My Dream Job: Nurse

One of the most important decisions someone can make in their lifetime is what they are going to be when they grow up. From sun up to sun down, week after week, a job will consume a majority of the time a person spends in their lifetime. In some cases this might sound unpleasant, but in some it might sound exciting, especially in situations where that person is living their dream. A dream job is one that fulfills all expectations and that allows someone to do what they love until they are done. A dream job can be big or little and can affect others or not. A dream job is one that pushes limits and makes someone happy day after day.

Dream Job

A big part of my life has been spent deciding on the career path I will take. Whether this path be medicine or not, it is an important decision that requires a lot of thinking and realization. The big question for me was never “healthcare field or not?” it was “what career in the healthcare field?”. At first, I chose Physical Therapy, and then I wanted to be a Pediatrician or a Family Doctor. As I got older I put into perspective the expectations and hours of schooling being a doctor required. I learned more about nursing while looking into careers, and it stuck with me. Being a registered nurse is something I am passionate about now and will continue to be passionate about for the rest of my life, and is also a career that I will be able to excel at with both my knowledge and social skills. The environment of a hospital excites me and will allow me to connect with doctors, other nurses and coworkers, as well as patients in need of help. I hope to work in a hospital one day that gives me these opportunities.

Registered Nurse

Training and Educational Requirements

The purpose of education and training for employment positions is to ready you for the years of work you are about to endure. Nursing school along with any medical school can be tough and have requirements that prepare you to properly care for a patient with confidence and skill. To become a Registered Nurse, a student must receive an associate’s or bachelor’s degree from a state approved nursing school. These schools can be community colleges or private universities all with different course requirements and different costs. Ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 or $3,000 to $14,000 at local community colleges, nursing school can put a huge dent in your wallet (America, I). Although expensive, nursing schools have financial aid options for students who qualify for certain scholarships.

As well as graduating from nursing school you must also be licensed, which has its own list of requirements as well. A license can be obtained by graduating from nursing school and passing a national licensure examination (Fulton, D). Nursing school requires students to pass classes and labs that focus on exploring the human anatomy and preparing the students to know and understand the different systems, functions, and sections of the body and everything that it entails.

Along with classroom and lab criteria, nursing schools pair with local hospitals and clinical sites that allow the students to interact with and learn from doctors and nurses. These opportunities will give an insight as to what tasks and training goes into working in a hospital or office setting. Employment opportunities after school are easier to find because of the high demand for nurses. With more patients using home healthcare, hospice care, hospitals in general, and family doctor’s offices, the need for nurses will spike by 2022 and will lead to many opportunities for nursing school graduates (Dusseault, W). Once employed, on the job training will be provided to the employees that satisfy the needs and expectations of the setting in which you are working in. This training will give you a better look into the many duties you will hold as an employee.

Main Elements

Working in hospitals and in outpatient offices require a nurse to provide hands-on care to patients along with performing diagnostic tests and analyzing the results, operating and monitoring medical equipment, and administering patient medication and treatments (Fulton, D) followed by many more. The many duties given on a day to day basis is the reasoning behind the heavy workload nurses have. The nursing profession requires a lot of changing and stepping out of your comfort zone to accommodate a patient. In my interview with a registered nurse, she explained that if you are not okay with change then the nursing career is not for you. I think that staying on my toes each day and staying busy with the list of duties expected from me, that I will enjoy this career path for as long as I am working. These tasks that I will have as a nurse are taught to me to understand and to be confident in, as well as be able to succeed at and enjoy.

Location and Hours

A job as a nurse can take you anywhere and allow you to work anywhere in the world. From big cities with a population of 200,000 to small towns with a population of 10,000, registered nurses are employed in hospitals, public community settings, ambulatory care settings, nursing homes, extended care facilities (Spratley, E.) and the list goes on. This is a broad spectrum allowing any location to have multiple job opportunities and allowing me to choose where I would like to live. Along with the flexible location, this career allows a flexible hour schedule. Nursing provides full-time and part-time working options as well as allowing flexible hours. With the vast amount of nurses employed, hospitals and other nursing locations allow you to pick the days you work, whether they be consecutive or spread out. Starting out most nurses work over night shifts of 12 hours, 3 nights a week.

Nurses who work during the day can still have those 12 hour day shifts or split them up into 5, 8 hour days (Nursing Hours). Even if not on schedule nurses are called to work in emergency situations and are on call at least one night a week. When situations like this happen, nurses will go into over-time hours and are payed for it. These flexible options in hours and scheduling will allow me to have as much freedom as I please and even allow me or my coworkers to have other jobs at the same time (Nursing Hours).

Salary and Pressures

No matter the job, my goal in finding my dream job is to make enough money to be comfortable and be able to provide for myself and my family. As a nurse, a plus side is the amount of money you can potentially earn. Starting out, a graduate student can earn $28,000-$50,000 a year, and that will increase over the years as you gain experience or possibly specialize in a certain area of the healthcare field (Registered). This amount of money would satisfy my needs and will allow me to provide for me and my future family, which is another reason that all of the hard work will be worth it. This career is going to offer me many ups and downs, which is nerve wrecking but exciting. Nursing can take a toll on you and can be stressful in certain situations. It will push me to my limits. I know that I can handle these situations, and I know that training and understanding the steps for taking care of patients will allow me to be more confident in this. I think that this job will offer me different opportunities each day that will keep it interesting for the many years ahead of me. In choosing this job, I think that my future employer will choose me for this line of work because I am tough, I am able to communicate effectively, I learn from mistakes and I truly believe that I have what it takes to be a nurse.

Use of Health Promotion

Most all diseases can be fixed with healthier habits, such as a healthier diet or more activity which is why health promotion is a big part of the job no matter which health care position you hold. Health promotion is used by nurses to educate the community on how to recognize signs and symptoms of diseases, managing health conditions, advising, and emotionally supporting patients and their families (Fulton, D). Nurses are the first and last person a patient interacts with when they are sick, making the use of health promotion extremely important in conversations and meetings. Screenings, diagnosing, and advising treatment are all promoting health and strategies to maximize optimal health outcomes (Nurses role). Nursing school programs are strong in teaching critical promoting techniques that allow patients to understand risks and the importance of practicing and living healthier lifestyles. Not only will I be able to teach patients but I will be able to take my own advise on living a healthier lifestyle.

References

1. 18, 2. N. (2013, November 18). Nursing Hours: How Long Do Nurses Work? Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.fortis.edu/blog/nursing/nursing-hours-how-long-do-nurses-work/id/2945
2. America, I. (2018, November 07). How Much Does Nursing School Cost? Retrieved from https://www.imagine-america.org/much-nursing-school-cost/
3. Dusseault, W. (2014, August 15). Retrieved from https://www.crosscountrytravcorps.com/news/4-reasons-nursing-jobs-are-in-high-demand
4. Fulton, D. (2016). Introduction to Health Promotions & Health Professions. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
5. Registered Nurse Salary | RN Salary, Pay, Wages, and Income in Registered Nursing. (2018, September 04). Retrieved from http://www.registerednursern.com/registered-nurse-rn-salary-wages-and-income-of-registered-nurses/
6. Spratley, E., Johnson, A., Sochalski, J., Fritz, M., & Spencer, W. (2000). The registered nurse population. Retrieved January, 2, 2005.
7. What Is the Nurse’s Role in Health Promotion? | PNW Online (2017, September 11). Retreived from https://nursingonline.pnw.edu/articles/nurses-role-in-health-promotion.aspx

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