There are more than 2.9 million registered nurses in the country, making nursing the largest healthcare profession. Nurses work in their discount urbane scrubs wherever people need care: in hospitals, schools, homes, community centers, workplaces, homeless shelters, children's camp, retirement communities, and so on. A little over 50% of registered nurses work in hospitals and the rest work in various settings. An estimate of 14.9% work in public health or community health, 11.5% in ambulatory care, 6.3% in nursing homes, and 2.6% in nursing education. Hospital unit settings are also varied including emergency rooms, intensive care, operating room, recovery room, step-down, outpatient units, a labor and delivery. Full-time staff nurses who work in hospitals have a median salary of about $56,880. Indeed, nursing is a very attractive career option, especially since it is predicted that there will be an increasing demand for nurses in the next 20 years; but still, it is not for everyone.

What makes a good nurse?

Before considering a career in nursing, you should assess yourself and determine if nursing is right for you-if you have the personality, skills, and ability to be a nurse. If you are naturally compassionate, love helping other people, and really want to make a difference in other people's lives then this line of work is perfect for you. It will also help a good deal if you are hardworking, passionate, and analytical-particularly if you pay attention to small details to get some clues about a person's general behavior, then nursing is a very viable career path for you.

What sucks about being a nurse?

Nursing is a high-intensity job where there is little to no idle time. For those who are easily stressed, they might experience burn-out early and be unable to handle the pressures of the job. Because there is a shortage of nurses, all nursing staff are maximized and utilized to the full of their abilities. As a nurse, you will be working in odd hours and assigned various shifts. Your schedule will be erratic and it could mean a significant decrease in your social life. You will be likely working during hours when your friends of family are off work. You may also be required to work weekends, week nights, and holidays. Even if you have a 40-hour workweek, you may not see your friends, family, spouse, or lover, that much. Also, nurses are usually requested even pressured to work over-time especially when there are too many patients and new admissions. Another downside is that you will be working in an environment that can generally be depressing. You will be surrounded with sick or dying people and their aggrieved families. Needless to say, a hospital environment can be high on emotions. You need to be able to deal with serious issues and communicating these with other people without breaking down.

Compensation

One of the best things about being a nurse is that you are compensated well for your hard work and efforts. The average compensation for registered nurses is between $43,000 and $63,000 per year, while the top 10% of high-paid nurses are earning more than $75,000 per year.