Sepancine Health

In recent years there has been a continued need for nurses and an ever growing shortage. There are many reasons why this is occurring.

According to the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), we have a continued increase in the aging population that lives longer with chronic diseases that require complex management by the patient, informal caregivers, and/or physicians. These include heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), in the first half of 2006, over 65,000 persons were newly licensed as registered nurses, joining 3.1 million other RNs in the nation’s largest health care profession.

From the basic education that is required, to the advanced clinical paths, the nursing profession is continuing to meet different health care needs of the US population.

The Government job occupational outlook at www.bls.gov reports that employment for nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, which is considered to be much faster than average for all occupations. This growth is rising because of the technological advances in patient care.

More and more sophisticated procedures that were once only performed in a hospital environment, it reported, are now being performed in physicians’ offices and in outpatient care centers, freestanding ambulatory surgical and emergency centers.

Education for nursing depends on whether you would like to be trained to be a licensed practical nurse or Registered nurse. The licensed practical nurse is a step below the registered nursing program. This same report gives three typical paths to become a registered nurse. There is an associate degree in nursing, so educational programs can range anywhere from 2 to 4 years to complete.

If you should decide to pursue this degree, it is unlikely according to all reports, that there will be any difficulty getting a job once you have completed the program.

It is important to know what nurses do on a daily basis so you can be sure this profession will suit you. This is a job that requires thinking and doing hands on assistance for others that are ill or elderly each day. If you enjoy helping others this may be the profession for you.