My Nursing Career Research

Many students begin to wonder what life after high school is going to look like for them. From my own personal research and a variety of job shadows I know that it can be scary to pick a career path right after high school. Some of the questions that need to be asked are what am I interested in, what is my passion, and what subject am I good at? Nursing is the best career choice if one loves to work with people and wants to improve quality of life for his or her patients, their passion is caring for others, and they usually enjoy science and math classes. The U.S. has a shortage of nurses which means that many places of employment are desperately looking for highly qualified individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of others.
Prospective nursing students can get either an associate's or bachelor's degree in which they can start working as an RN. With an additional two to three years of work experience a nurse can go back to school to get his or her master’s degree in nursing. The Nurse Journal states that any “advanced practice nurses have considerably more freedom to make decisions, suggest treatments and courses of action, and determine care for the patients with whom they work”(Nurse Journal, 2017). Advanced nurses have many of the same privileges as medical doctors besides being able to admit patients into the hospital and must have a Medical Doctor look over all prescribed medications. According to Practical Nursing.org, some of the “advanced nursing occupations are nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, all of which are sometimes referred to collectively as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). Professionals working in one of these areas earned a median wage of $96,460 in 2012” (Advantages of Being a Nurse, 2017). Going back to school to get more education is a great option for nurses because they are often more mature and have many life skills that allow them to succeed in college. This means that they are exposed to more knowledge which is always growing and advancing within the medical field. Nurses have options to work in a range of places like a hospital to nursing homes and will get to work with a variety of ages. Some of the places of employment that the occupational handbook list is “hospitals, physician's’ offices, home health care services, and nursing care facilities. Others work in correctional facilities or schools, or serve in the military” (Summary, 2015). Working at a variety of places allows for nurses to find out what they enjoy doing and with different jobs comes with different job duties. Along with many options for