Health Care Career Report

As a young child, I was always drawn towards the field of health care. I remember reading about the many options that are held within it and wondering what path it would lead me on. Neonatal nursing was something that always came into my mind, but it was often pushed to the side by people and teachers who thought I should become a pediatrician instead. This became a real struggle for me, but as I grew up and began researching and exploring the health care field I came to a decision for myself. I came to the realization that everyone was wrong. I didn’t want to be a doctor at all. This sudden burst of independence from what everyone else wanted was the first step to reaching my end goal. Along with this, an accelerated education, volunteer

There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster

Being an Emergency Room nurse for 7 years and working as a traveling nurse in many different parts of the country has impacted my future and decision of going back to school. My personal career goal is to become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) with specialization in pediatric critical care area, mainly pediatric emergency medicine. I have known since a very young age that I had a gift for working with children. My colleagues always call me the “pediatric nurse”. I feel it takes a very special type of person to work with pediatrics, and this is where my heart is. I chose to become a FNP to broaden my area of expertise and to leave multiple doors open to work in different areas. I have

Healthcare workers in the United States work together to provide the best possible care for patients that come into their facility. Patients go through different waves of health care professionals before seeing an actual physician. Healthcare systems use a nurse practitioner, which is a registered nurse with more education and specialization, to help treat a patient in a timely manner. According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, NPs have been providing care to patients for over 45 years. The year 2011 has seen 140,000 practicing nurse practitioners in the United States alone, with 9,000 more expected to enter the work force (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners a, 2010). With statistics demonstrating great expectations of

Registered nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system, and make up the largest number of healthcare professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) “The employment rate for registered nurses is expected to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024”. This is more than double the average rate of growth for a profession. The rapid growth rate can be attributed in part to better management of chronic diseases and the baby boomer generation. The growth in the nursing profession is paramount, however the demographics of the nursing population does not mirror the demographics of the population served.

I have always wanted to become a nurse, I find it interesting and I love helping people. Trying to put others before me. Though with some research, with the help of the California Career Zone Registered Nurses, it showed me the information on becoming a nurse practitioner, I could still work in pediatric care, as well as handle higher tasks. Such as studying patient history, diagnose and treat them, order and perform certain tests. Whereas a registered nurse just monitors, as well as administer medications. (California Career Zone). It is a very social working job, making sure patients understand their illness and treatments, bedside care is very important in this job. Helping others would help give me a fulfilling job in my career. I am looking forward to being in the medical

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health acknowledges the changing healthcare sector in the US and describes future vision of healthcare and the role of nurses to fulfill that vision. The United States always strives to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the entire population of the country. In order to achieve this goal an overall restructuring of the healthcare system was necessitated. Nurses are considered to be the central part of the healthcare system to provide high quality and safe patient care. Nursing in the US is the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce with almost 3 million nurses working in different areas across the county. The changing

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) play a key role in long term health care by ensuring provision of holistic healthcare services particularly in remote areas and in those areas that have few physicians. Currently, there is a concern where there is a shortage of physicians in nursing homes and in other critical health care services questioning the care being provided (Colwill, Cultice, & Kruse, 2008). Due to population growth,

The national shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) has helped generate formidable interest in the nursing profession among people entering the workforce and those pursuing a career change. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service in 2002, the national population is continuing to grow and age and medical services continue to advance, so the need for nurses will continue to increase. They report from 2000 to 2020 the predicted shortage of nurses is expected to grow to 29 percent, compared to a 6 percent shortage in 2000. With the projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses and nursing salaries ever-increasing, the nursing profession can offer countless opportunities. But first one must

Historically, the nursing field is one that has consistent positive job outlooks, as there is typically a continued shortage. Healthcare is the backbone of most communities, not just for its services, but also for the jobs it provides and the economy stimulation. Jill Bernstein, author for “Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization” states, “The health care industry is a critical component of the national, and most regional and local economies of the United States” (4). The nursing field has suffered challenges due to the economic, social, and the political downturn of the U.S. Nevertheless, there is still some noticeable growth taking place and opportunities available. This shows encouraging signs for new nursing graduates.

The overall health care industry has undergone fundamental change over the last decade. Most of the changes have occurred within the underlying business operation of the healthcare industry. Legislation in particular has had a profound impact on the health care industry. First, due to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the nursing profession is undergoing a fundamental shift in regards to the patient experience. The U.S. health care system is now shifting the focus from acute and specialty care to that of primary care which requires a shift in business operations. Also, due primarily to that aging of the baby boomer generation, the need for primary car overall is shifting and will be needed heavily in the future. The last 10 years in particular has seen an increasing influx of retiring baby boomers that subsequently need care. A positive impact on the ACA legislation is that more individuals are now insured. As such, the need for primary care will also increase over subsequent years, particular within the minority population. This patient centric approach will require more care predicated on specific communities in a seamless manner. Furthermore, primary care physicians will be in high demand over the coming years.

Despite the growth of the health care delivery system in the United States, economic and social forces have impacted the physician and nursing workforce. Impending retirements of older physicians and nurses, declining physician working hours, nursing deficits, aging populations and population health have and will continue to cause significant shortages in physician and nursing staffing (AAMC, 2017). The demand for care and reform for population health, supply will be greatly needed. These projected shortages will have a profound impact on the delivery of care, patient access, and economic effect. Currently, the country has approximately nine-hundred thousand practicing, full-time physicians, about half specialists and the other primary care

The role that nurse practitioner (NP) plays within the increasing complex health care system is a constant changing role with the Consensus Model and the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The scope of the nurse practitioner (NP) includes the care of the young, the old, the sick and the well. The educational needs of a nurse practitioner vary greatly from that of a Registered Nurse (RN), in the amount of education as well as the focus of the education. NPs provide coordinated primary care with the use of comprehensive health histories and physical examinations, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses, the management of medications and therapies, ordering and interpreting tests results, and educating and

Quality of care is one of the most important key for the success of health care system. It is unfortunate that the Pennsylvania hospitals are facing workforce shortages especially, the skilled/registered nurses and primary care physicians (PCP’s). Of these, nurses represent the first largest group of health care workers in hospitals, and thus, the shortage of nurses can potentially affect quality of care (U.S Department of Health and Human Service). The American Hospital Association estimated in June 2001 that 126,000 U.S. nursing positions were unfilled. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the gap could widen to at least 400,000 nurse vacancies. This is higher than the average nurse vacancy rate of 9.3 percent for the northeastern United States as reported by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) in its 2000 report. When the number of nurse staffing reduce, work pressure increases where nurse-to-patient ratio is high leading to more patient infections, injuries and patients will be sent home too early without adequate education about how to take care of their illness or injury, and thus, will cause readmission of patients. Second one is, the increasing demand for primary care physicians which is projected to grow more rapidly than physician supply. Based on current utilization process, the total demand for primary care physicians will

The access to healthcare and managing the cost of this access is and will remain the number one challenge in this industry. This challenge has presented an opportunity for individuals in the nursing field to explore professional growth and increased earning potential. The utilization of nurse practitioners for primary care needs of patients is a cost saving approach as their ability to support physicians in the treatment of patients at a lower wage is proven. In addition, their abilities to care for patients’ primary health care needs is supported by the additional training and education required for their nurse practitioner credential. However, this situation leads to questions of how long will the wages of nurse practitioners remain noticeably lower than physicians as the demand for these professionals increases? Also, is there any significant differences in the diagnostic abilities of a nurse practitioner versus a primary care physician as their relationship is based upon the physician