Lena McNichols
Sarah Dye
Argument Paper
December 11, 2006
Do you want a career that you can count on? Do you want a career where you can
always find a job no matter where you live? Registered nurses are projected to be the
second largest number of job openings among all occupations. Your employment
opportunities are endless. When you hear the word “Nursing”, automatically you think
of hospitals, nursing homes, and possibly home health care. How ever did you know that
you can be a nurse and have a business job? Nurses can use their knowledge in the
medical field to sell home healthcare equipment.
As you can see the options for nurses are so wide spread. When people consider
nursing as a career, they automatically think of a hospital environment. Besides all of the
opportunities in a hospital, nurses are also able to work in executive positions, research,
home health care, ambulatory setting, and school based clinics. Nurses can also advance
their degree and become instructors. In addition, there are multiple opportunities that
have flourished into the military and government services. Even with all of these
opportunities mentioned there are hundreds, if not thousands of job opportunities of a
nurse, which it would take awhile to mention them all.
In the United States, students must graduate from an approved nursing program
and pass the national licensing examination, known as the NCLEX-RN, in order to obtain
a nursing license. (U.S. Department of Labor) All states require periodic renewal of
licenses, which may involve continuing education. (U.S. Department of Labor) There are
three major educational paths to registered nursing: A bachelor’s of science degree in
nursing (BSN), an associate degree in nursing (ADN), and a diploma. (U.S. Department
of Labor) BSN programs offered by colleges and universities, takes about four years to
complete. (U.S. Department of Labor) Many nurses with a AND or diploma later enter
bachelor’s programs to prepare for a broader scope of nursing practice. (U.S. Department
of Labor) Often, they can find a staff nurse position and then take advantage of tuition
reimbursement benefits to work toward a BSN by completing a RN-to BSN program.
(U.S. Department of Labor)
All nursing education programs include classroom instruction and supervised
clinical experience in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Students take courses in
anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology and other
behavioral sciences and nursing. (U.S. Department of Labor) Supervised clinical
experience is provided in hospital departments such as pediatrics, psychiatry, maternity,
and surgery. (U.S. Department of Labor) A growing number of programs include clinical
experience in nursing care facilities, public health departments, home health agencies,
and ambulatory clinics. (U.S. Department of Labor)
Why be a nurse? Well according to the statistics there are more than two million
registered nurses and over 80% of them are employed. (Fondiller & Nerone, p. 13) I
think that since then both of those numbers have gone up significantly. Right now there
is a major nursing shortage. The health care industry will always continue to grow; there
is will always be job security. Nursing is a field that will always be around and widely
needed all over the world.
“Where you find people in need, you will find nurses.” (Fondiller & Nerone, p.
125) Around the world or around the corner, nurses are there. Everywhere in the world
there is always a need for patient care, it is just a different way that it is given. When it
comes around to caring for patients it always revolves around the patient and their needs;
whether it be showing compassion, giving medications, or just showing the support that
is needed at that time and place.
It is a known fact that there is a high demand for nurses. It is not the salary that
stresses the nurses out it is the workload. Nurses typically earn between $35,000 and
$70, 000 a year, with the median salary being approximately $48, 000. (Nurse 2006)
However, they can make even more by doing overtime work. (Nurse 2006) Most, nurses
also receive pay for being “on-call”, which means they are ready to come into work on a
moment’s notice if needed. (Nurse 2006) Earnings vary with education level, experience,
and type of workplace. (Nurse 2006) Nurses with bachelor’s degrees generally earn more
than those with associate degrees or diplomas. (Nurse 2006)
Illinois Wages
Occupation
Registered nurses
Level of Experience
Hourly
Annual
Entry Wage
$20.31
$42,240
Median Wage
$24.67
$51,310
Experienced Wage
$29.58
$61,530
From http://careercrusing.com
Anticipated stresses and problems that have occurred while working with nurses
that are there is a huge nursing shortage when it comes to staffing. I have noticed that
some nurse to patient ratio is outrageous and very risky since they are risking their
nursing license when they have six to seven patients a piece. There is a huge risk for
human error to occur. Another type of stress or problem related to nursing is certain
states require mandatory overtime. Illinois is not one of the states that require this but for
example in California it is mandated to work so many hours of overtime. With
mandatory overtime equals nursing “burn out”. Burn-out causes nurses to not care for
themselves properly and they become exhausted and drained from their work.
In conclusion, nursing is a great occupation in itself. Not only do you have a
good sense of feeling, but knowing that you have helped somebody out in a positive
outcome. It has been stated that there is a huge nursing shortage but unfortunately this
problem is only going to become worse since the population is continually growing and
the demand is high for nurses. Nursing is not about the earnings made it is about
showing the compassion and willingness to help others when it is needed.
Sources Sited
Fondiller, H., Shirley & Nerone, J., Barbara. Nursing: The Career of a Lifetime.
National League for Nursing Press, copyright date 1995.
Nurse: Job Description found http://careercrusing.com retrieved December 4, 2006
Occupation Report found http://data.bls.gov retrieved November 27, 2006
United States Department of Labor found http://data.bls.gov retrieved November 27,
2006.