The American Nurse Project-- 60 second trailer from American Nurse Project on Vimeo.
This is a videon trailer you will want to see.
The American Nurse Project - 60 second trailer
Tue, Dec 04, 2012 @ 09:26 AM
Nursing Boom Gives Lake Students a Lift
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:36 PM
THERESA CAMPBELL | Staff Writer
theresacampbell@dailycommercial.com
Dr. Margaret Wacker, director of nursing at Lake-Sumter State College, is not surprised 75,587 qualified, top applicants were turned away across the country in 2011 because many colleges are plagued with budget challenges and lack sufficient faculty to teach nursing students.
This comes at a critical time when the demand for registered nurses far outweighs the supply. In some larger Florida markets, like the Tampa Bay area, it's not uncommon to see health care facilities offering signing bonuses of $1,500 or more just to get applicants through the front door.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for nurses will intensify in 2020 with 1.2 million nursing job openings, but will there be enough nurses to fill the slots? The question more pressing to Wacker is who will teach the aspiring nurses?
"Most people do not know the average age of a nursing faculty member is 56 in the United States and, if we can't handle a lot of qualified applicants now, within the next five or six years, with retirement, it's going to be much worse," Wacker said. "Absolutely, I'm concerned about it."
LSSC has 14 full-time and 12 adjunct part-time clinical instructors, along with three staff members, one researcher and a technical assistant.
"Our faculty, with the exception of one, they're over 50, all of them," said Wacker, who noted she is "way over retirement age" and has no idea when she will step down.
"What's going to happen in six years? There is going to be nobody to teach," she said.
Wacker said low salaries are keeping experienced BSN level nurses from becoming teachers.
"If a staff nurse is making twice what a faculty member makes, there is no incentive for them to then spend a lot of money to get a master's degree," Wacker said. "Any one of us (faculty) could be making two to three times our salary if we were in a clinical setting."
Wacker said surveys from LSSC nursing students show they are averaging $44,000 when they graduate with an associate degree, while the college's nursing faculty with a master's degree start at $40,000.
The nursing educators are currently teaching 72 applicants who were accepted out of 115 in LSSC's general nursing program. The selected students had top GPAs of 3.5 and higher, while 24 more advanced nursing students out of 28 applicants qualified for the concurrent program at LSSC, where they're being taught University of Central Florida courses at the local campus.
"They are very close to the baccalaureate when they graduate from us and then in another year they get their BSN from UCF," Wacker said. "They learn so much, but it's tough. It's very, very tough. ... We take the brightest who can make it."
Meeting hospital needsHolly Kolozsvary, RN, human resources director for Central Florida Health Alliance, the health system for Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital, along with Tina Hayes, RN, who does all of the nurse recruiting for the two hospitals, praise the nursing curriculum offered at LSSC, Lake Technical Center and other colleges and universities.
"They have great programs. I would probably say that 50 percent or more of our nursing staff is from right here," Kolozsvary said. "We're always looking for ways to bring in students for various occupations. Certainly, nursing is one of our primary areas with the largest percentage of employees being nurses."
Hayes noted the schools are "constantly seeking our advice" to improve the nursing program.
Florida Waterman said nearly 85 percent of the hospital's new graduate nurses are from Lake County, with about 50 percent from Lake-Sumter State College while the remaining from surrounding counties, south Florida and out-of-state.
"Several of the graduate nurses we have hired over the past 18 months have been employees who worked in a variety of positions at Florida Hospital Waterman while attending nursing school," said Patricia Dolan, RN, vice president/chief nursing officer.
"We make every attempt to be flexible with their work schedules while they are attending school," she said. "Through the nursing scholarship program and tuition assistance we have been able to advance and promote our employees. Retention is the key to developing a stable workforce."
The hospitals work closely with LSSC and Lake Tech to provide a clinical site for nursing students to gain experience as they complete their studies. Nursing leaders from the hospitals also sit on advisory boards to promote nursing within the community.
"Since the fall of 2011, FHW has provided an extended nurse internship program to 90 graduates from central Florida and other states," Dolan said.
"This program consists of a 12-week extension of an orientation program that includes didactic classes to establish comfort with assessment and critical thinking skills with the use of SimMan laboratory, and a mentoring program where more experienced nurses' nurture new nurses to help them develop their skills. The nursing internship program is our attempt to "grow our own.'"
