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Job Description:
Registered Nurses (RNs) provide care, treatment, counseling and
health education to patients. They assist in health maintenance
and the prevention or management of illness, injury and
disability. When providing direct patient care, they:
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Employment Outlook:
- Employment is expected to increase by 26% by
2010 nationwide, due to needs of the increasing
aging population
- Registered Nurse is the largest healthcare
occupation with more than 2 million jobs
- RN is one of the 10 occupations projected to
have the largest numbers of new jobs
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Currently there are
over 100,000 vacant positions. It is projected that
in 2010 there will be 213,500 vacancies and 434,000
vacancies by 2020
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Career Advancement:
Registered Nurses can advance by becoming certified in a
specialty area, including critical care, emergency,
gastroenterology, gerontology, infusion, medical-surgical,
neonatal, oncology, occupational health, operating room,
orthopedic, pediatric, perianesthesia, and psychiatric
nursing. Registered Nurses with a Master’s Degree (MSN) may
advance to nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist,
nurse-midwife, nurse anesthetist, and nurse
psychotherapist. Registered Nurses with a Doctoral Degree (PhD,
EdD, DNS) can assume leadership roles and conduct research, and
teach. Experienced Registered Nurses can advance to supervisory
and management roles, and work in quality assurance, marketing,
and planning and development.
Healthcare occupations that could transition into Registered
Nursing, with training: Licensed Practical Nurse, Nursing
Assistant, Lab Assistant, Phlebotomist, Health Unit Coordinator,
Service Workers (i.e. housekeeping, laundry, food services) |