The right to choose treatment sparks debate amongst many medical professionals and plays a great part in nursing ethics. A nurse ultimately wants the best for a patient at all times. When a medical professional presents a patient with a medical option it is up to the patient to decide whether or not they want to pursue it. Some patients decide that they would rather forgo helpful medical treatment. Sometimes this decision is made because the patient has endured an illness on a long term basis and would prefer to stop fighting the disease. The patient has made the decision to stop treatment and let the illness overcome their body. No matter how troubling this may seem to the nurse caring for a patient ultimately the patient has the right to accept or deny medical treatment as they see fit. A nurse must be able to accept the decisions his or her patient makes and continue to provide optimum care.

Maintaining confidentiality is another part of nursing ethics that is vitally important. Many medical professionals are constantly being reminded of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of a patient’s medical information. There are specific forms that a nurse can have a patient sign to determine who can and cannot have access to personal medical information. Because there have been so many instances where people were discriminated against because of medical information it is important that a patient have the right to control who is privy to their medial information. Nurses are constantly placed in a position where they have to be very careful who they release a patient’s personal information to. Failure to maintain a patient’s confidentiality can result in major repercussions for both the hospital and the nurse who failed to uphold a patient’s right to confidentiality.

Informed consent is also a very important part of nursing ethics that is taught throughout all levels of nursing programs. Informed consent is when a patient signs a legal document detailing how they want medical treatment to be administered. This allows a patient to decide in the worse conditions what they would like to happen to them medically even if they are not able at the moment to decide because of deterioration in their health. A very well known informed consent is the DNR or do not resuscitate order which advises medical professions not to attempt life saving procedures. No matter how much a nurse or other medical professional would like to keep a patient alive to provide treatment, the proper ethical action is to allow the patient to die according to their written consent. Informed consents are documents that nurses push very hard to have completed in case of any complications while providing care. Informed consent makes adhering to nursing ethics somewhat less complicated as a person’s desires for his or health is clearly stated.

Following clearly defined ethical standards ensures that patients receive quality unbiased care.

Any current nurse considering the step to becoming a C.R.N.A. must be a licensed registered nurse with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree. Gaining these qualifications takes about four to six years depending upon which educational route you take.

After gaining these qualifications it is imperative to get as much acute and intensive care experience as possible. If you are a nurse you can request a change to work in the intensive care unit (ICU) to gain this experience. Having the familiarity of working with people who are in critical condition is detrimental to working as an advanced practice nurse performing anesthesia. It provides a firm foundation that ensures that critical nursing skills are learned and thoroughly used.

While gaining acute or intensive care experience you should apply to an accredited Masters in Nursing program. There are many of these programs throughout the country but if you are considering anesthesia work then should narrow your search to schools that provide a specialization in anesthesia. When applying for to a graduate nursing school program it is important to do your best on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). This is a test similar to the SAT but only for individuals seeking admission to graduate schools. When considering that being a C.R.N.A. requires a thorough knowledge of science and math and accuracy it is vital that you excel on these specific subjects to be considered a credible applicant to any nursing graduate school to become a C.R.N.A.

After being accepted into a graduate program for nursing anesthesia it usually takes about two to three years to complete the program. While completing the program it is highly recommended to continue working as a nurse in a hospital if only part time in a critical care unit. This experience will make you more attractive once your advanced degree is finished.  Upon completion of the C.R.N.A. program you must take a national certification test given by the National Board on Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). Once this test is completed and passed a nurse with the proper graduate degree and certification can then begin working as a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

One of the main responsibilities and goals of a public health nurse is the focus on prevention. In clinical settings such as hospitals the goal is to treat a condition and cure the condition if possible. Public health nurses do treat ailments, but their main objective is to prevent diseases and complications from occurring. Many work in organizations such as Planned Parenthood to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections through community outreach programs directed towards schools and high-risk populations. Public health nurses also participate on councils and assist in research projects to offer data and suggestions on improving access to healthcare for specific populations and communities with the goal of increasing awareness and improving the health and lifestyles of individuals in order to prevent the onset of disease and conditions.

The majority of public health nurses work for the local government, although many can be found working in clinics, schools, community centers and other establishments. Unlike nurses who work in hospitals, public health nurses typically work pretty conventional hours. In addition, many enjoy the flexibility to travel and the pace of a public health nursing job is typically different from the pace of a hospital. Salaries for public health nurses tend to be a bit lower than nurses in a clinical setting. However, those nurses who choose public health nursing find that there are other benefits such as government job perks or a conventional schedule that make up for the difference in clinical nursing salary. Furthermore, most public health nurses do possess a bachelor’s degree in nursing and at least a year or two of clinical nursing experience. Having these requirements provides a base upon which a public health nurse can utilize skills already applied in a clinical setting from previous employment and experience.