The medical field also requires nurses to constantly continue their education to keep up with new procedures, technologies and medical advances. Obamacare also is spurring the way nurses do their jobs.
"The charting has changed," Hayes said. "We are going more computerized; we are adding new systems. Eventually, it will make it easier, but right now it's just a big learning curve for everyone."
"We have to be very smart and work smarter not harder," added Kolozsvary. "All industry is like this. On a daily basis we need to do more with less and be very, very smart and be challenged and positive. We take care of people and it's not like we can cop an attitude ... The patient deserves the best when we are in that room. They do not deserve to hear any grumbling about what is going on. They need to be taken care of, so that's a challenge to teach people that attitude has to stay outside. We are here to take care of patients. That's our mission and this is the community that we serve."
Good job market
Lake and Sumter County is touted as an ideal place for nurses to work as more people move to Florida to retire. The boom of The Villages also spurs the demand for the registered nursing workforce.
"We are in a good market," Kolozsvary said. "We have had graduate nurses and new nurses from a lot of other states who apply to us, along with a lot of other counties in Florida. ... We are very marketable with our pay scales and certainly our benefits are extremely lucrative."
Hayes said it sparks applications when nurses hear about Central Florida Health Alliance's hospitals being on the top "100 Best Employers for Working Families," and being the recipient of other employee honors.
"We have a daycare on site here at Leesburg and we have the charter schools at the other hospital," Hayes said of The Villages. "We are one of the few hospitals that are still growing."
Other hospitals across the country are not faring as well"There are hospitals that are closing down right now and we are still adding beds," Kolozsvary said. "We are very fortunate to sit in Central Florida right in the middle of the state where we still have growth."
The growth is happening as the area strives to rebound from the 2007 recession.
Florida Hospital Waterman officials noted a Florida Center for Nursing 2011 survey shows Florida's unemployment rate has consistently been higher than the national unemployment rate since January 2008. However, employment in Florida's healthcare sector has remained a shining point in these tough economic times. RN employment has increased during the recession.
The number of full-time equivalent RNs employed in hospitals has increased every year since the recession began in 2007 (with the exception of 2009), according to the publication Medical. Nationally, in 2009 and 2010, RNs over age 50 comprised approximately 30 percent of the hospital workforce.
The Florida Hospital Association said current nursing employment is being driven by several factors: Nurses who are delaying retirement, nurses who had previously left the workforce returning to work, and part-time nurses who are working more hours.
Older nurses will eventually leave the workforce and need to be replaced, yet some officials believe it will remain a slow, steady workforce transformation until the economy improves and the overall unemployment rate declines.
Wacker said Lake-Sumter State College is noticing the slow transformation.
"Because of the economy, people are staying longer and they are not retiring," Wacker said. "So our new graduates, and I just looked at a survey, some of them can't get jobs and they are going into other things. So it's a bad situation at three levels: Qualified applicants are being refused admission because we can only take the best and the brightest and who can make it; the faculty aging issue and nobody going into education; and then we the economic issue of the hospitals having to limit new hires because they don't have the attrition rates they would normally have for retirement."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the registered nursing workforce will remain the "top occupation" in terms of job growth through 2020 across the country, with the number of employed nurses rising from 2.74 million in 2010 to 3.45 million in 2020. In addition to 712,000 new job openings, the department predicted 495,000 replacement hirings, bringing the total number of nursing job openings to 1.2 million in the next seven years.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing said nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demand for registered nurses, given that 75,587 qualified applicants were turned away from U.S. nursing schools in 2011 because of an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space and budget challenges.
Wacker believes residents can make a difference on the future of nursing education.
"I think it's important if they write to their legislators to see if more money can become available for BSN level nurses to get master's degrees in education to be able to teach, because that is the minimum requirement," said Wacker, who believes there needs to be an incentive for experienced BSN nurses to return to school to become teachers to teach future generations of aspiring nurses.
Topics: growth, nursing boom, applicants, nurse, college
How a Nurse Can Increase Salary
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:28 PM
Article from Jackson University
In economically challenging times, many nurses are looking for ways to boost salary and increase the versatility of their valuable skill set. Keeping skills current is a mandatory part of nursing but even with superior skills there is intense competition for top jobs.
Broadening your résumé with additional credentials can make you attractive to employers who want a versatile staff able to fill in where needed. As a result, nurses are finding creative ways to gain experience that makes their skills more attractive and, at the same time, opens the door to increased salary.
