No longer is nursing considered a woman's job, and this is shown by the influx of males into this once female only profession. Many men are entering this workforce and they are changing and reshaping nursing duties. Instead of looking at this career as an inferior selection compared to that of a physician, nurses today are approaching this field as a separate and distinctive job choice in healthcare. This is the position that allows for one on one interaction with the patients. It is the nurse with whom the patients and the family members interact most and the nurses have a major part in how fast and well a patient recovers. A large percentage of nurses consider this patient involvement as one of the prime motivating factors for them choosing this health care profession.
There are a number of positions that are considered to be entry level nursing jobs and some of these are certified nursing assistant jobs. At one time nursing assistants were just trained on the job in very basic duties like taking and recording vital signs but these duties have been greatly expanded. Now these assistants need to have certification that they have been trained and can safely carry out many nursing tasks like drawing blood, changing basic dressings and even CPR. In these courses, the students are also trained to safely turn and move patients and to help them ambulate with assistance. They are also shown basic patient care routines like bathing and eating and learn how to best assist their patients with these and other ADL needs. ADL is an acronym for activities of daily living.
Openings for certified nursing assistants are growing rapidly, and these positions are available to people who have completed and passed the required courses. Certified nursing assistant courses can be completed in only a few months and the students will then be able to gain employment with a hospital, nursing home, or even a doctor's office. Nursing homes and rehab centers always have openings in these areas because it can be a very stressful and time-consuming job. With the lack of qualified workers in healthcare positions, many of the nursing assistants are being required to cover an additional assignment, which is a main factor in the heightened stress of their job. This covering of additional assignments is also being demanded of other health care workers. Even with the extra work, many of these assistants enjoy their jobs and are taking college classes to prepare them for future jobs as LPNs or RNs.
Many of the employees who are coming into healthcare as dietary workers, transporters, lab techs, and patient care assistants are busy preparing for the training and college education that will allow them to advance in the nursing career field. These entry-level nursing jobs also provide patient skills and hospital experience. The hospitals today will gladly pay the cost of an employee's school tuition and books in exchange for a promise to continue working at the institution once they have completed their training. This is a great way to get a paid education and a high paying career in one brilliant move.
Nursing is a professional career option that may have once been out of reach for many people but it is now a realizable goal for millions. Even at an entry level assistant position the pay can be $10-12 per hour for those without experience and you can expect at least an annual pay raise. There is also shift differential pay for those working the evening or nighttime hours. All of these jobs come with benefits including insurance, retirement, and disability pay as well.
Once people have advanced to become LPNs or RNs, they will have even more options available. They can choose which floors of the hospital they want to work in and will receive higher pay if they choose one of the areas that are critically short of qualified and licensed staff members. When their commitment of guaranteed work repayment is completed, they can move to another hospital or other medical setting where they can gain even more valuable health care experience and skills. Hospitals are trying very hard to retain their trained staff members and will offer incentives of their own to keep their employees from going elsewhere in search of work.
Nurses and certified nursing assistants are being given more say in their schedules and many institutions are now using self-scheduling options to create a more employee friendly work environment. There are even some institutions that will provide free college education for an employee's child as long as they remain employed at the healthcare facility.
