By the year 2020, the United States will face a nursing shortage of 800,000 unfilled registered nursing jobs – and very few of those jobs are in traditional hospital settings. These days, a registered nursing job is as likely to take you into a laboratory or someone’s living room as it is to put you at bedside in the recovery room. If you’re just starting your career in nursing, or looking to make a change, take a look at some of the non-traditional settings that have registered nursing jobs available.

Home Health Registered Nursing Jobs

Home health care is one of the fastest growing sectors of the nursing profession. As hospitals and insurance companies struggle to lower the costs of delivering care, they’ve found that providing nursing care in the home makes more than financial sense. Most patients improve faster when they’re in the familiar setting of their own home. Registered nursing jobs that involve home health care include geriatric nursing, visiting nurse jobs and community health nursing. Some popular home health registered nursing jobs include:

- Newborn visiting nurses make home calls on new mothers who have just been released from the hospital. They offer suggestions and assess physical and medical needs of both mother and child.

- Visiting chronic care nurses help keep patients at home who only require a few hours of skilled nursing care per day or week. They may change feeding tubes or start intravenous medications, assess medical needs or change dressings after surgery.

- Early intervention nurses work with families who have young children with medical needs at home. An EI nurse can make the difference between keeping a child at home or choosing institutionalization.

Occupational Health Registered Nursing Jobs

Occupational health is a growing field, and there are many different positions for registered nurses within it. An occupational health nurse may do initial assessments and physical examinations on site, assess medical needs if someone is injured on the job site or provide medical information and advice to employees of a company.

Public Health Registered Nursing Jobs

Do you dream of making a difference on a wide scale? Public health nurses are often involved in making policies that affect the population of entire cities and states. Among the options for work available in the public sector for nurses are:

- Clinic nurses do hands on patient care in a clinic setting. Registered nurses and nurse practitioners deliver care and advice to families and patients on nutrition, health, preventive care, birth control and medical care.

- Nurses working for the Department of Health may be involved in infectious disease control, monitoring compliance with health guidelines and consulting on medical policies for hospitals and other medical facilities.

School Nursing Jobs

School nurses work on site to help manage the medical needs of students. These days the school nurse may float from campus to campus, or be assigned to one school. Many schools now offer on site clinics for students, and a nurse working in a school clinic may be a student’s primary health contact. They’re responsible for doing emergency care, assessing medical needs and providing family contact points for school students.

Hospice Registered Nursing Jobs

Unlike traditional nursing homes, hospices offer round the clock skilled nursing in a homelike setting. Hospice nursing jobs offer the opportunity for a registered nurse to provide a personal touch to severely ill and terminal patients in a less clinical setting. Hospice nurses work under the supervision of doctors, but often have far more autonomy in making medical decisions.

A nursing career opens so many doors that it’s impossible to fit them all into a brief overview. For more information on registered nursing jobs and career opportunities, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site.

Nursing is the nation’s largest health care profession, with more than 2.7 million registered nurses nationwide, and nursing students account for more than half of all health professions students in the United States. Applications to attend nursing schools continue to increase nicely but did you know that thousands of students are being turned away because of an acute shortage of Nursing Educators?

A study done by the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions indicates that by 2020, the U.S. nursing shortage will grow to more than 800,000 registered nurses. How can we put a serious dent in stemming this dangerous tide unless nurses take an active role in educating the nurses of tomorrow?

Becoming a Nurse Educator is a wonderful career step

Registered nurses ARE teachers! RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or injury, including post-treatment home care needs, diet and exercise programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. RNs mentor and precept new graduates and new hire staff as well as develop and implement ongoing continuing education activities within clinical settings. RNs combine their clinical expertise and passion for teaching others in thousands of ways every time they work.

Nurse Educators make use of that same clinical expertise and passion for teaching to guide and shape the future of the nursing profession- one student at a time!

Do you want to be doing direct patient care when you’re 63 and still waiting to be old enough to retire? I say leave bedside nursing to the younger nurses, give your sore back a rest, and turn your talents towards building the next generation of nurses instead!