Boost Credentials
Many highly ranked and regionally accredited online programs provide a win-win situation for nurses, allowing them to bolster their résumé while remaining with their current employer.
Completing a BSN or MSN can increase employment flexibility and earning potential. Opportunities also exist for nurses who undertake additional training in specialty areas such as: Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP).
Consider the Whole Package
The versatility of nursing is a great selling point for those who enter the field. Qualified nurses with a reputable education and strong experience may find themselves comparing more than one employment offer at some point in their career.
Carefully examining benefit packages at prospective employers will help you choose the best fit for your needs. Better health insurance coverage, comprehensive tuition assistance packages and top-notch retirement plans have long-term financial advantages that can augment a salary offer.
The ability to adjust a compensation package as your needs change over the course of your professional career is also an important factor to consider.
When looking to increase salary, you may be overlooking options at your current employer. For instance, many employers offer a wide range of training and ongoing educational opportunities. There might be in-house technology or software training available that could bring extra income over time. Flex time while taking courses or tuition assistance for online and traditional courses is a common benefit in healthcare settings.
It is often more economical for an employer to invest in current employees than to hire someone new. Meet with a supervisor or HR professional to determine which advancement opportunities are available.
Be Creative
If you need extra money consider working night, weekend and holiday shifts. Becoming a traveling nurse where need is great also may boost your salary. If you prefer to stay close to home, many nursing training programs hire tutors or maintain a list of tutors for students who need extra help.
Some community organizations need health speakers and may pay for your services; community event organizers also often need to hire a nurse to work at a first aid station during a foot race or other special event.
In recent years, some health plans have begun offering work to nurses willing to field online questions, return phone calls or offer intermittent services to outpatients and those recovering from surgery.
In short, there is often a diversity of part-time opportunities available for making extra money once you take the time to start looking.
Taking a Holistic Approach
Nursing remains a great investment of tuition dollars even in a tough economy. Many top-notch, online nursing programs offer the versatility needed for busy nurses to boost their résumé and earning power.
Solid increases in salary typically coincide with securing additional skills and credentials that make you more valuable in the marketplace. For nurses, a holistic approach and a little creativity can often reveal short- and long-term ways to gain training and boost income potential for years to come.
4 nurse communication startups to improve patient outcomes
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:23 PM
October 9, 2012 4:12 pm by Stephanie Baum
Communication is a critical component of healthcare, particularly when you consider the potential for miscommunication in a hectic environment when a delay or misunderstanding can cause needless complications for patients with the potential for catastrophic results. About 70 percent of sentinel events in a healthcare setting are caused by communication lapses.
With nurses taking on more responsibility, theneed for finding ways to improve communication is likely to increase. Here are fourhealth IT and communicationstartupsthat are developing and providing devices to improve patient outcomes.
Voalte: After raising $ 6 million in a series B round, Sarasota, Florida-basedVolate is adding 100 jobs to its 50-strong ranks. The communications firm works with companies to modernize their outdated communications systemas its platform for iPhones and iPadsand desk based computers relies on the providers’ Wi-Fi system. The platform integrates phone calls, alarms and alerts. It shows users which clinical care team members are available. The clinical care team platformhelps nurses delegate by showing which staff are available at any given time. If a patient needs the bathroom orif they trigger an alert a nurse can delegate that task and eithertype their own message orchoose froma list of frequently sent requests. Thesystem also confirms when a messagehas been read.
Carex: The Indianapolis startup’s cloud based platform, Handoffsfor Extended/Assisted Living, has honed in on an area vulnerable for communication errors: shift changes. It pulls basic information about each patient from the facility’s electronic medical records toa computer or iPad. Nurses can carry the iPad and use the program to make notes about patients during their shift. When they are ending their shift, nurses digitally hand over the patients to the incoming nurses, who are prompted to accept them when nurses log in to HEAL and begin their shift.Once the new nursesaccept the patient load, thedepartingnurses are notified by text message. The incoming nurses get access to any notes made about that patient by the previous nurses, with the most recently edited patient records appearing at the top of the screen.
Gweepi Medical:Its adult diaper sensor for healthcare providers such as nursing homes can help track incontinence. The Cambridge, Massachusetts health tech company uses a wireless sensor and software system and when it is wet it sends an alert to nursing staff. It alsokeeps track of the time and severity of each episode, providing the opportunity for a more personalized care plan with the additional data.
