers are much more favorable than I thought, especially when compared to most of the other careers. For those in the medical field, this should come as no surprise. Higher economic standard equals people living longer, and therefore heightens the demand for medical professionals.

With a growing and aging population it is plain for all to see that there will be strong growth across all medical careers. It seems like the trend for employment growth in the medical field isn’t going to stop any time soon. With employment growth comes increased salaries as the demand for nursing staff increases.

I’m going to go over the numbers quickly, but in case you want more information, I suggest you search online for a more detailed overview of several popular nursing careers and salary information. Here you will find detailed breakdowns of average salary information for different medical jobs - by state and industry.

Rising Demand - Good News

The demand for skilled medical or nursing staff is increasing every day, because of the ageing population. Those who are looking for a career in nursing, for example, although the same goes for all medical professions, including registered nurses, can look forward to a better chance of employment, with projected growth figures between 19% and 25% for the period between 2012 and 2022, which is much higher than the national average, which is only 11%.

The wages in the medical field are on the rise as well, increasing faster than the national average, as there is a heightened demand for trained medical personnel of all types. Also, keep in mind the fact that there are ample opportunities for you to advance in the medical field thought constant training and education, which leads to higher paying jobs.

There is a lot more information out there, and the aim of this article is to convince you to dig deeper for more of it. Hopefully, it will help you decide whether or not to pursue a promising career in medicine, maybe even as a RN - Registered Nurse.

Nursing Careers - More than Just a Nurse These Days

In today’s economy, it is becoming increasingly hard to find or keep a job. A lot of businesses are closing down its doors and laying off the workforce. The situation doesn’t look good, and it can become disheartening for those who are looking for their first job or planning a major career change.

But, for those who are willing to put in additional effort into expanding their knowledge, there might be a career in nursing waiting for them. Before you dismiss my suggestion, let’s go over a few facts that might shed a new light onto nursing.

First of all, there is a lot more to nursing that you might be aware of. I was pleasantly surprised myself to find out that there are several different types of nurses, which differ from one another in many aspects, namely qualifications, responsibilities, salaries and so on. To make matters clearer, I am going list them:

• Registered Nurse

• Nurse Practitioner

• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN/LVN)

Before going any further, I have to emphasize that this is a very extensive subject, and I am going to provide a very brief overview for a few types of nurse. For more information, there are a lot of facts on the web, but you should definitely start with the Nurse Salary Guide - here, which goes into great detail about all the different types of nursing careers, the necessary qualifications and the salaries, which can vary a lot, depending on several factors, like specialization or location.

Registered Nurse

A Registered nurse RN is the closest thing to an average person’s idea of a nurse. But, in the past few decades, their role has expanded, which requires them to have more training and handle a wider spectrum of duties. Based on the level of education, there are three main types of program available to train as a RN:

• Nursing Diploma Programs – entry-level program, that lasts three years

• Associate Degree in Nursing – lasting 2-3 years, depending on your previous qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing – top-tier level that lasts up to 4 years

According to projections, there will be a rise of 19% in employment by 2022, or a total of 526,800 registered nurses, which indicates favorable climate if you decide to seek a career as a medical professional. Currently, there is total of 2.6 million registered nurses in the US, in all states, but keep in mind that their salaries may differ, with California being the best destination as far the financial aspect is concerned.

Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed practical nurse provides support to other health care professionals, such as registered nurses and doctors, and also act as a liaison between the patients and other medical staff. This career has a lot of potential if you invest into training and education. Growth prediction for this job looks very promising, around 25% between 2012 and 2022, which means there will be an additional 182,900 licensed practical nurses in the US.

Nurse Practitioner

Bridging the gap between the doctors and the nurses are the nurse practitioners. Their responsibilities vary depending on the level of their qualifications and their specialization. Sometimes they are in charge of treating the patients, diagnosing them and even prescribing medications. Employment figures look very good for nurse practitioners, with a 31% increase projected between 2012 and 2022, which means a total of 47,600 additional nurse practitioners.

Those looking to have a career in nursing can expect a better chance for employment, with employment rates growing increasingly. The projected growth across all nursing careers ranges from 19 to 25%, putting it at the very top of all careers.

In an uncertain world a career in nursing might be one that stands out as being a safe and steady job for the future, as well as the present.