Registered Nursing Salary and Working Environment
Registered nurses are highly competent individuals who promote health and prevent sickness. Their basic function is to provide holistic care to their patients regardless of race, gender or creed. The demand for efficient nurses has increased over the years owing to the fact that the population is increasing. They can work in anywhere from big time companies to nursing homes to physician’s offices.
A Registered Nurse Salary can can fluctuate from as much as $100,000 to as little as $40,000. Nursing salaries can vary and largely depends on specialty, experience, educational attainment and location. The nurse who works in the ward is often called a ward nurse. As a staff nurse, the job ranges from caring for patients in the ward or private room areas. Most nurses start off as staff nurses in various hospital and nursing home settings. Nurses who work in specialty areas earn higher salaries than ward nurses. Operating room nurses prepare the patient for surgery and assist the physician during the surgery. Hemodialysis nurses perform dialysis on patients with kidney diseases. Intensive care unit nurses care for clients requiring close monitoring. Emergency nurses provide first line physical assessment and care for critical patients. These types of nurses are just some of the branches a nurse can specialize in. There are also cases when a nurse doesn’t need to work in a hospital. She can be a company nurse who makes sure that safety and hygienic precautions are maintained at their highest levels or a school nurse who tries to provide students with healthy habits for life. Some nurses become educators who pass their knowledge to the new generation of nurses. As you can see, there are numerous divisions that a nurse can get involved in and the demand for nurses is still going strong.
In order to become a nurse, one must first enroll in a nursing program. In the program, the majority of the subjects involved in nursing include branches of science and mathematics. The most important subjects in nursing include pharmacology, human anatomy and physiology, medical and surgical nursing, psychiatric nursing and finally maternal and child nursing. These subjects contain materials that are tackled daily in a nurse’s job.
There are schools that offer 2 year courses for those who want to enter the world of working as soon as possible. The 2 year course will usually result in an associate’s degree in nursing- the standard requirement for most nurses to start working. A bachelor’s degree in nursing takes around 4 or 5 years to complete. Though the bachelor’s degree is longer, the rewards for earning this level of education is great as many nurses will be able to enter administrative positions because of it.
After graduating, you will be required to take the Nursing Licensure Exam (NCLEX). It is basically an exam that gauges your critical thinking abilities as a nurse and involves everything you’ve learned in school. In the NCLEX, the questions are all placed in ideal settings so real world expectations must not be put into consideration. Most states only require NCLEX passers to work, while other states require nurses to take their state board exam.
Ward Nurse