Starling Health: The New York City company’s two-way communication devices are positioned at the bedside so patients can contact nurses when they need to get out of the bed for medication or a bathroom visit. One goal of the system is to improve staff efficiency in carrying out these tasks. There are also touchscreen icons for patients who aren’t as computer savvy. Calls can be routed to different staff members, depending on the type of call, in order to dispatch the most suitable level of care. And it’s multilingual.
Topics: communication startups, nurse, patient, improve
New Clinics Fill a Niche for Routine Health Care
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:10 PM
Nurse practitioner Denise Snyder likes to think of Gainesville's new MinuteClinic as a one-room schoolhouse. It has just about everything you'd find at a doctor's office: blood pressure cuffs, flu vaccines, strep tests, an eyesight chart, and even a stack of toothbrushes for people with strep throat, since they are supposed to use a different toothbrush within 24 hours of taking antibiotics.
The one-stop clinic -- Gainesville's first MinuteClinic -- opened two weeks ago inside the CVS at 3404 SW Archer Road, and another one will open next month in the CVS at 4354 NW 23rd Ave.
The clinics, numbering more than 600 in the U.S., specialize in treating minor illnesses and injuries, monitoring chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and doing routine physicals and vaccinations. Their intent is to fulfill a need in between an urgent care clinic and a primary-care doctor's office.
MinuteClinic is one of a few local clinics that in the dawn of health-care reforms is set to make health care more accessible. The University of Florida and Shands opened a Family Medicine Clinic at Jonesville on Nov. 1, which covers preventive care, immunizations, sports physicals, women's care and pediatric and adult care. And an Alachua County Health Department (ACHD) clinic will open next summer off Southwest 24th Avenue in southwest Gainesville to serve disadvantaged patients, the ACHD announced Tuesday.
Snyder, who is MinuteClinic clinical practice manager for Northwest Florida and Gainesville, said the goal of MinuteClinic is not to replace primary care practices but rather "to be an extension of that."
"We're out in the community and very accessible for minor conditions and basic care," added Dr. Nancy Gagliano, the medical director of MinuteClinic, which is a subsidiary of CVS and headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I.
"With health reform and just the general shortage of primary-care physicians, the country needs to be innovative at finding patients affordable care," said Gagliano.
Minor illness visits cost $79, and flu and strep tests $30. Overall services are estimated to cost 80 percent less than they do at the ER and 40-50 percent less than they do at primary-care clinics. MinuteClinic accepts most major insurance plans. According to some estimates, retail health clinics such as MinuteClinic, which launched in 2000, could reduce health-care costs by $350 million by 2020.
The clinic is mostly staffed by nurse practitioners, and because of that has a holistic approach to treatment, explained Tracie Mitchem-Green, a nurse practitioner at the Gainesville clinic. "We don't just throw a medicine at it. We're very evidence-based," she said, adding that if someone comes in who's had a cold for a day and wants antibiotics, they won't necessarily prescribe one. "We're all about educating patients."
An "Ask Me 3" brochure that patients get has three questions that patients should ask when they come in: What is the problem? What do patients need to do about it? Why is it important for them to follow through with treatments?
"We don't just give them a Z-pac and send them out the door," Snyder added. "If it's a virus, the body has to heal."
The clinics' location inside a CVS store is convenient -- since nurses can show people which medications to buy from an often overwhelming plethora of choices, said Snyder.
Since the clinic opened, Mitchem-Green has had a lot of patients with sore throats. That's why Kyle Johnstone wandered into the CVS where the MinuteClinic is on Tuesday. He was looking for cough syrup for his sore throat, which developed after he spent the weekend with a nephew who had strep throat. Johnstone said he couldn't get into his primary-care physician for another two weeks, so he decided to wait 20 minutes to be seen at the MinuteClinic instead.
The pharmaceutical representative squeezed in the visit between work appointments. "If I'm walking into a lot of offices, I don't want to spread germs," said Johnstone.
Kimberly Greenwood, a nursing student, also came to the clinic Tuesday with a sore throat and discovered she had an upper respiratory virus, so she stocked up on some Sudafed and was headed home after being seen.
