Different Career Styles in Nursing

The Different Career Styles in Nursing

The type of nursing course you take will determine your career because of the kind of training you get.  For instance, those who graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing will automatically become resident nurses once they also pass the state licensure exam or NCLEX.

Resident nurses straight out of college will report to a resident nurse preceptor. This person is the one that will give them their respective assignments and the RN’s in turn will show them their skills in assessing the needs of the patient so a plan can be developed and implemented.

After years working as an RN, you can go back to school and attain a higher degree so you too can become a resident nurse preceptor in charge of a wing or find work elsewhere like working as an instructor in nursing school or as a researcher for a private company.

Students who don’t want to study for four years can earn a degree in half the time by getting an Associate Degree in Nursing also known as AND or a hospital diploma.

For the associate degree, you can soon find work in a health facility as a licensed practical nurse or as a licensed vocational nurse. In the chain of command, this person reports to the registered nurse who’s task is to do the rounds and check on the patient’s blood pressure and temperature. They may also be called upon to get a blood sample.

Depending where you decide to work, you may also be employed as the personal assistant of a physician. At this job, you welcome patients that visit the clinic, handle clerical duties and other things that may be ask of you by the doctor.

The salary difference between an RN and a LPN is quite big. If you want to earn more, you can go back to school part time or full time so you can graduate with a BSN.

Those who take the hospital diploma can find work as a nursing aide. Your job is to escort the patient when he or she needs to be examined by the doctor, serve the meals, bathe and dress the patient as well as clean the room. You don’t need a license to do that kind of work but if you want to earn more, perhaps after a few years you can go back to school and work for a BSN or AND.

When you get your nursing degree, you can either work full time or part time. Full time nurses work 40 hours a week while part timers work 20 hours a week. Resident nurses who have a lot of opportunity may even find employment on a contractual basis which allows them to travel at the same.

Nursing is high demand for a lot of reasons and one of them happens to be due to the shortage of qualified personnel. If you think that nursing will be good for you in the long term, get into it for the right reason and money is shouldn’t be one of the motivators as this will come in later.

You must have the desire to help those who are in need because if you are happy with what you are doing, you will be successful regardless of your position in the healthcare system.