Workforce GPS: So you want to be a nurse?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has predicted an 800,000 nurse shortage by the year 2020. To assist youth with helping them select what nursing career pathway works for them, Explorehealthcareers.org has created a tip-sheet on the different types of nursed

To address the nursing shortage, most places of employment are eager to sign on and keep nurses through offering bonuses and incentives. The BLS has the median wage for nurses at $50,000, and with the demand for nurses it goes up dramatically when factoring in holiday and weekend shifts. For those who don’t want to work full-time, nursing is a great option because of the job flexibility it offers. The promise of career advancement makes nursing an attractive option as well. Nurses can work anywhere — in hospitals or doctor’s offices from urban to rural areas, even overseas with medical organizations. And there are many options for advancement, from consulting with the legal system to become a researcher.

Check out the So you want to be a nurse? web resource, and consider how you might use this to explore the many career options in the nursing field.

 

 

Comments

The Health Care industry offers a great deal of potential for our students. Many programs also have stackable credentials. For example, a student can begin as a Certified Nursing Assistant, earn their Licensed Practical Nursing, move to a Registered Nurse, and then even go as far as earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. So, what academic skills do we need to develop in students interested in this career path? Students must be able to: 

  • measure, calculate, reason, analyze, integrate and synthesize content presented in their specific curricular pathway. 
  • read quickly and comprehend extensive written material.
  • evaluate and apply information and engage in critical thinking.

So, as we are introducing our students to this healthcare pathway, how are you integrating these skills in your classroom? 

Kathy Tracey
@Kathy_Tracey

<p>My granddaughter graduated with honors from Lasalle University in May, 2017. &nbsp;She already has a job at Christiana Hospital in Delaware. &nbsp;She will server a 4-month interim during which she and the hospital decide where she will serve the patients best. &nbsp;My best friend was a nurse from the '70s to the 2000s. &nbsp;She started at a hospital always working the shifts no one else wanted to work. &nbsp;Finally, when she and her husband wanted to start a family, she went to work at a doctor's office in pediatrics. &nbsp;In the early 1990s she changed practices. &nbsp;I was talking with her on the phone in the mid-2000s and found out that the doctor had decided to down-size and all the older nurses were laid off. &nbsp;My friend was without a job or a pension. &nbsp;I was devastated for her. &nbsp;She was optimistic that she would find some kind of job at 65 years old. &nbsp;She's still okay, but I still worry.</p>