In all, choosing a career as community health nurse will provide an opportunity to utilize clinical skills to not only treat but prevent disease on a broad level.

In order to become a nurse practitioner or NP, the student has completed a minimum of a Masters Degree in advanced Nursing education and is trained to diagnose and manage common illnesses such as those in the elderly or pediatrics. They are able to manage chronic illnesses and provide a very wide range of health care services. Some of the care they provide is the same at that which is provided by a doctor, they work closely with physicians and can provide regular care to a patient.

It is necessary to have a RN qualification to become a NP, and this can be done through online courses, hospital based programs, community and other colleges and universities.

Patients in the care of the nurse practitioner are from all age groups and the core philosophy of this nurse is based in individual care. They can care for patients illnesses as well as the effects this illness has on the family of the patient. Below are the “Key Performance Areas” or KPA’s:

Key Performance Areas (KPA’s)

Preventative health care as well as education for wellness are priority as this means fewer doctors visits, prescriptions and expensive treatment is required. This nurse encourages patients to get involved in their own care and helps them to understand what to expect. They are often actively involved in patient advocacy. This is a state regulated profession, and because of this key performance areas are varied. These include but are not limited to:

• Collaboration with physicians and other health care personnel and providing patient referrals.
• Education and counseling of patients and their immediate families or care giver.
• Diagnosis and treatment of injuries, infections, and acute illness
• Diagnosis and treatment of chronic illness as well as management of these conditions. This included heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and others.
• Physical examination and collection of medical history
• Ordering, administering and interpretation of the results of diagnostic studies, including but not limited to blood tests, X-Rays, and EKG’s
• The prescription of medication
• Referrals for rehabilitation treatment and physical therapy
• Family planning and pre natal care
• Well baby and child care including immunization and screening
• Annual physical examinations and health maintenance for adults

Careers

They practice in all states, and in all types of institutions, including private practice. Careers for the Nurse practitioner are available in all fields including community health, HMO’s, health departments, home care, hospitals, clinics, hospice, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, nursing schools, physicians offices, occupation health and industry, travel, schools, VA, and other Government departments, free and walk-in clinics. In most instances a nurse practitioner specializes in one area of health care, and there are as many NP specialties as there are medical.

Conclusion

Because of the far reaching possibilities of the Nurse Practitioner profession, a high quality, individual and very cost effective health care scenario is the end result of the provision of their services. Insurance providers cover the cost of this type of care in most instances as it is less expensive than always consulting with a physician. And you know how health insurance companies are about cost!

The three government entities with the highest demand for nurses are the Department of the Army, Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently the average nurse’s salary for a government position is just over $63,000 ranking 20th in the highest average government salaries. You either have to have a family member in government service or know someone in government service to understand just how good a job with the federal government can be.

If you enlist in the armed forces and test into the health field you can train as a nurse and retire in twenty years with a full pension with benefits from the government with no restrictions on what you can earn and still get your pension. You can then apply for a civilian nursing job and with twenty years of experience will start near the top of the pay scale no matter where you might go. If you decide to get your bachelor’s degree in nursing and become a registered nurse while in the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program you will enter whichever branch ROTC you were in as a lieutenant and after twenty year will retire with a much higher pension due to starting at a higher grade to begin with.

You will also have the opportunity to take positions overseas at foreign bases during which your housing is paid for completely and you are exempt from income taxes while in a foreign country. If you can rent out your house while overseas to cover your mortgage you can bank a great deal of money for retirement while having virtually no living expenses. American nursing experience is very sought after in our bases overseas.

Due to the fact that there is a large shortage of registered nurses in the government sector there are a number of incentives for nurses to get government nursing jobs that regular hospital and medical facilities either can not or will not match to recruit nursing talent. Government agencies offer scholarships, loans and even some types of loan repayment for recently graduated registered nurses to come to a government position. Signing bonuses are a new addition to the incentives various government agencies are using to attract nursing talent. If you can get the armed forces to pay for your treatment and then provide you a stable position for the next twenty or thirty years why wouldn’t you become a nurse?

The first and foremost thing that you need to understand is that there are many well-trained and competent nurses in the nursing industry. You may be competing with experienced personnel in your search for some of the top-paying nursing jobs.

Secondly, if you are a fresh nursing school graduate, you would inevitably need to start your nursing career from the lowest trainee level. However, you should keep hunting for the best paying nursing job options and work your way to that job eventually. As you step forward from the entry level, each step that you take forward, should be directed towards that particular job option.

Consider the wide range of specialties and workplaces beyond the hospital, such as  LPN travel jobs, administrative nursing positions, and insurance companies.