A native of Ohio, Greenwood had been going to MinuteClinic there for several years. "If you're a student and constantly moving around, it's a really good thing to have," said Greenwood, adding, "I don't want to go to urgent care clinics and take care from people who need it."
And that's precisely MinuteClinic's mission. "We can free up the primary-care physician a little bit to take care of more patients and sicker patients," Gagliano said, adding that the clinics are convenient for people to stay on top of regulating their glucose or blood pressure. "With the aging of the population, there's just more care people are going to need ... this is almost a safety net in the community."
The ACHD clinic aims to be a safety net as well, in Gainesville's southwest neighborhoods. "We know that the area has tremendous unmet needs," said Diane D'imperio, director of program development at the ACHD. The area, known as the "southwest triangle," has the county's highest concentration of Medicaid births and babies of low birth weight. It also reports the highest number of ER visits per capita.
"We think (the clinic) will make a huge difference both in terms of reducing ER visits and improving overall health," said D'imperio.
One of the clinic's partners is SWAG, the Southwest Advocacy Group, which is right across the street from where the clinic will be. SWAG provides educational, health and community resources to people in the area.
"Having the SWAG clinic there is an automatic outreach," said D'imperio. "People might come there looking for food or clothes...the staff there will really be able to encourage people to come. They'll be able to function like an advisory group."
Topics: minute clinic, CVS, nurse practitioner
Nurse Practitioners Offer Effective, Low-Cost Care
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:04 PM
Health care reform is one of the most significant public policy issues facing the United States. The debate frequently focuses on government policy and programs, often to the exclusion of non-government solutions. In this article, part of an occasional series, Sean Parnell reports and comments on how individual citizens, associations, and for-profit companies are solving health care problems through markets and voluntary action rather than government.
Getting access to health care can be difficult for many people, even for individuals or families with comprehensive health insurance. Doctors' offices are not always conveniently located, requiring a special trip to see the doctor. Many patients cannot see their doctors the same day, or even the same week, they call to schedule an appointment. And most patients are familiar with long waits in a reception area until their doctor can see them.
In addition, visiting a doctor for relatively minor symptoms or ailments can be expensive, even with comprehensive insurance coverage.
To address such concerns, nurse practitioners have begun to set up shop in locations more convenient for patients, typically a busy retail store like Target or CVS Pharmacy, or in a shopping center. These clinics offer a low-cost alternative to doctors' offices. No appointment is required.
Convenient for Minor Ailments
MinuteClinic, based in Minneapolis, is the biggest operator of these types of clinics, with 22 locations--15 in the Twin Cities area and another seven in Baltimore. FastCare operates two clinics in Louisville, Kentucky, both in Kroger's grocery stores. Other clinics with names like Quick Care and MEDspot also have opened, and further expansion is expected.
The nurse practitioners staffing these clinics have a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing as well as a two-year master's degree. A nurse practitioner is allowed by most states to prescribe medication and perform basic health care functions without direct supervision by a doctor.
At these clinics, nurse practitioners commonly treat such ailments as ear and eye infections, strep throat, allergies, bladder infections, and flu. They also administer vaccinations and perform routine screenings such as pregnancy and allergy tests.
Prices Low, No Waiting
Prices at clinics staffed by nurse practitioners are typically far less than what a doctor's office might charge. The average cost for a visit is roughly $38 at a FastCare clinic, according to an October 14, 2004 CBSMarketWatch.com article. MinuteClinic's Web site lists the cost of a visit at about $44.
The February 1, 2004 issue of Fortune magazine compared costs between MinuteClinic and local doctors for several common medical problems. Forbes reported an ear infection treated at MinuteClinic would be $44, while a visit to a doctor's office would typically cost about $85.
Lower cost is not the only advantage the nurse practitioner clinics offer. Their biggest advantage, according to many in the industry, is the minimal waiting times. There are no appointments: Patients simply walk in to the clinic and are seen almost immediately. The typical visit takes about 15 minutes.
Doctors Concerned
The arrival of clinics staffed by nurse practitioners has drawn mixed reaction from the medical community. Some doctors have expressed concern nurse practitioners will miss the signs of more serious illnesses that require attention from a physician or even a hospital.
Dr. Bob Hamilton, a retired general surgeon in Godfrey, Illinois, says nurse practitioners simply don't have the extensive medical training needed to identify and treat patients who may appear to have a simple condition but in fact are much sicker and need a doctor.
