Monday, January 21, 2013

A Career In Nursing Offers Great Options

Nursing is a great profession. In some societies it is considered something subordinate to the medical field. But in countries of the West, the profession is respected much more than in developing countries. In recent years, due to the efforts of agencies like the  American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) the profession is progressing and working for high quality nursing. ANCC has a great vision for evidence based nursing care and have evolved several approaches to provide accreditation to nurses and nursing organization.

Nursing is a profession that probably evolved with the evolution of the human society: mother nursing her infants; wife, mother, sister, and daughter caring and nursing family members. Nursing was professionalized  since the time of Florence Nightingale's book "Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not". Western nursing  evolved from Christian values  " Love thy neighbors as thyself".
  
Nursing career needs a science and biology background. In the USA, there are several  ways one can enter the profession, and after fulfilling required qualifications get the certificate of Registered Nurse. There are prospects of advancement in clinical or administration side, and even become a first rate scientist like in any other branch of medicine. Registered nurses in the USA are involved in direct care and practice, and prescribe medicine.

The future of health care is a challenging field, and therefore the needs of nursing jobs is expected to grow very fast. Nursing is a good option for those who want to study and practice in the area of human health, or go further and become scientists in wide areas of clinical disciplines. The modern nursing calls for evidence based nursing practice.There are hospitals in the USA where the CEO is a person of nursing background.

ANCC has evolved a program of accreditation of  nursing organizations, which is called as the Magnet Status. Under this program nursing organizations which achieve a certain level of standardization to improve nursing practice, and take care of  nursing and patients outcomes are given the Magnet Status. The system basically works on 14 forces which have to be set in action to become institutions achieving and maintenance of the Magnet Status.

Nursing is a  bright spot, and assumes a sunshine future. A registered nurse in the USA can fetch annual salary of around $60,000 per annum. Those interested must explore this field, even opportunities for undergoing nursing education in the USA!