Over 2 million registered nurses currently work in the United States, making nursing one of the country’s largest healthcare professions. And with an aging population and expanding health issues like diabetes and heart disease, demand for qualified nurses is skyrocketing. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment for registered nurses will grow 9% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average across all occupations. So if you’re considering getting into nursing, there couldn’t be a better time to launch your career. In particular, adult nursing jobs are rewarding options with immense growth potential.
Adult nurses work with mature patients ranging from young adults to elderly requiring specialized medical care. As a nurse focusing on adult health, you’ll get to walk with patients through recovery, disease management, preventative care, and end-of-life palliative services. It’s a diverse, flexible, and stable career path offering competitive salaries, opportunity to advance, and immense personal fulfillment.
Educational Requirements for Adult Nursing jobs
Before applying for nursing roles, you’ll need to complete adequate training at an accredited nursing program. Educational requirements include:
● Diploma Programs: Around a 3 year hospital-administered training covering fundamentals of nursing care. Graduates receive a diploma allowing them to take the NCLEX-RN exam for state licensure.
● Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): Usually a 5 semester community college program teaching nursing skills through classwork and clinical rotations. The ADN allows taking the NCLEX-RN exam.
● Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): A typical 4 year university program building clinical expertise alongside training in evidence-based care, nursing leadership, patient advocacy, and health policy. The BSN also leads up to the RN exam.
While ASN and diploma programs offer quicker routes to becoming an RN, experts strongly recommend getting a BSN degree. The additional comprehensive training makes BSN graduates preferred candidates for hire and promotion. Many employers even mandate new RNs have a bachelor’s degree. Plus BSN nurses qualify for more advanced nursing jobs with higher salaries.
Overview of Common Adult Nursing Roles
The three primary streams of nursing include adult health (or medical-surgical) nursing, pediatric nursing, and maternity nursing. Within adult nursing, various specialization areas exist depending on workplace setting and patient needs.
● Medical-Surgical Hospital Nurses:
Work across departments of acute care hospitals assisting adult patients with injury recovery, stabilization after surgery, disease management, preventative education, discharge planning, and more.
● Emergency and Trauma Nurses:
Assist patients of all ages in hospital emergency departments. Includes triage, diagnosing conditions, tending wounds, setting broken bones, administering medications, and monitoring patient status. High intensity and fast pacing requires quick critical thinking and decision making.
● Emergency Room Nursing Positions:
High pressure and constantly changing emergency department roles. ER nurses triage patients, manage treatment plans, and coordinate with physicians and specialists. Requires exceptional multitasking and rapid assessment abilities under chaotic conditions. High burnout risk requires resilience.
● Critical Care Nurses:
Administer around-the-clock treatment to critically injured or unstable patients in hospital ICUs and critical care units using specialized technology like mechanical ventilators and vital sign monitors. Need extensive medical knowledge and skill responding rapidly to complications.
● Perioperative Nursing Jobs:
Also called operating room (OR) nurses, perioperative nurses assist during surgical procedures by preparing operating rooms, monitoring patient vitals, handling instruments, and facilitating recovery. Requires gravitas and precision ensuring smooth procedural flow.
● Community and Home Health Nurses:
Coach patients recovering from illness/injury and managing chronic diseases to live healthy, independent lives through in-home visits post-hospitalization. Teach self-care techniques, monitor progress, connect clients to resources, advocate needs to physicians, and provide end-of-life care. Need strong teaching skills.
The above reflect some primary adult nursing career options. Within each exist roles like nurse manager/supervisor overseeing nursing units and staff, clinical nurse specialists holding graduate degrees and providing expert consultations, and nurse practitioners able to prescribe medication and deliver primary care with physician oversight. Opportunities abound to find your best nursing career fit.
Why Consider a Career in Adult Nursing?
Benefits and Rewards Beyond job stability and projected growth, nursing offers tremendous personal and professional fulfillment improving people’s lives daily through skilled, compassionate care. As an adult nurse specifically, you’ll:
● Make a Difference:
Serve as patient advocate guiding people through healthcare challenges and empowering better health, comfort, and quality of life. Develop meaningful relationships seeing patient progress.
● Continually Learn and Grow:
Nursing incorporates ongoing learning and skill development. Match knowledge growth with career advancement through expanded roles, graduate degrees, and specializations. Lifelong learning keeps careers engaging.
● Strong Salaries:
Adult nurse salaries range on average between $60,000 to $75,000 depending on experience and credentials. Full time nurses receive additional benefits like healthcare, retirement savings plans, tuition reimbursement, and ample paid vacation/sick days.
● Flexible Scheduling:
Nursing involves shift work enabling some control over scheduling. Whether you prefer standard day shifts or staggered 12 hour shifts, nurses can select hours fitting personal lifestyles. Part time work also allows work-life balance.
● Mobility:
Nursing skills transfer across all healthcare settings. So you can transition between clinical focus areas and locations without needing to start skillsets from scratch. Nurses also qualify for travel assignments across the country.
Putting Your Nursing Passion into Practice
If helping and advocating for adult patients motivates you, then forge your way in adult nursing jobs. With compassion and determination, you can positively impact lives through expert nursing practice. Prepare through accredited college degree programs, pass the national RN licensure exam, and then start applying to open nurse positions across diverse clinical settings. Hospitals, doctors offices, senior living centers, community health centers, and home healthcare agencies all hire RNs to deliver skilled nursing care.
Fine tune your resume to highlight relevant nursing skills, caregiving experience like eldercare or childcare, leadership and collaboration competencies, and key achievements illustrating work ethic and critical thinking. Prepare to shine during interviews by practicing responses illustrating your passion for nursing, how you handle high pressure care situations, and examples showing patient advocacy. With dedication and commitment to lifelong development, adult nursing offers a challenging yet monumentally rewarding career brimming with possibilities.
