Registered nurses (RNs) play very important roles in healthcare in ensuring positive patient outcomes as well as keeping the community healthy and safe for everyone. The demand for nurses keeps increasing every year (reference). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that America had about 3 million registered nurses with an estimated of 179,500 new jobs. Nursing is often described as the glue that holds a patient’s healthcare journey together. Nurse students should have a deeper understanding of nursing goals and career advancements to enable them to make better decisions in the future (reference). This paper provides a detailed discussion of nursing as a profession, goals, and career advancements.
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Nursing Career
Nursing has been defined as both an art and a science; a heart and a mind. At the heart of nursing lies the fundamental respect for human dignity and the drive to accomplish patients’ needs. This is normally supported by the mind in the form of rigorous core learning. There are different kinds of nurses based on their areas of specialization (reference). As a result of the broad range of specialism and complex skills required in the nursing profession, every nurse will have specific expertise, passion, and strengths. According to (reference), several nursing career paths enable qualified nurse leaders to contribute to a range of important areas in healthcare. The nursing advancement career paths help in addressing the impact of nursing shortages. They also help address gaps in the quality of healthcare provided to patients.
Nursing Goals for Career Advancement
All nurses undergo a rigorous program of extensive education and study that allows them to efficiently work with patients, families, and the community as a whole. Nurses begin their career journey by first imagining their career then identifying appropriate or essential skills and experiences they will use to qualify for the job (reference). Nursing goals are dynamic and may change as one advances through their career. There are fundamental goals that nurses may take accomplish towards their journey in their nursing career.
Earning an Advanced Nursing Degree
The first step is earning advanced nursing. One can only earn an advanced nursing degree when one accomplishes the fundamental nursing education programs. One can complete one-year training programs to become a licensed practitioner nurse (LPN) or licensed vocational nurse (LVN) (reference). Either two-year associate degree programs, three-year diploma in nursing programs, and four-year bachelor’s degree programs will make one a registered nurse (RN). There are two types of post-graduate career paths in nursing beyond the bachelor’s degree. They include advanced practice nurses (APN) and researchers (reference). The advanced practice nurse category includes nurse practitioner (NP), nurse anesthetist, nurse educator, nurse midwife, and nurse administrators.
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Obtaining an Advanced Nursing Certification
Nurses must obtain relevant certifications to enable them to practice as advanced practice nurses. Several professional and certification bodies provide medical certifications in the US. However, the two largest organizations offering advanced nursing certification include the American Nurses credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) (Duquesne University p.10). The ANCC certifications include Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (FNP-BC), Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (AGPCNP-BC), and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (PMHNP-BC). AANP certifications include Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP), and Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP).