In order to become a nurse, you must receive an accredited education from either a college or university. There are typically four different types of nurses including certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners. Each of these nursing job careers pay different amounts.
As mentioned above, where you live and work will have a lot to do with the nursing jobs salary you make. Certified nursing assistants are usually referred to as CNA's and normally require very little training, but must obtain a certification. Duties include general supervision over all patients, reporting to the attending nurse, taking temperatures, checking blood pressure, providing medication, bathing, changing beds, ambulation, and keeping a record of all vital signs. The nursing pay scale for a certified nursing assistant averages $10.00 to $14.00 an hour depending on where you live.
Licensed practical nurses have a quite a few more responsibilities than certified nursing assistants, and are also required to attend school for a much lengthier time period. Licensed practical nurses are often referred to as LPN's and must attend an accredited college for at least 1.5 to 2 years before they are eligible to take the licensing exam. Duties of an LPN consist of checking a patient's vital signs, reporting to the head nurse or nurse manager, lifting patients, changing patient's clothing (if need be), providing baths, keeping records, and sometimes, clerical duties such as answering phones and making appointments. The average nursing work pay for an LPN is around $40,000.00 in most areas.
A registered nurse must attend an accredited nursing program for at least two years in order to earn their associates degree. Starting hourly pay for a registered nurse with only an associates degree is approximately anywhere between $11.00 to $30.00 per hour. Again, the pay will vary drastically depending on where you work. It is recommended that nurses obtain a bachelor's degree, as the nursing pay scale is usually much higher, beginning at around $16.00 to $35.00 an hour. From there, you can also obtain your master's degree and aim for your nurse practitioner license, which would obviously pay much more. On average, nurse practitioners earn a nursing careers pay of at least $50,000.00 per year in most states.
Duties of a registered nurse include checking vital signs, providing medication, reporting to a nurse manager or other practitioner on site, keeping records, and overseeing the general care of each patient assigned. Of all nursing job careers, nurse practitioners nursing jobs salary is a lot higher because there are more responsibilities involved, including prescribing medication and helping with the prevention of disease by carefully analyzing the patient's overall health and overall lifestyle. Nursing practitioner nursing careers pay more than any other nursing job.
As you can see, the nursing pay scale varies tremendously. All in all, it really depends on the level of education and experience you have. What matters even more is your title. If you want to earn more money, it's best to go to school as long as you can until you achieve at least a bachelor's or master's degree. Either way, nursing job careers are a great choice for stability and financial security.
Obviously, before you can go to work and make top nursing jobs salary, you must first find somewhere to become employed. For more information on top nursing work pay along with a huge database of available jobs in your area, consider visiting NursingCrossing.com. Remember, there are also plenty of other places that you can apply including local doctor's offices and hospitals. However, the goal is to be successful. The more places you seek out for employment, the better your luck will be.