Some RNs choose to advance their nursing career by moving into administrative or management positions, but the responsibilities and stress of management isn’t for everyone. For those RNs who would enjoy keeping in touch with direct patient care and in shaping the future of nursing the best career path to think about is becoming a nurse educator!

Given the growing shortage of nurse educators, the career outlook is strong for nurses interested in teaching careers. Nursing schools nationwide are struggling to find new faculty to accommodate the rising interest in nursing among new students.

Career Flexibility

Most nurse educators work in colleges and universities that offer associate and baccalaureate programs in nursing, and some work as instructors for LPN courses while educators involved in clinical education also work at collaborating health care facilities. A Master’s degree in nursing is typically required to become a faculty member at a university but RNs with a Bachelors degree in nursing and clinical experience are the minimum basic requirements for clinical instructors.

Nurse educators can work as full time faculty with all the benefits including tenure and retirement, or may choose to work as part time faculty while still continuing clinical employment and direct patient care. Nurse educators play a vital role in preparing and shaping future generations of nurses!

Earn an NLN accredited Master’s in Nursing Education Degree While You Work

You can earn an accredited Master’s Degree in Nursing with a specialization in education or in health education online while maintaining your current job by investing just a few hours of study time per week through several schools.

Don’t have a BSN Degree?

There’s a fully accredited RN to MS in Nursing program that allows busy nurses to take the fast track to earning their Masters in Nursing. Students earn both degrees in a fraction of the time at 1/2 the cost of traditional programs and don’t have to give up their job to do it.

Make a difference today that will impact the entire profession for years to come. Become a Nurse Educator!

For Additional Information about NLN Accredited Online Nursing Degrees and programs including LPN to RN/BSN, RN – BSN Degrees, Specialty Nursing Certification in Forensic Nursing, Legal Nurse Consulting, and Advanced Practice Nursing visit Medi-Smart’s Online Nursing School Directory.

Copyright 2006 Medi-Smart.com. Permission to reprint is granted as long as the article is published in its entirety with all hyperlinked text intact.

Deciding to become a registered nurse is one of the most flexible career paths that you can choose. Even though you may be limited to work in the healthcare field before you become a registered nurse, once you obtain the proper credentials the sky is the limit.

The first place to find numerous opportunities for a registered nurse would be with the typical hospital environment. After you become a registered nurse you gain eligibility for many nursing supervisor positions. These positions are designed to oversee the schedules and duties of other nurses. Nursing supervisors generally have less patient contact and their main duty is to be responsible for the training and performance of all of the nurses whom they are supervising.
Though choosing a special field requires additional certifications in most cases, almost all of those various job opportunities start after you become a registered nurse.

After you have become a registered nurse, consulting can become a viable and interesting career option. Registered nurses are in great demand, and not just by hospitals. There are several businesses that rely on the knowledge of a registered nurse. After becoming a registered nurse you can choose to step away from the hospital setting and become a full-time consultant. Nursing consultants typically advise on issues such as injuries, treatments, and medical costs. This type of business can vary greatly, but the most common are insurance companies, underwriters, investigative firms, and vocational organizations. Though not considered a traditional nursing field, this career path has gained popularity due to the set business hour schedule that is most common for this type of profession.

Similar to consultants are nurse case managers. After becoming a registered nurse, if you are seeking a consultant’s hours with patient interaction, than the life of a nurse case manager may be for you. A nurse case manager acts as a liaison for the injured party and the company interested in their treatment. This is usually an employer or an insurance company. Nurse case managers also use their expertise and experience to inform the company and injured worker of how long the treatment may last, if rehabilitation is needed, and if injury costs are consistent with the injury.