When you are offered a position, look at the offer from 3 different perspectives –

1. Your personal choice and expertise – If you love to work with kids, and if you have been trained as a pediatric nursing assistant, then it is better for you to opt for pediatric nursing jobs. If you have been trained in anesthesiology pain management, then you should look for certified nurse anesthetist jobs.
2. Job security – Look for options with good market demand, low level of competition, greater monopoly and sustained manpower requirement. Have you ever thought of oncology nursing jobs or plastic surgery nursing jobs? They are jobs that are far more specialized, and whichrequire advanced education as well as a higher degree of training and expertise, when compared to the regular neonatal nursing jobs or geriatric nursing jobs. So, you can expect far less competition in terms of recruitment and a greater degree of job security in such kinds of jobs.
3. Level of compensation – Look at the pay package plus other short term as well as long term benefits being offered to you when you have several job options lined up in front of you. For instance, if you are into a travel nursing job and are posted on a cruise liner, and you get paid 5 times the regular salary that an onshore employee draws (plus you get to enjoy 5 star accommodations, food and services), then may be you should look at that option more seriously. Nursing is a demanding career and if you get a job option which pays well for your services, you should grab it immediately. For instance, certified nurses who are placed at the supervisory positions or managerial positions earn far more than the other nurses who play a normal role in the organizational hierarchy. Similarly, a certified registered nurse anesthetist is a very rewarding job, and nurses who have superior technical skills can assist the surgeon during surgeries. It can earn you a minimum pay of $100,000 a year. Other high paying nursing jobs include that of a clinical nurse specialist and a nurse practitioner. It can earn you a minimum pay of $90,000 a year, depending on your experience.

Your choice of what the best paying nursing job is will vary. Depending on your personal career preferences, clinical skills and expertise, compensation offered, and the level of job security, you can decide which career path to choose.

Many of the mental health nursing jobs come with state or federal benefits that provide more days off and other compensations and benefits. Most of the positions offer to pay your tuition if you choose to return to school to seek a bachelor’s or master’s degree. If you select your job from those that are affiliated with state backed universities, your children can also receive free tuition.

There are thousands of mental health nursing jobs open right now in your own community. Some of them you will find in public or state run facilities. Other mental health nursing jobs are available in privately run treatment centers. These jobs all have on the job training as well as in depth training that will be offered through many different classes and seminars. Whether you are a nurse with years of experience or are a new nurse who has just passed boards there is a position available for you now. Even if you haven’t finished school you can get a leg up since many of these institutions also hire CNA’s. You can take the Red Cross CNA training and start working in Mental Health while you complete your degree.

Some nurses feel as though they may not be ready or equipped to handle the demands of mental health nursing jobs. These jobs encourage new graduates to apply because they need nurses who are caring and compassionate. These traits are valued just as much as on the job experience. You should not let a lack of experience hold you back from inquiring about openings in the mental health field. With these jobs you will learn new and valuable nursing skills and you will expand your knowledge base daily.

The stigma attached to psychiatric disorders still exists, but has softened considerably over the years. It used to be considered the bottom of the ladder for health care workers, whether they were medical doctors, psychiatrists, or licensed nurse practitioners. Even nursing assistants considered it akin to “punishment” to work in facilities that were often referred to as the “Nut House” or “Nut Ward” even by employees. Images of medieval institutions and old, archaic treatments were conjured up. Those images couldn’t be further from the truth. Today’s facilities are modern, clean, safe, and offer both patient and staff the benefits of modern medicine, safe, effective, and helpful treatments, and often beautiful surroundings.

In today’s workplaces, there are some mental health nursing jobs that will provide you with not only job skills and experience, but a new understanding of your fellow man. Nurses who now work in treatment centers can tell you about the rewards that come with knowing that you are truly making a difference in someone’s life.

With the aging population and the vast number of people seeking medical attention through emergency rooms, the need for nurses it at an all time high and there are a number of reasons why the shortage is so prevalent.

There are a number of reasons why there is a nursing shortage. One of the reasons for the nurse shortage is an inadequate work environment and burnout. Many nurses have to work in environments that are extremely stressful and at times unsupportive. There is always the need to get work done as fast, accurately and efficiently as possible and nurses have to juggle these demands to the best of their ability.

When there are not enough nurses to staff a busy hospital this can cause problems because the nurses on staff have to work twice as much. Certified Nursing Assistants are being used to fill the gaps. Many nurses have to work additional overtime and sometimes double shifts to help cover the current nursing shortage experienced in many hospitals. Some nurses become tired of the less than adequate working environments and the added pressures to do so much with so little help and some decide to leave the profession all together. Finding a way to improve the working environments for nurses so that they will remain in the profession is important.

