Do you have the desire to help individuals feel better or to work their way through a disease or illness that they are facing? Do you hope to help people make better choices regarding their lifestyle so that they can lead a happier and healthier life? Do you think you have what it takes to be patient and compassionate with individuals who aren’t feeling their best and who may not be open minded with regards to receiving medical treatment? If you answered a confident yes to each of these questions, then a career in nursing is sure to be an ideal choice for you. Keep in mind, within the field of nursing there are many different positions that you can choose to pursue. However, some of the available nursing related positions will require more advanced level educational degrees than other positions. It will be up to you to choose a career path that suits your strengths and your interests and to then follow an appropriate educational path.
For instance, you could choose to become a nursing educator. Although in many states there continues to be a shortage of available nurses, as well as available spots in nursing schools for prospective nurses, this is largely due to a shortage of nursing educators. Therefore, if you have a significant amount of nursing experience, and you have completed the necessary educational requirements, then working to educate aspiring nurses may be just the ideal fit for you! If working in an educational capacity doesn’t really suit you or your goals, then perhaps you should consider pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner. In a position such as this you can expect to be responsible for tasks that were once thought to be reserved for a practicing physician. For instance, on any given day you may be expected to order diagnostic testing and then review the results, to write prescriptions to treat any number of illnesses that are exhibited by a patient, to confer with a patient regarding medical history and current symptoms, and to develop a treatment plan for patients who have chronic illnesses or injuries. Of course, similar to that of a typical nursing position, a nurse practitioner will also be expected to counsel patients regarding smart lifestyle choices that will help to improve their health. Find nursing schools online or near your home for your career training.
Or, perhaps working as a forensic nurse is appealing to you. In this hot, new career path you will be expected to work with patients who have been a part of some sort of violent crime and who need medical attention for a wide variety of injuries. As a forensic nurse you will be responsible for appropriately collecting evidence from your patient so that legal actions may be taken where necessary. At times, you may also be expected to testify in a court proceeding as to what you performed on the victim and what type of evidence you collected. While this is an exciting new career opportunity for nurses to pursue, it will also require that you are able to handle delicate situations in an appropriate medical manner.