Along the lines of nurse case managers are health coordinators. Registered nurses are often hired
to coordinate the health programs for particular types of individuals for a government agency, company or non-profit group. Common groups who work with health educators are the disabled, elderly, and patients with terminal illnesses. In these situations you may coordinate with the entity assuming the costs of treatment, the healthcare facility providing treatment, and other agencies that facilitate long term care.
In home healthcare is an option to some who are not registered nurses, but understand that these individuals are limited in the scope of their duties and their pay. With you being licensed to perform more tasks than many others can; you will be able command a greater salary.

The great thing about these career paths is that they open the door to yet another opportunity, which is entrepreneurship. After you have become a registered nurse you can choose one of these practices or a number of other medical paths. You could also open your own health related business. Being your own boss has definite advantages, and you can easily move back into the workforce if you find that the ownership is not for you.

Another career path you can choose from is education. After becoming a registered nurse, if you think that you possess the skills to share your knowledge with others you might want to think about becoming a health educator. Health educators can be found working for government agencies, school systems, non-profits, and other organizations seeking to educate others on either specific heath topics or general knowledge. You may even find yourself teaching in a community college or university setting.

Another growing career path for registered nurses is that of a writer. More and more trade publications, magazines, and newspapers are turning to registered nurses for articles and stories regarding the healthcare industry. Using their experience and expertise, registered nurses are able to write from a point-of-view that may elude a writer without comparable experience.

Nurses have a well-rounded picture of the health care industry due to their personal contact with patients and medical knowledge. This knowledge is often harnessed to write curriculum, medical reports, and continuing education course materials.

Though it may seem hard to believe, there are only a few fields that you would be unable to break into after you have become a registered nurse. The variety of career paths is one of the major draws for most new nursing school students, especially those who value flexibility. Other than being able to just spice up your life, you are also ensuring that you will always be in high demand.

Do you want to become a nurse in Canada? Did you graduate and work as a registered nurse in another country? The Canadian immigration doors are open to professionals particularly nurses who want to work in Canada.

Why would you want to become a nurse in Canada?

You can expect to earn an hourly wage between $25 and $35 depending on your level of experience and the province you work in. The Canadian health care system is publicly funded which means that all hospitals are publicly administered. You will receive the same salary no matter what hospital you work in because nurses are represented by provincial labor unions. There may be some variation in pay between provinces but there is a great deal of parity across the country in registered nurse salaries because of the labor unions. Besides the reasonable wages there are also employer paid benefits that have been negotiated by the labor unions including vacation time, sick time, education leave, health insurance, and pension plans. Canadian immigration has a program for skilled workers that includes nurses. If you have one year of experience as a registered nurse in your own country you can enter through this program. If you do not have any experience in nursing you may have to enter Canada through the regular immigration process or through the provincial nominee program. You will never be short of work. There are over 250,000 registered nurses in Canada and yet there is still an ongoing nursing shortage. Presently that shortage is estimated at 78,000 registered nurses and is predicted to rise to over 110,000 by the year 2010.

Providing that the Canadian immigration rules, policies, and working visa requirements are met you must follow the correct procedure to become a nurse in Canada. With the exception of providing proof of language proficiency this procedure is the same for all applicants even those educated in Canada.

Apply for your registration.

contact the provincial licensing body for registered nurses (or licensed practical nurses). Be prepared to pay a fee for your application. submit all the documentation that supports your education, experience, and immigrant status. provide proof of English language fluency. This includes both reading, writing, and speaking. Many provincial licensing bodies are now using theCanadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses. Some provinces will require this condition to be met before they accept your application for registration. submit proof of a clear criminal records check. You can expect to pay another fee for this. The police run a background check through a database to make sure that you do not have a criminal record.

Write and Pass the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam

Once all your documentation is reviewed and accepted as “equivalent” you will be given permission to write the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam or the Canadian Registered Practical Nurse Exam. Which exam you write will depend on what type of nursing license you are seeking and what you qualify for. All provinces have separate nursing regulatory bodies for registered nursing and licensed practical nursing except in Ontario where all nurses are under the same regulatory association.

