Nurses perform very important roles in enhancing the health of patients. Nursing is a field with diverse areas of specialization. The duties that nurses perform largely depend on the specialty areas of the nurses. Nursing is a professional field with diverse and flexible employment opportunities. Because of the diverse nature of the field, nurses can pursue their careers in diverse areas depending on their choices. After graduating, most nurses secure employment in public hospitals (state-owned or private hospitals). In these settings, nurses are engaged either in the treatment, supervisory positions, educating members of the public, or working with old people.
Based on the nursing specialty, nurses can work in areas like hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, day care centers, and home-based health care. This is why it is important for those who want to pursue their career in nursing to have a glimpse of the areas they would like to work in before choosing a particular area of specialty in the nursing profession. This goes a long way in eradicating any future problems in employment. For those who have a passion for taking care of patients who are severely sick, then hospice facilities, nursing homes can be their perfect place to look for employment. On the other hand, for those with a passion for handling and assisting pregnant women, then nursing practice in midwifery centers is a perfect choice for them. Nonetheless, nurses can also pursue their careers in educational institutions. Those nurses with a passion for the young ones have an opportunity of realizing this in pediatric sections in hospitals. Moreover, nurses provide counseling, leadership, communication, and education in different capacities (Happel et al, 2003).
It does not matter whether someone is a fresh college graduate or looking for career advancement. Looking for a career opportunity demands that people should ‘think big’ and ask themselves some important questions before they accept any job offer by their prospective employers. This helps to avert any future work burnout that leads to low productivity of the employees (Happel et al, 2003). Most of the new job seekers ignore this critical component. Significant questions should linger in the mind of any nurse seeking any employment whichever the field of specialization. Nurses should be able to ask themselves these important questions as part of choosing a position: Are the responsibilities satisfying with respect to my position? Is the duty commensurate with my qualification and experience? Are the responsibilities of the position challenging? Is the position in conflict with my lifestyle, for example, traveling or work schedule? Therefore, if the answer to any of these questions is yes, accepting the position may lead to frustrations in the future.
Finally, there are some very important factors to consider when choosing a position. Firstly, the benefit that comes with the position. Your workplace must be located low-cost living area. This helps to save on exorbitant prices of rent. For instance, accepting a job offer in New York City, as opposed to Atlanta will cost much in terms of rent. Another important factor is how to commute to your workplace. Spending more hours to commute to work can affect your performance at work. The fourth crucial factor to consider is the chances of climbing up the ladder in your career. Being stagnant in one position is the only last thing one can wish to experience in a career. Other factors are; future aspirations, the duties and responibiltes of the nursing position or the job security. There are various causes of stress for the nurses (Healy & McKay, 2000).
References
Happel, B., Martin, T., & Pinikahana J., (2003). Burnout and Job satisfaction: a comparative study of psychiatric nurses from forensic and mainstream mental health service. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 12:39-47
Healy, C., McKay M., (2000). Identifying sources of stress and job satisfaction in the nursing environment. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17:30-35.