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!
