RN Careers

See What RN Careers Are Available And Lucrative

When you are looking into becoming a registered nurse, don't assume that all your job opportunities will only come from hospitals. While hospitals are one of the leading settings for a registered nurse to be employed in, there are many RN careers that can take you to different locations and have you handling different responsibilities. Look into all the possibilities to know which type of RN employment is most suitable for your interests.

RN Career Options

Hospitals provide the most common and busiest settings for registered nurses, but for different environments, consider the following:

1. Home Health Care

You can work with patients who have recently been discharged from the hospital by going to their homes and helping them with recuperation and rehabilitation. This could be for patients recovering from illnesses, accidents or even who have recently given birth.

2. Travel Nurses

You don't need to be trapped in one location at all. With this type of RN nursing assignment, you will travel the country and take different assignments that could last from 8 months to 2 years. The travel nurse agency arranges all your transportation, housing and expenses, and you can work different parts of the country that need you most.

3. Retirement Care Facilities

Working in a nursing home is a common choice for many RNs and will involve different responsibilities. You will need to assess the elderly patients and develop treatment plans for them. This area of nursing is experiencing the most amount of growth due the number of the ageing population.

4. Doctor's Office

Unlike working in a hospital, working in a doctor's office will mean you have a regular schedule and far less stress. You will have basic duties like helping the doctor in exams, tending to wounds, administering medication and doing some lab work.

Career Advancement

RN careers does offer a lot of room for growth, either with further education or with enough seniority. You will begin as a staff nurse but can then become a supervisory nurse or head nurse. If you have a bachelor's degree, you can also move up to director or chief of nursing.

There are also ways of moving up by choosing one of the 4 advanced practice nursing specialties, which are clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives or nurse practitioners.

They will focus on only their area of specialty and assist doctors or work on their own in it. For any of these 4 specialties, you will need to hold a master's degree to be eligible. There are also advanced teaching or research positions to consider if you have the appropriate education.

Career Prospects

Although there are different medical environments that will provide different levels of opportunity, in general the prospects for a registered nurse are very good. Until 2018, the industry overall is expect to grow about 22%, but in certain areas, like in doctor's offices, the growth can be as high as 48%. The salary range is also quite good, with an average earnings of about $62,000 going up as high as $92,000. RN careers of all types are a lucrative profession to get into and with the right education, you can excel to great levels and positions within the field.

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