Joyce J. Fitzpatrick - 201 Careers in Nursing

Careers in Nursing

Careers in Nursing

JOYCE J. FITZPATRICK, PhD, MBA,
RN, FAAN, FNAP

EMERSON E. EA, DNP, APRN, BC, CEN

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fitzpatrick, Joyce J., 1944

201 careers in nursing / Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, Emerson E. Ea.

p.; cm.

Two hundred one careers in nursing

Two hundred and one careers in nursing

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-8261-3382-3 ISBN 978-0-8261-3383-0 (e-ISBN)

1. NursingVocational guidanceUnited States. I. Ea, Emerson E. II. Title. III. Title: Two hundred one careers in nursing. IV. Title: Two hundred and one careers in nursing.

[DNLM: 1. Career ChoiceUnited States. 2. NursingUnited States. 3. Vocational GuidanceUnited States. WY 16 AA1]

RT82.F58 2011

610.7306[H11032]9dc23 2011022924

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INTRODUCTION

We, the authors of this book, are passionate about nursing and the career opportunities within the nursing profession. We have had many opportunities within our own careers to expand our roles, and to contribute to quality patient care, nursing and health care science, and to make the world a better place for patient and their families, for the communities in which we live and work, and importantly, the citizens of the world.

We firmly believe that there is no other career that has as much potential for personal and professional satisfaction. A career in nursing offers opportunities to care for others from infancy to the older adult, from those who need health information to those experiencing a terminal illness. Nurses work with individuals and families at their most vulnerable times of illness and have the most intimate relationships with patients. Nurses are there in time of need. They are in hospitals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, monitoring every aspect of patient care. They are in communities, delivering home care to those who are house-bound due to illness or injury, providing health education in schools, in wellness centers, and in medical offices. They are aboard cruise ships and on resorts, and they transport patients, via helicopter or ambulance, when care is necessary at another facility. Nursing is ...listening to the cries of a newborn and the joys of the parents; being with a older woman who has a fractured hip who knows she will no longer be able to live independently; tending to the wounds of those in combat, and understanding how anxious they are to return to their loved ones at the same time they want to serve their country; soothing the pain of the person recovering from surgery, and studying the effects of new treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and many other illnesses. As you will discover in this book, nurses have the choice of a myriad of careers. We have identified the 201 most prominent careers in nursing at this time. We have provided information so that the reader is introduced to opportunities within and across the careers. For example, many nurses combine careers as educators, teaching part time in schools of nursing, and expert clinicians, working clinically as advanced practice nurses in hospitals and health centers. Nurses who hold academic appointments combine their teaching role with that as researcher. Nurses who work in management often combine their administrative work with writing and lecturing.

If you are considering a career in nursing, this book will introduce you to the wide range of career choices. You will be surprised and impressed with the many career choices available. As I have talked with potential students, who have over a period of time realized that a career in nursing might be for them, they have mentioned the stereotypes that are still prevalent in the public view of nursing. Indeed there are strong stereotypes, many of which are dated to years ago when there was little education required of nurses and when much of the work was task oriented and rote rather than requiring the high level clinical judgment and skills needed today.

If you know someone who is considering a career in nursing, this book is a very good overview. Many prospective nurses are not aware of the broad range of opportunities, even though they may have decided on the career choice. I often hear people say that they could never be a nurse as they do not like the blood and guts aspect of care. Granted there is some dimension of the educational program that requires the nursing student to experience bloody procedures, there are many career choices where there is no blood. Read about the possibilities in psychiatric or community health nurse, in historical or ethical research, or in executive positions.

If you are a guidance counselor, this book will help you learn more about the profession of nursing. You will be better prepared to advise others about the educational requirements and the competencies necessary for the specific careers.

If you are a nurse and considering a change in your career, this book will help you identify the range of opportunities and the skill sets necessary for each career. You may decide to return to school to gain more education to prepare yourself for the new career, or you may learn more about a particular career by shadowing an expert nurse who is already in that career.