Sample Nursing Research paper on Registered Nurse Professional Career

Sample Nursing Research paper on Registered Nurse Professional Career

Introduction

Registered nurses are professionals involved in the provision of care in a broad array of settings. The notable settings include hospitals, clinics, medical offices, and care homes. In addition, registered nurses also educate patients and caregivers about a wide variety of health issues. Registered Nurse (RN) is an exciting career with great prospects and satisfaction considering that nursing students end up getting licensed to make positive impacts on the life of people.

Job Description

Registered nurses are trained to offer a plethora of services depending on the area of specialization. Buerhaus et al. (2017) assert that a registered nurse records, monitors, and reports symptoms or changes in a patient’s condition. In addition, a registered nurse maintains the medical records and treatment histories of patients. Buerhaus et al. (2017) further highlight that registered nurses administer medication and treatment as well as observe the reaction of patients towards different treatment interventions. Per Williams & Howard (2017) a nurse’s scope of practice is an expression used to outline a set of services and procedures a Registered Nurse is qualified and authorized to perform. In particular, a Registered Nurse’s scope of practice includes management of care, enhancing safety and control infection across diverse health care settings, participating in health promotion, and maintaining care that improves health outcomes. Per Epstein & Turner (2015), the ANA’s Code of ethics governing the behavior and practice of Registered Nurses is structured around values that are integral to ethical nursing practice. These elements include the provision of safe, competent as well as ethical care to all patients without discrimination. Further, registered nurses are required to promote and uphold the dignity of their patients, adhere to confidentiality, and promote social justice.

Education, Registration, and Certification

To become a registered nurse, students must graduate from an accredited program such as a nursing diploma, associate or a bachelor’s degree. The second requirement is taking and passing the NCLEX-RN examination. Based on Bodenheimer & Sinsky (2014), the registered nursing programs help prepare students to pass the NCLEX-RN examinations to gauge the ability of registered nurses to handle the scope of practice. The NCLEX-RN exam entails answering 119 questions within six hours and those who fail the exam can wait for 45 days to re-take the questions (Goodman, 2015). After passing the NCLEX-RN test, graduates are required to obtain a state license to practice as Registered Nurse. The license mandate varies from state to state implying that students must contact their respective state boards of nursing for details as well as background checks. Goodman (2015) reports that registered nurse programs are offered in Universities like the University of Washington and nursing colleges like Molloy College. The BSN-RN degree certification takes about 3-4 years and the student is expected to pay between 25,000 and 120, 000 dollars depending on the university or college.

Employment

The average annual salary of a registered nurse range between 45,880 and 98,880 dollars and the figure signifies that experience is not a requirement though top earners are those with advanced experience and education. The lower figure represents the entry-level. The jobs are readily available because registered nurses are in high demand. Therefore, RN graduates often have multiple job options when deciding where they desire to work. In particular, the nursing career is a rewarding profession with high growth trends. There are more than 200, 000 registered nurse jobs listed annually in the United States Buerhaus et al., 2017). In fact, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that registered nurse employment is expected to grow by 16 percent in 2024 Buerhaus et al., 2017). Notably, registered nurses are privileged to advance their careers by enrolling for a master’s degree. Those who wish to go further can also choose a wide variety of doctoral programs to become university professors and hospital managers.

Professional Activities

The American Nurses Association (ANA) founded in 1896 is one of the largest and national professional organizations for registered nurses and other nursing professionals. In particular, the cost of joining ANA both at the state or national levels is 174 dollars annually for full-time employed registered nurses. Further, registered nurses are privileged to join state nurse’s organizations characterized by unique policies and procedures that govern nursing practice in different geographic locations (Williams & Howard, (2017). Moreover, Registered nurses utilize journals like The Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners available at https://www.aanp.org/ publishing a wide variety of peer-reviewed articles to help them stay informed and improve patient outcomes. The average cost of publishing an article is between 3,500 to 4,000 dollars. Further, Williams & Howard (2017) affirm that licensed registered nurses are required to complete 30 contact hours of continuing education units (CEUs) after every two years to improve their skills and competence. Nickitas (2010) posits that a member of a professional organization can liaise with both the union and employer to take up the CEUs during vacations. In addition, an employer can pay and send registered nurses to workshops and conferences as part of fulfilling the CEU’s requirement.

Reflection and Career Plan

Registered nurses perform diverse roles and particularly deal with myriad aspects of patient care. Therefore, becoming a registered nurse is likely to expand my nursing practice, increase my chances of employment, and stimulate growth as well as recognition in the nursing field. Furthermore, registered nurse programs guarantee the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to initiate cultural competency guidelines to address the health care needs of vulnerable minority communities (Murphy et al., 2015). Fundamentally, I am at the right age and after graduation, I can go back and provide nursing services to my local community. To achieve this goal, I intend to expand my knowledge and skills by pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Per Nickitas (2010), the BSN degree is essential in imparting the necessary nursing knowledge and skills as well as competency to address the diverse needs of the American population. Further, I intend to speak with employed and experienced registered nurses to gain valuable nursing insights to stay updated on current issues. Lastly, I plan on joining ANA and other local professional organizations to learn more about my registered nurse specialty.

Conclusion

Registered nurses are the most essential nursing professionals at the center of providing patient care. These nurses work with other professionals and patients as well as their families. Registered nurses are required to have diplomas or degrees prior to getting licensed from state boards based on areas of specialization. Registered nurses are assured of employment due to the ever-changing patient needs and the dire need for more nurses. Registered nurses also rely on national and state professional organizations to sharpen skills and competence as well as support career advancement plans.  With that in mind, nursing students need elaborate career plans to succeed as registered nurses.

References

Bodenheimer, T. & Sinsky, C. (2014). From triple to quadruple aim: Care of the patient requires care of the provider. Annals of Family Medicine, 12(6), 573-576.

Buerhaus, P., Skinner, L., Auerbach, D. & Staiger, D. (2017). State of the registered nurse workforce as a new era of health reform emerges. Nursing Economics, 35, 229–237.

Epstein, B. & Turner, M., (2015). The Nursing Code of Ethics: Its value, its history. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), Manuscript 4.

Goodman, T. (2015). RN-to-BSN programs key to reaching an important nursing goal. AORN, 102(1), 1-2.

Murphy, M., Staffileno, B. & Carlson, E. (2015). Collaboration among DNP and PhD prepared nurses: Opportunity to drive positive change. J Prof Nurs, 31(5), 388-394.

Nickitas, D. (2010). A vision for future health care: Where nurses lead the change. Nursing Economics, 28(6), 361-385.

Williams, T. & Howard, P. (2017). An academic-practice partnership model to grow and sustain advanced practice nursing. Journal of Nursing Administration, 47, 629–635.

Sample Nursing Research paper on Registered Nurse Professional Career