Another reason for the chronic shortage is lack of adequate compensation. Many nurses believe that they are not compensated properly for their skills. Nurses are the backbone of every medical facility. A doctor may treat the patient but it is the nurse that is responsible for sustaining the patient. They are the ones that respond to codes, dispense medication, and assist with a vast number of other medical procedures. Given all that they do many nurses feel that they are sorely underpaid when compared to the salaries of other medical professionals. Although there are additional opportunities to earn money by working extra shifts or gaining other certifications or advanced education, some people leave the profession for less stressful and more financially rewarding careers.

Compensation has also steered many younger individuals away from the profession. Some students would prefer to be accountants or engineers where they can make a significant amount of money without all the stress. Many hospitals realize that in order to retain the nurses they have and attract more nurses salaries have to be increased and more benefits such as tuition reimbursement and flexible schedules have to be offered.

The difficulty in making nursing an attractive professional option is another reason why the shortage is so prevalent. Many people may like the helping aspect of nursing but may be turned away by other factors such as the long hours, high stress and the fear of making a deadly mistake. The federal government realizes the significance of the nursing shortage and is offering significant financial aid options in the way of grants, scholarships and even loan forgiveness for nursing students. This is being done in an effort to make pursuing nursing as an occupation more attractive.

All of this means that nursing school graduates have a wealth of nursing jobs to choose from. Resolving the issues that are causing the nursing shortage is an important step in alleviating the widespread lack of qualified nursing professionals.

While most career paths have greatly suffered in that capacity with the recent economic upheaval, nursing is one profession that so far has been sheltered from the storm. In fact demand for qualified nurses, both private practitioners and for health centers and hospitals, have seen an upward trend over the last twenty years that does not seem to lose steam in its growth.

One reason is socio-demographic – or should that be two reasons? First, a substantial number of nurses in activity today are baby-boomers or older, often gifted with a guaranteed pension based on salary. So all those workers are looking forward to retirement, which should be starting over the next five to ten years.

Simultaneously, it is well-known that the general population media age is getting higher. There is that big bubble of baby-boomers now entering their late 50′s and early 60′s, with all the demands on the health institutions aging makes. These two factors alone already puts a lot of pressure on health administrators to fill open positions in nursing. Add to this opportunities in other sectors related to nursing – such as the high growth in demand for Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA training, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) – and competition to attract talented individuals becomes ferocious.

If recruiting campaigns for nurses were aggressive over the last few years, they now have become nothing less than absolutely wild. Employers are still ready to pay for moving expenses, offer large bonuses on signing long-term contracts, and more, even in the current business climate. The one thing we have yet to see is a free trip to the International Space Station, and there are those who believe this is only a matter of time.

Along this line, salaries as well have been seeing and upward surge, with everyone outmatching everyone else. Prospect for nursing are so good that many who chose to go in banking and investments probably sorely regret their choice. While the boom for nurses never came close to that of stock advisors and the like, the career also seems to be as bust-proof as can be, and with an uncertain future in our economy, this is probably as good as it gets.

The situation can be summed up simply: Nursing school students are enjoying record employment prospects as nursing jobs become harder and harder to fill due to growing demand.

One of the main practice settings for a nurse is the hospital. Most people are introduced to the hospital nursing setting while in a nursing school program through a clinical. The hospital setting is considered by some to be formal. It is also one of the few practice settings that allows a nurse to experiment with a variety of specialties. In one hospital alone you can gain experience working in neonatal or pediatrics, medical/surgical, the emergency room, the operating room and even the intensive care unit.

Nurses who work in a hospital setting work a variety of different shifts including weekend only options that give them the entire week off if they agree to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hospital practice settings offer lots of overtime and opportunity to advance but can be somewhat stressful given the nursing shortage.

An additional practice setting is a nursing home or a hospice. Nurses who work in nursing homes and hospices are usually devoted to providing quality care to patients who are older and/or stricken with illness. One of the main concerns may be to provide comfort to these patients while they are on their last days. Many of these nurses also work a variety of different shifts available 24/7 and in the nursing home setting you will also find certified nursing assistants who are of valuable help to these particular nurses. Nurses who work in the nursing home or hospice practice setting must be able to have a great amount of compassion and sympathy and the willingness to deal with issues of death and loss. Many of these nurses are available on an on-call basis to deal with sudden deaths or urgent care matters for particular patients.

For those who love interacting with students using your nursing skills in a school may be the practice setting for you. Some consider school nurses public health nurses because they are not working in a clinical environment and many focus on the prevention of disease. School nurses can be found in schools both public and private from kindergarten to university level. Their main job is to ensure the health of the students and the school staff. Many administer immunizations and keep track of these records. Some also provide education on sexually transmitted diseases, promote nutritional programs and provide medical attention to the student body when necessary.

There are many practice settings for a soon to be nurse or even a current nurse to consider when pursuing the career of nursing.