Job Outlook for Nurses Is Outstanding According to the Department of Labor

Registered Nurse Report
This comes from the US Department of Labor and is their 2010-2011 Occupational Guide. Here are highlights of the report:

Registered nurses (RNs) constitute the largest healthcare occupation, with 2.6 million jobs.About 60 percent of RN jobs are in hospitals.The three typical educational paths to registered nursing are a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, and a diploma from an approved nursing program; advanced practice nurses-clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives, and nurse practitioners-need a master's degree.Overall job opportunities are expected to be excellent, but may vary by employment and geographic setting; some employers report difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of RNs.Employment of nurses is expected to grow by 22% much faster than the average of all occupationsNurses with a bachelor's degree are more sought after than nurses without one

One of the most interesting things about the job outlook is that they say that growth in nursing in hospitals will be much lower than in other places like working in doctor's offices, nursing homes, home healthcare and in other parts of the medical field. Just because it is growing slower doesn't mean that there still isn't quite a significant growth in jobs in the hospital setting.

Other interesting things in the report are that in some areas of the country they are having such a difficult time attracting nurses that employers are offering relocation assistance (money to relocate), signing bonuses which are cash bonuses when you officially agree to work for them, family friendly scheduling and other incentives to attract qualified candidates.

In 2008, here were the median wages of nurses:

Employment services (those who work as head hunters) $68,160General medical and surgical hospitals 63,880Offices of physicians 59,210Home health care services 58,740Nursing care facilities 57,060

The report also talks about the types of jobs that nurses have and their responsibilities and the opportunities for advancement. Here are some of the interesting points about registered nurse advancement:

Most RNs start out as staff nurses in hospitalsMany RNs go on to become advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists or nurse midwivesMany nurses in the hospital environment find advancement opportunities in management and supervisory positions in the hospitalMany nurses move their career into the business side of healthcare. It isn't uncommon for nurses to go academically to get an MBA degree and enter the business world and it is not unheard of that nurses go on to become lawyers.

It is important to remember that healthcare is a big business that hires many people who work very far from the patient's bedside. In many, many of these jobs, it is really important that the people have a real and tangible healthcare background. Nursing provides that background.

It is also worthwhile to keep in mind that there are several important factors that are driving the increase in the need for nurses. Firstly, the aging population means more sick people. The baby boomers are getting into their 60s and the need for more healthcare at that age increases dramatically. That means there is a need for more nurses. Secondly, whatever healthcare reform looks like, it will likely increase the access many people have to healthcare. People who couldn't afford healthcare or it wasn't a financial priority will be able to get healthcare under the new programs being discussed. This will drive the demand for more doctors.

Florida based freelance journalist Jim O'Donnell often writes on civil and economic topics and is interested in healthcare issues and particularly the quality of healthcare career education. For more information about nursing schools check out nursing school review website or more information on the difference between lpn and rn careers and training, click the link.

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