Why You Don’t Have to See the World Like a Millionaire to be Successful
January 9, 2015Top 10 Nursing Blogs 2015
February 5, 2015[responsive]
The Registered Nurse profession was ranked in the top 10 by the US News and Careers in 2015. More specifically it was ranked #9 overall. Registered Nurses or RNs are the professionals that you have the most contact with while staying in a hospital and who students go to when they aren’t feeling well. In the hospital, Registered Nurses are responsible for monitoring the patient’s condition, administering medicine, charting a patient’s progress and performing medical procedures. RNs work with a range of patients, including those who are healthy, those that are pregnant, those that are nearing the end of their life, and anything in between. There are so many specialties when it comes to nurses. There are operating room nurses, med-surg RNs, cath lab, dialysis RNs, home care nurses, and school nurses, along with many others. RNs can specialize by people group or by environment.
According to the BLS report, the median salary for a registered nurse was $66,220 in 2013. The top 10% of nurses were paid more than $96,320 and the bottom 10% earned less than $45,630. According to the report, California has the highest paid nurses. The Registered Nurse profession is expected to grow just over 19% by 2022, with 526,800 new jobs opening up. The unemployment rate for RNs is only 2%.
You used to be able to get an entry level RN job with an associate’s degree, but it’s becoming more common to have a BS in nursing. Most employers will expect potential job candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing because it is quickly becoming the industry standard. After you successfully graduated from a nursing program, you then have to pass the NCLE (national licensing examination known as the National Council Licensure Examination). It isn’t always easy for new grads to get a job. In order to work in a school, we require our nurses to have at least 2 years experience as a Registered Nurse in any type of setting. If you are looking to become a nurse practitioner, you will have to obtain your master’s degree in advanced nursing. New York just recently will allow nurse practitioners to practice without the supervision of a physician. The new law was put into effect January 2015.
Registered Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry. The top 10 ranking is well deserved.
Method of Ranking
The US News’ best jobs rankings is determined by salary, the number of expected openings, advancement opportunities, and career fulfillment.
How Did They Select The Jobs?
US News selected the jobs to be included in the 2015 rankings by finding the jobs with the greatest hiring demand, which means the highest projected number of openings from 2012-2022 as categorized by the BLS. The top jobs were selected to be included in this list.
How Did They Rank The Jobs?
Professions were ranked based on the calculated overall score, which combines several components into a single weighted average score. The overall score was calculated by the following components:
- 10 Year Growth Volume (10 %) – total number of new jobs that should be created for an occupation in a 10 year time span.
- 10 Year Growth Percentage (10 %) – occupation’s employment percentage growth over the course of 10 years.
- Median Salary (30 %) – median salary earned by someone employed in a given occupation.
- Job Prospects (20 %) – indicates the ease of landing a job in the future, based on the number of openings versus the number of job seekers.
- Employment Rate (20 %) – percentage of people in an occupation who are currently employed.
- Stress Level (5 %) – indicates the amount of day-to-day stress someone might experience while working in a particular occupation.
- Work-Life Balance (5 %) – indicates how much a give job will affect lifestyle.