"Long years of medical training for doctors are spent learning the intricacies of human diseases and their management," said Hamilton. "The breadth of medicine can be almost overwhelming, but it's necessary to properly diagnose and treat patients. I'm afraid nurse practitioners simply don't have that needed training."
Nurses Well-Trained
MinuteClinic's Linda Hall Whitman disagrees. "The doctors expressing these concerns do not appear to be familiar with the depth of the extensive training, credentialing, and national certification required of nurse practitioners," she said.
"Every MinuteClinic patient assessment and treatment follows evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that are embedded in our electronic medical records system," noted Dr. James Woodburn, chief medical officer for MinuteClinic, in a company news release. "Individuals with illnesses outside our scope of services or who exhibit signs of a chronic condition are referred to their doctor or, if critical, the nearest emergency room."
Some critics are also concerned that competition from clinics run by nurse practitioners will affect the finances of physician practices. Lou Giancola, president and CEO of South County Hospital Healthcare System in Rhode Island, recently wrote in a column posted on its Web site, "MinuteClinics ... add to the financial strain already felt by hardworking practices."
Giancola continued, "MinuteClinics cannot provide the continuum of care that your family doctor can, but it can chip away at his or her ability to maintain a practice in this community."
Clinics 'Fill a Need'
Other doctors are more comfortable with the role these clinics play. Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and an internist in Tucson, Arizona, sees a place in a market-driven health care system for standalone clinics run by nurse practitioners, although she has concerns about quality of care and the possibility that better-qualified doctors may be driven out of the market by lower-cost nurse practitioners.
"Things work well in a free market, so I'm fine with patients going to see a nurse practitioner," Orient said. "Some nurse practitioners are excellent and do a better job than a lot of doctors."
Linda Gorman, director of the Health Care Policy Center at the Independence Institute, a Colorado think tank, also supports the idea of independent nurse practitioner clinics. "These clinics fill a need for people who know what is wrong with them," Gorman said, although she also noted, "They aren't suitable for people with complex medical problems."
Gorman recounted the story of a friend, a teacher in a school in which nearly all of the students came down with pink eye. "Then the teacher's eyes turned pink. It was blindingly obvious that she, too, had pink eye. She was not happy having to pay $75 for a visit just to get the prescription. A nurse practitioner clinic would have been perfect for her."
Nearly All Patients Satisfied
Independent clinics run by nurse practitioners are unlikely to be a "silver bullet" for health care. As many doctors note, the training and experience of nurse practitioners is simply not equivalent to that of a doctor.
However, as Hall Whitman of MinuteClinic observes, treatment protocols at the company's clinics are reviewed and approved by physicians, and the clinics have a 99.9 percent patient satisfaction rate over four years of operation--treating more than 220,000 people. The firm never has been sued for malpractice, notes Whitman, which would seem to indicate its clinics are focused on ailments within their scope of care and are referring patients to doctors when more extensive diagnosis and treatment may be warranted.
Topics: cost effective, health care, nurse practitioner
5 Nursing Jobs Poised for Big Growth
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 02:53 PM
Article from CareerBuilder.com
The nursing shortage often lamented by policymakers and health care professionals appears to have eased during the recession, but experts warn that demand for nurses will rise sharply in the coming years. New data from the federal government appears to bear that out, showing that the nursing field is likely to add jobs rapidly over the coming decade.
That's according to employment projections released earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Of the 30 occupations that will see the largest gain in new jobs between 2010 and 2020, six are in nursing. Registered nurses are at the very top of the list, with more new jobs projected than any other occupation. Home and personal care aides are poised for astronomical growth (around 70 percent), reflecting the large numbers of elderly people likely to need these services.
These big gains follow the trend for the health care industry overall. The BLS projects that health care practitioners (a group that includes physicians, registered nurses, health technologists and others) will see the second-largest number of new jobs among all occupational groups: 2 million between 2010 and 2020, adding jobs at a rate of 25.9 percent. Health care support jobs (a category that includes personal care and home health aides, among others) will see the fastest growth of any occupational group: 1.4 million jobs between 2010 and 2020, at a rate of 34.5 percent.
The list below features six nursing jobs poised for major growth.