Substantially Equivalent Competency Assessment

The number of internationally educated nurses who want to become a nurse in Canada is increasing every year and there have been some instances where nurses were entering the system unprepared for the real job of a registered nurse in Canada. Because of the variations in Education for nurses around the globe reviewing educational preparation and documentation turned out to not be a good predictor of success in the workplace in all cases. As a result a new evaluation has emerged called the Substantially Equivalent Competency assessment or SEC.

This is an evaluation that uses both a written test and an observation of your applied clinical skills using simulated nursing situations for the Canadian health care system.

The SEC evaluations are being done mostly in the western provinces. You may be required to undergo an SEC if your paperwork is not sufficient to support an equivalent education or experience as would be required of a registered nurse in Canada. This often happens when a nurse graduated in another country some time ago and has many years of experience but cannot produce the complete educational documentation to support the application.

When your application to write the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam is complete there may be a waiting period because the exam is only offered every four months. However, you may be allowed to work during that time under a temporary nursing license provided all other requirements have been met. You must however, have an employer willing to hire you under a temporary permit and if you do not pass the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam your temporary permit will be revoked.

Many internationally educated nurses are successful in obtaining their nursing license in Canada and the number of internationally educated nurses working in the Canadian health care system has gone up dramatically since the 1990′s. Between 2000 and 2007 approximately 20% of the candidates who wrote the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam were not educated in Canada.

Your journey to become a nurse in Canada might be lengthy so don’t give up! Being a registered nurse in the Canada health care system means having a secure well paid job that can provide you with challenge and meaning in your life, so it might just be worth it!

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Nurses account for a majority of the healthcare staff. Registered Nurses are basically a health care expert and responsible for employing the nursing practice in concert with other health care experts. These registered nurses often work as enduring advocates for the recovery and care of the ailing and the preservation of their health. In their quest for working as a promoter for the recovery of the unwell, registered nurses utilize the nursing methods to plan, assess, execute and assess nursing care of the injured and sick. Registered nurses do have more training and expertise than practical nurses owning license.

Definition and Nature of the work

Registered nurses (RNs) act to support good health and put off sickness. They teach patients and the general public about different medical conditions, take care of patients and aid in their rehabilitation. They also provide emotional assistance to patientsâ?? families and give considerable advice. Registered nurses use substantial judgment in providing a different array of services. Many registered nurses perform general duty services, and concentrate on the overall care for patients. They perform the work of administering medications under the strict supervision of the practitioners and maintain records of patientsâ?? symptoms as well as progress. General-duty nurses, besides these tasks, also supervise nursing aides and licensed practical nurses.

Registered nurses specialize in

Work setting or the kind of treatment â?? some critical care nurses do their RN jobs in intensive care divisions, whereas psychiatric nurses do treat patients having mental health disorders.

Work relating to ailment, disease or condition of patients â?? for e.g. patients with HIV/ AIDS are treated by nurses meant for treating HIV and AIDS. Addiction nurses treat patients with material abuse troubles.

Work relating to body organ or system â?? nephrology nurses do care for patients having kidney disease and patients with disorders like asthma are treated by respiratory nurses.

Work by population – Nurses working in schools care for school children and adolescents and geriatric nurses care for the senior and elderly patients.

Registered nurses also work in different specialties divisions â?? for e.g. pediatrics (care of children or adolescents having cancer) and cardiac emergency (care of patients having heart problems while in emergency hospital rooms)

Duties of Registered Nurses

The duties in general of a Registered nurse-practitioner include the taking and conducting of physical exams; identifying and treatment of common illnesses as well as injuries; management of high blood pressure; giving immunizations; treatment of diabetes or other chronic diseases; interpreting X-rays as also other laboratory tests and moreover guiding patients on healthy lifestyles.

Registered nurse Anesthetists who are certified receive special guidance for the usage of anesthetics that produce a condition of painlessness and unconsciousness. Many are trained to administer anesthetics in hospital delivery rooms, dental clinics or emergency rooms. Some help to take care of patients for recovery from anesthesia.