Should You Go Into Nursing?

Nursing is a worthwhile profession for young people to go into. There is job security and the satisfaction of helping other people. Some states forgive as much as $25,000 per year if you commit to teach at an in-state college for two years.

There are 2.5 million registered nurses employed in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2020 we will have a shortage of 285,000 nurses nationwide. “That shortage could be 500,000 by 2025.” says Peter I.Buerhaus, Ph.D., R.N. a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN…

Why do we have a shortage of nurses? Nursing was once thought of as work for women and as jobs opened up for women in men dominated professions, fewer choose nursing. That is only one of the reasons, even more disappointing is there aren’t enough colleges and universities to teach nursing, and more people apply than can be accepted. Some 40,285 applicants were turned away from nursing programs in 2007. “Our applicant pool is running 8 to 1.” said Jeanette Lancaster, Ph.D., R.N. dean of the University Of Virginia School Of Nursing, in Charlotte, Va. and president of AACN.

Aging nurses are retiring and there are not enough graduates to replace them. Nurses who qualify as faculty can make more money working in a clinical practice and that further depletes the hospitals of nurses. “The largest number of entrants into nursing are in the late 20’s and 30’s looking for a second career.” says Buerhaus.

Johnson and Johnson launched a $50 million initiative called Campaign for Nursling’s Future to attract more people to the field. It also provides funds for students to study nursing and for nurses to teach at the college level. Some states are helping as well. Virginia students in nursing who commit to teaching in an in-state college for two years afterwards can receive up to $25,000 annually in loan forgiveness. This program was designed to attract more students to nursing.

“The public admires and respects nurses” says Buerhaus” There is unlimited opportunities for growth, advancement, and economic security in the field. And there is the knowledge and satisfaction of knowing you make a difference in people’s lives.

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  1. Excellent article, i think it takes really special people to go into the medical field.

  2. Lovely article. I feel well-rounded nurses need to have compassion and the will to serve, in order to be good at their job.

  3. a wonderful article on healthcare industry….really nice to read…

  4. As a nurse who trained in UK ,I found this a very interesting piece of writing. Good reading.

  5. Hi Ruby,

    As a nurse for the last 28 years I know there are a lot of down sides that no one tells you about. I agree we need more nurses. But people need to have a calling for the job and not just want a good paycheck. I see too many young nurses that don’t care how their patients feel, they just want to finish the shift and go home. Remember you have a persons life in your hands for that shift. So please only go into nursing if you love to work with all different types of people and real want to help. Not everyone is nice and sick people can be very mean to the ones trying to help them.

  6. here in my country, it’s the number course because everybody’s dreaming of working abroad, preferably in the US,Canada and UK because they offer much higher salary compared here. and because of this, we are also experiencing shortage in nurses…so sad…

  7. I looked after my mother who had Parkinsons. I found many people entered nursing for the money.. NOT because they were compassionate, good natured people.
    My father died while in hospital, he aspirated on his own vomit, all the nurses went for a smoke break at the same time, hard to beleive, but true. He was hooked up to moniters, and nobody responded. We should have sued, but mom didnt want to.

  8. I know I couldnt do it, I am happier looking after animals, not people. and even that is stressful, especially when they are your own, and you love them.

  9. Wonderful article.

  10. Thank you all for showing so much interest. I respect anyone so much who has a real calling for the work. I have been in the hospital with several different surgery’s and I see so many nurses who do not have compassion but I have seen many who went way beyond the call of duty. I have two nieces who are nurses and I am very proud of them. I do think it takes a person with compassion and love for humanity even at its worst, and I know its hard because I have seen some mean patients.

    Mark, I am so sorry about your parents. It is so tramatizing, I can understand why your mother didn’t want to pursue it. I hope we will have a better quality of people entering nursing who have a real calling.

  11. An excellent article, Ruby.

  12. It is sad to see this happening in the nursing field. Let’s hope things change soon. Excellent article by the way.

  13. Great awareness article! It is the same here with our nurses going overseas and the doctors.

  14. Such a need for good nurses! My hope is to see compassion and a deep level of caring for patients. Such true comments above, when you witness it from a patients view you run in to all sorts and it’s the truly dedicated ones that love their job and take time with the patients that you always remember!! Great article!

  15. excellent.

  16. Great article indeed. By the way, I am also a nursing student. I am hope that I can also go to the United States of America. :)
    God Bless You!

  17. Acecampillo, we will welcome you with open arms. We need you badly and I hope you have a wonderful career in nursing.

  18. I wanted to go into nursing but I had a family instead. I still hope to do so in a few years.

  19. I admire the profession. I hope we will have more good people go into it.

  20. I have nurses in the family who are dedicated. I know they have a hard job with long hours.

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