Nursing students account for more than half of all health professions students. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), nursing is the nation’s largest health care profession.
Nurses do much more than act as a physician’s right hand. Nurses practice independently in a number of roles that range from direct patient care to case management. Nursing involves developing quality assurance procedures and establishing nursing practice standards to directing complex nursing care systems. AACN reports that although 62.2 percent of all employed RNs work in hospitals, many are also employed in private practices, public health agencies, primary care clinics, home health care, outpatient surgicenters, insurance and managed care companies, nursing homes, schools, mental health agencies, hospices, the military, and other settings within the industry.
A nurse’s scope of practice can include care by certified nurse-midwives and nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, as well as care in specialties like oncology, cardiac, neonatal, neurological, and obstetrics, and gynecology nursing. AACN explains that if current trends continue, the shortage of registered nurses will continue to grow throughout the next 20 years. It reports that more than 800,000 RN positions were expected to remain unfulfilled by last year, with hospitals struggling to meet the need for RN care.
NursingCAS is an online service that allows nursing school applicants to use a single online application and one set of materials to apply to multiple programs at participating schools. A recent NursingCAS mailing highlighted the urgent need for nurses. It quoted the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In 2018, there were more than 4 million jobs in 5 nurse occupations. Moreover, the employment of nurses is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2028.” The mailing went on to include statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) that estimated an increase of 8% in nurse graduates would be needed to address the nurse shortage in all countries by 2030.
Are you ready to accept the call? To begin your career in professional nursing, the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing is the first step! The Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Nursing offers an on-campus 18-month BSN degree program, an online, hybrid BSN degree program that may be completed in as few as 16 months, and an MSN/FNP degree program. Read more on our College of Nursing page!