1. Registered nurses
Number of new jobs: 711,900
Growth rate: 26 percent
Overall rank (in number of new jobs created, among all occupations): 1
What they need: To complete a bachelor's degree in nursing, an associate degree in nursing or a diploma, plus pass a licensure exam
What they do: Treat and educate patients under the supervision of physicians, in a wide variety of health care settings
2. Home health aides
Number of new jobs: 706,300
Growth rate: 69.4 percent
Overall rank: 3
What they need: To complete a minimum 75-hour training program and pass a test or state certification exam
What they do: Provide basic nursing care for elderly and other needy patients in their homes
3. Personal care aides
Number of new jobs: 607,000
Growth rate: 70.5 percent
Overall rank: 4
What they need: To complete a training program
What they do: Perform duties similar to home health aides, but with a focus on household help, bathing and dressing
4. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
Number of new jobs: 302,000
Growth rate: 20.1 percent
Overall rank: 11
What they need: Vocational or on-the-job training, plus certification requirements that vary by state and type of health care facility
What they do: Provide routine, hands-on care in a range of health care settings such as hospitals and nursing care facilities
5. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Number of new jobs: 168,500
Growth rate: 22.4 percent
Overall rank: 28
What they need: To complete a one-year training program and pass a licensure exam
What they do: Care for patients under the supervision of registered nurses and physicians
6. Medical assistants
Number of new jobs: 162,900
Growth rate: 30.9 percent
Overall rank: 30
What they need: To complete a one- or two-year training program, either at a community college or vocational school, or on the job
What they do: Perform a range of clinical and administrative tasks in offices of physicians and other health care practitioners
Registered Nurse: Salary
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 02:35 PM
Article from U.S. News
#1 in U.S. News Best Jobs 2012
Overall Score: 8.2
| Number of Jobs: 711,900 | Median Salary: $64,690 |
| Unemployment Rate: 5.5% | Job Satisfaction: MEDIUM |
Salary Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median annual wage for a registered nurse was $64,690 in 2010. The best-paid 10 percent of RNs made approximately $95,130, while the bottom 10 percent made approximately $44,190. The highest wages are reserved for personal care nurses, or those working for private-sector pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers. By location, the highest-paid positions are clustered in the metropolitan areas of northern California, including municipalities in and around San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco.
Average Registered Nurse Pay vs. All Healthcare Jobs
Registered nurses make an average salary of $64,690, which is pretty good pay compared with some of the other Healthcare Jobs on this year's list of The Best Jobs of 2012. That's comparable to the pay of occupational and physical therapists. Medical assistants take home far less money in a year—approximately $35,830 less in 2010 than the average RN earned that same year. And with an average salary that's a little more than $30,000 per year, paramedics also have a lower average salary than nurses.
Best Paying Cities for Registered Nurses
The highest paid in the registered nurse profession work in the metropolitan areas of San Jose, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and San Francisco. The Salinas, Calif. area also pays well, as does the city of Napa, Calif..
San Jose, Calif.
Salary: $116,150
The annual median wage of a registered nurse working in San Jose, Calif. is $116,150, which is $51,460 more than the average pay in the profession.
Oakland, Calif.
Salary: $100,900
The annual median wage of a registered nurse working in Oakland, Calif. is $100,900, which is $36,210 more than the average pay in the profession.
San Francisco
Salary: $97,600
The annual median wage of a registered nurse working in San Francisco is $97,600, which is $32,910 more than the average pay in the profession.
Salinas, Calif.
Salary: $97,450
The annual median wage of a registered nurse working in Salinas, Calif. is $97,450, which is $32,760 more than the average pay in the profession.
Napa, Calif.
Salary: $97,090
The annual median wage of a registered nurse working in Napa, Calif. is $97,090, which is $32,400 more than the average pay in the profession.
Topics: United States, RN, salary
5 Strategies to Help Cope with Compassion Fatigue
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 02:19 PM
“I get so attached to my patients that I just can’t get them out of my head when I go home.”
“Every week I find myself getting distraught over a new favorite patient who isn’t doing well.”
Is this you? As a nurse, you witness the fear, pain and suffering of others every day. But when you get too immersed in the lives and trials of your patients, you can become a victim of “compassion fatigue.” Compassion fatigue is also thought of as “secondary post-traumatic stress.” And once it sets in, you can lose mental energy and get burned out.
How do you know if you’re suffering from compassion fatigue?
• Mistakes go up and job performance goes down.
• You can’t stop thinking about your job or the problems of your patients.
• You have trouble sleeping.
