Healthcare is one of the most advanced careers that anyone can take up. The changes that are happening in healthcare and medicine are happening at a pace and the good news is that the future of practical nursing is a bright one.
If you are thinking of taking a career in healthcare, and especially medicine, then it is important for you to know what the future holds so that you can start preparing for your education now.
Nursing: A Brief History
Nursing has been around since the beginning of time. In fact, there are records from Ancient Greece that discuss nurses and physicians caring for patients with illnesses and injuries.
It’s clear from these records that even then healthcare was already an advanced field, with nurses being respected as skilled professionals who were essential in caring for patients.
Early Nursing: Maternal Care and Women’s Healthcare
Those early nurses were typically women, and they cared for the sick and injured men of the households/families where they worked.
Early nurses were also midwives, and some believe midwifery was actually the first form of nursing before it became a specialty practice specializing in caring for women during pregnancy, birth, and post-partum.
Midwives’ main purpose was to care for women during pregnancy, after childbirth, and they helped deliver babies. Midwives also offered other healthcare services including wound attention, breastfeeding assistance, medical preparation of corpses after death, and so on.
These early nurses lived in the community, often working alongside physicians. They attended to the health of their families by offering prenatal care at home through consultations with pregnant women or lower-level physicians.
Those early nurses were also known as the local wise women as they were usually the people who took care of general illnesses that could be treated at home with herbal remedies or other natural treatments in addition to providing nursing care for acute illnesses.
Modern Day Professional Nursing
The Nightingale Training School opened in 1860 and the British Nurses Association was created in 1887. In America modern-day nurses were first regulated by nursing boards in the 1920s, and nurses began to receive formal training, but the American Nurses Association was founded in 1896, and it led to the creation of formal nursing education.
Over the next generation, the profession began to shift its focus to hospitals and away from community settings. However, nursing has remained an independent profession.
Today’s Registered Nurses play a vital role in healthcare at all levels of healthcare facilities in local communities.
Nursing Roles In Medicine
The role of a Registered Nurse is to take care of patients and their families in facilities that see a large number of patients. They work in hospitals, doctors’ offices, extended care facilities, nursing homes, and community clinics.
In hospitals, they may work in operating rooms or out-patient areas. Their job is to prepare patients for procedures, administer treatments after surgery, and generally see to the comfort of patients.
Out-patient staff nurses work with patients who are out of the hospital but are still receiving treatment. They deal with issues that come up after discharge from hospital care, are involved in treatment plans, and are present during medical procedures that involve anaesthesia.
Nurses also work in home health care or manage private clinics under role titles such as Family Nurse Practitioner, where they individualise treatments and offer care to patients.
Some nurses also work with university students and new doctors as instructors or they may work as a nurse consultant, traveling to help out hospitals and nursing homes when there is a problem or they need extra hands during an emergency situation.
Nurses may be in charge of helping doctors and other medical staff give treatments and work with the patients’ families, they may also help in research and development and may create and follow new nursing procedures in hospitals or at private clinics.
What You Need to Become a Registered Nurse
You need to complete a bachelor’s degree program in nursing before you can become a registered nurse (RGN).
The majority of RGNs have at least an associate degree, but you can find courses online that will allow you to complete your degree in two years instead of four years. After you graduate from school, you must pass exams before you receive your license.
Other Nursing Roles
Community Nursing
Community nursing is a growing area of nursing. In the past, nurses worked in hospitals and specialized nursing facilities, but as new techniques have been developed, nurses have been able to provide services in your community as well.
Community nurses may work from home or from a small office setting.
Research Nurse
Research nurses are located in a variety of settings including universities, government agencies, and healthcare facilities where they do research and develop new health care techniques for the future.
Research nurses might be located on campuses at colleges and universities or at hospitals working with doctors on new procedures to be used in emergency situations or long-term care facilities.
Nurse Administrator
There is a growing number of nurse administrators employed in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. These administrators are responsible for seeing that jobs are carried out properly within the organization.
They may supervise patient care, hiring, training, and more. Most nursing supervisors do not have an advanced degree, but they may work as nurses during the day before they take on their new roles as nursing administrators at night or on weekends.
Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses work with patients over an extended time to help them understand how to maintain good health. They give advice about diet, exercise, managing stress, and understanding how to take medication properly.
Beginning Your Nursing Qualifications
There are many careers within nursing that can help you meet your goals. Find the type of nursing that fits you best by learning more about the different areas of nursing and what they entail.
You can find Registered Nurse courses online to advance your education with bachelor, master or doctorate degrees. You may want to tailor your educational goals to meet employment opportunities in public health, research, administration, or community health.
All fields are useful for meeting the growing need for nurses throughout the World.
Nursing is a career with stable employment potential that is constantly changing with new techniques and new treatments making it an exciting field for new graduates to enter.
Nurses can be found employed in many different settings such as in nursing homes, hospitals, emergency rooms, or doctor’s offices. There are even nurses who only work within school settings, tending to the medical needs of children and teaching young people about medicine and health related topics.
Your education as a nurse will help you work with patients to help them recover from illness or injury, giving care where it is needed most.
Nursing Degrees Online
All online nursing degrees include accredited programs that can lead to a career as a registered nurse. These classes are available 24/7 at your own schedule so you can complete them at any time of the day or night.
Nursing online degree programs are available through nursing schools that focus on providing training for new nurses and advanced nurse practitioners who manage patients’ chronic illnesses and offer guidelines for care.
Nursing Leadership Roles
The Nursing Leader
Nursing supervisors are professionals who direct the nursing staff in a facility. The nursing supervisor may be called a director or manager, depending on the facility where they work.
They are responsible for overseeing how jobs are performed, ensuring that the staff meet their goals. They work to develop new treatments and procedures for patients and to improve overall patient care.
The Nursing Administrator
Nursing administrators are responsible for overseeing all aspects of healthcare within a nursing facility or hospital setting. They are hired by hospitals to look after medical staff and patients’ needs to prevent problems from occurring.
They ensure that policies and procedures are carried out and that the hospital is able to handle all emergency situations.
The Nursing Consultant
Nursing consultants work with patients to help them understand their illnesses and manage their treatments. These nurses work with doctors to help them treat patients and give advice for future treatment.
They may also work with hospital staff on different procedures like surgical techniques, catheterisation and treatment for new diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
The Nurse Anaesthetist
Nurse anaesthetists administer anaesthesia during medical procedures such as surgery or labour and delivery.
They must be certified by the British Anaesthetic and Recovery Nurses Association (BARNA) before they begin administering anaesthesia in a facility.
Summary
The career path for a professional nurse today is looking bright, very bright. The huge demand for nurses, combined with the shortage of them, gives nurse practitioners and registered nurses a great deal of potential for growth and opportunities to change the face of healthcare in the world.
With higher than average wages and excellent benefits, these positions not only provide financial stability but encourage extracurricular activities such as studying or volunteering to give back to your community.
The more you know, the more choices you’ll have in a field that will let you grow and help change lives for generations to come. Get the education and training to meet the needs of today’s nursing workforce.
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