Journey to Become a Nurse Essay

I like to help and nurture people back to health, so why not join a career which includes that? Nursing goes along well with what I’m best at, it could be the perfect career for me. Where I can enjoy helping people and taking care of them to make them feel better. If they are sick, I want to help figure out what is causing them to feel that way or what the symptoms are of the possible illnesses. I’m also a very social person and can talk to anybody, which is something needed if you want to become a nurse. But what does it take? Will the money spent going to school be reimbursed or more by the career I have chosen? Well we’re about to find out! Before you decide what career to choose for life, you need to look at everything. Where to go, what school has the best programs, would it be better to get a degree, what benefits it has for family matters, how much it pays, can it support the lifestyle you’re looking for in life, and how much time you can get off. There are so many more but how can you think through all of them in such a short period of time? Even two to three years won’t be good enough to think of all the questions. But what I am going to do is answer the most important questions that you should consider in the period of time leading up to the time you need to choose the occupation you will be doing for the rest of your life or for a majority of your life. One of the most important questions you need to consider would be, what do you enjoy to do the most in your life? If you consider being a nurse as one the possibilities you could be happy doing for fifty years or so, then pick it. I’ve read quite a few articles online and they all talk about how most nurses wish that they never went into that profession in the first place. Though it does have flexible hours and family friendly time off, you have to constantly be on your feet running around all over the place, keep track of many doctors patients and paper work, and work really long hours maybe even graveyard shifts. But some say, how much you enjoy being a registered nurse is your attitude towards all the rush and stress. A lot enjoy their jobs and a lot don’t enjoy it as well. It all depends on your outlook on the job. You must also consider where you want to go. Find out where the best place to go would be, and who has the greatest nursing programs. If you can afford a really good college then go there, but if you are working on a low income and have a family and house to take care of then it may not be the best idea to go somewhere out of your budget. Also, consider whether you want to go out of state or stay close to home? Some colleges and universities that are considered to have the best nursing programs in the country, as of 2011, are Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University. They are most selective, meaning they are very hard schools to get into. The top schools in Utah that have the best nursing programs are University of Utah, Westminster College, and Western Governors University. They all are located in Salt Lake City, 4-year program schools, and offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in nursing. Back in 2011, the average salary of a registered nurse was $65,950 annually and the average hourly wage was $34.71. There are many opportunities and advancements you can take advantage of from being a nurse or going to nursing school. You could become a doctor, a nurse practitioner, pediatrician, and a lot more. Some nurses may start their career off as a hospital nurse, but when they are there long enough and have experience, they can be promoted to assistant unit manager or even head nurse. For those nurses who want to go back to school to get a Master’s or a Doctorate’s degree have even greater opportunities. Such as nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, or nurse anesthetist. Experts are saying that the job opportunities for nurses will nearly double the expected average rate for all occupations between the years of 2011 and 2020. This is expected because the medical industry is expanding quickly and the demand for medical personnel will be exceptionally high. Next you want to consider what nurses do on an average day at work. They go around feeding the patients, checking the patients to see how they are doing, be a friend to them and their families, etc. An average nurse’s day is consisted of recording a patient’s history and symptoms on their medical charts, discuss their patients with other nurses and doctors, change the dressings on the wounds so they don’t get infected, observe the patients to  see if they are progressing in health or declining, give them their medications, and talk with their families to discuss what is happening or what is expected. Let’s go a step further, think about the average day of an ER nurse. Their days must be so hectic. I’ve gone to the ER a couple times and what I see there amazes me. There are numerous crazy stories from ER nurses and doctors. For example, one man came in saying he has abdominal pain and he had a rash on his stomach. When they administered an abdomina l exam, they discovered a turkey sandwich that has been there for over a month. Never underestimate a day in the life of a nurse. Learning about nursing, what it takes to become one, what their average day is like, and what to expect for nursing has been informational. There are numerous sources which gives information on what to look forward to. I found out the average wage is $34.71 and the annual salary is $65,950, what schooling you need to participate in before starting a career as a nurse. Becoming a nurse may seem difficult, but it’s all worth it in the end.