• You have a general feeling of weariness.
• You don’t feel like doing anything—you feel blah.
• You feel less satisfied, less energetic and less efficient.
If you’re unsure whether you suffer from compassion fatigue, it’s time to become more self-aware. Watch how you are reacting to your patients and colleagues…and how they are reacting to you. Are you more sensitive than usual? Are your colleagues getting frustrated with you? Are your patients becoming too clingy? Too familiar? When you recognize how others perceive you and the affect you have on others, you can identify the above symptoms of burnout early.
Use these strategies to cope with job stress and to combat compassion fatigue:
• Exercise. You may feel like you just don’t have time to exercise. The physical and mental benefits of exercise will make you more productive and are worth every minute. [Editor's note: Scrubs Magazine has a great series of articles for quick workouts you can do while on the job].
• Maintain a personal life, even if you don’t feel like it. When you’re stressed, you may tend to eliminate the very things that will revitalize you—like family dinners, eating lunch out, prayer, meditation, or time with friends. Spend time with supportive people.
• Have a sense of humor. People in stressful jobs, such as psychiatric nurses, may often have a wicked sense of humor—but it’s still a sense of humor. When people who work with them recognize they’re joking around less often, it’s a sign that it’s time for a break.
• Set limits between work and home activities. Easier said than done, I know. Don’t play nurse or therapist in personal relationships.
• Broaden your network. Get involved in professional or social organizations where like-minded people meet and discuss events and mutual problems.
Editor’s note: Some of the symptoms that included in this article could be indicators for depression. Please see a mental health professional if you believe you are clinically depressed. Also, it’s okay to show emotion and share it with families and patients, but try your hardest to not get attached to patients too frequently. Sure, there will always be that special patient that touches your heart, but if you’re suffering from compassion fatigue, it is time to reevaluate your role as a professional in these particular peoples’ lives for your own sanity.
Additional resources to download:
Topics: compassion fatigue, nurse, patient
The Top 5 Ways Nurses can Keep the Holiday Pounds from Creeping On!
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 02:06 PM
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could eat what you wanted, skip the gym and still look terrific? Sigh. We all can dream, right?!
A majority of us mere mortals don’t live in that wonderful world, so as the holiday season kicks off, we start to worry about the extra pounds joining us for Thanksgiving (and New Year’s…and Valentine’s Day…and Memorial Day). Want to maintain your weight and eat some delicious treats this holiday season? Here’s our guide to keeping fit and healthy…and eating your cake, too.
1. Watch your portions.
Overdid it on the turkey this year? Check out these five easy ways to take control over how much you eat (and prevent the pounds from piling on!):
- Know how many servings of food from each food group you should have each day
- Think “portion” and “serving size” every time you eat
- Snack smart–especially at work
- Cook leftovers
- Share!
See how simple each of these steps really is!
2. Work it out…at work!
Have the holiday cakes, pies and cookies put a little wobble in your rear? Try this quick fix: When you’re standing and charting, do toe rises. That is, rise up onto your toes and then lower. Squeeze your glutes (butt muscles) together as you rise. Hello, fab tush!
We have five more awesome exercises you can sneak into your workday here!
3. Hate workouts? Don’t do ‘em…but stay active!
If running for an hour on the treadmill doesn’t strike your fancy (um, does it strike anyone’s fancy?), try one of these activities instead. You’ll be having so much fun you won’t even notice you’re exercising!
- Dance around the house to music
- Try some aerobics at home with a group of friends (spandex optional!)
- Take a Zumba class with a pal
- Get out in your garden for a few hours
See 10 more popular ways nurses are shedding the pounds.
4. Gadget-ize!
Try adding a workout gadget to help you stay in shape.
One winner? The Stamina Pilates Magic Circle, below. It powers up your workout by providing added resistance. Squeeze it between your thighs and it engages both legs and abs; do the same thing in your hands and you’ll work arms and abs. Press it against your hip using one arm and you’ll get killer deltoids and triceps. Yes, please!
Four more workout gadgets you’ve gotta try.
5. Boost your metabolism with baby steps
Find little ways to stay in motion during the day–you’ll be surprised at how much they do to burn calories and keep you fit!
- Put down the remote
- Wash the car by hand
- Flex your muscles while sitting down
- Stretch in your free time–try a quick five-minute stretch on your lunch break!
Check out eight more mini-metabolism boosters!