What Is the Meaning of Professional Nursing?
Professional nursing represents a career practiced in hospitals, medical centers or physician offices. Its meaning is to promote, educate and advocate for the health of patients, according to the Mayo School of Health Sciences. Registered nurses form one of the largest groups of medical professionals, with about 2.6 million registered nurses in the United States, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Role
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Professional nurses work with patients and their families to prevent illness, diagnose medical problems and manage the treatment of diseases. Their daily activities include running tests and explaining to patients the meaning of the results. They administer treatments and monitor patients during their recovery. Nurse practitioners, authorized as primary providers, can write prescriptions for primary and acute care. This role was created in the 1960s to compensate for a shortage of physicians in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Compensation
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Professional nursing brought a median income of $62,450 in 2008. The top 10 percent earned above $92,240 and were found in hospitals according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From the 2.6 million professional nurses in the United States, 60 percent work in hospitals and 8 percent team up with physicians in the doctor’s own practices.
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Shortage
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Hospitals experience a severe shortage of nurses that will reach 260,000 positions by 2020 according to the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This problem is fueled by a massive departure of nurses who will reach the age of retirement within the next few years as well as a bottleneck in training nurses from nursing schools that cannot expand fast enough to respond to the demand.
Standard Education
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The American Association of Colleges of Nursing promotes pursuing a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing. This degree obtained from universities and colleges can lead to advancement in teaching, administrative or research nursing careers. Students preferring to enter the profession faster can graduate with a two-year or three-year associate degree in nursing (ADN) from community or junior colleges. Advancement with an ADN becomes more limited. Finally, hospitals offer a three-year nursing program that leads to an entry-level nurse position and a nursing diploma.
Higher Education
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A person with a bachelor's degree can join an accelerated one year to a year-and-a-half bachelor's degree in nursing or can consider pursuing a master's degree in nursing. The American Organization of Nurse Executives offers the Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP) accreditation and the Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML) certificate for nurses in management positions. These certification programs welcome nurses with master's degrees and some leadership experience.
Advancement
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Nurses may find their call in fields of specialization. For instance, professionals may choose to work in gerontology or pediatrics. The path to specialization is straightforward. The American Nursing Credentialing Center and the National League for Nursing offer credentialing training by specialization. With experience, advancement may evolve into head nurse positions, or chief of nursing, and even senior management positions within the administration of the hospital.
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References
- Mayo School of Health Sciences: Nursing Career Overview
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition - Registered Nurses
- Medscape: An Interview with Peter I. Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN: On Hopes and Threats for Nursing's Future
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Your Nursing Career - A Look at the Facts
- American Organization of Nurse Executives: Credentialing Center
Resources
- Photo Credit nurse on her cell image by Tracy Martinez from Fotolia.com
