Nursing Jobs

(ARA) - The recession is over, according to most economists. Signs that the financial crisis has passed its worse days are beginning to show. Boosted by health care reform, jobs in the health care industry especially are expected to explode in the next several months. Career experts are encouraging U.S. workers to consider jobs as nurses, lab technicians, radiologists, and anesthesiologists.

"Health care will be the place to be for stable jobs with great pay," says Donna Hill, a career counselor at ClassesandCareers.com, a free online information service. "If you take the time now to become a registered nurse or get certified as a lab tech, you will be in a very good position in just a few months. Health care reform is expected to create millions of new jobs."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these 5 jobs will be in especially high demand:

Registered Nurses (RNs)

The demand for committed RNs will increase in every part of the health care system. Making $57,000 average per year, these jobs will be very stable and rewarding.

Vocational Nurses

More than 100,000 new vocational nurses will be needed in the new health care system. These positions will pay well, $36,000 per year average.

Dental Assistants

Making an average of $33,000 per year, dental assistants work regular hours and typically enjoy favorable work environments. Demand in this occupation is expected to increase by 22 percent.

Medical and Clinical Technologists

Making an average of $49,700 annually, these jobs are expected to explode with forthcoming health care reform by more than 14 percent.

Medical Records Technicians

Growing by a whopping 18 percent, this job takes minimal education and enjoys strong pay. Medical records and health information technicians can make more than $45,000 annually.

Fortunately, U.S. workers can earn health care degrees and certificates in a short amount of time. Online classes make it easy to start and complete certificate programs in a matter of months. Degree programs can be completed in 3 years or less. This means workers can complete certificates or degrees online just in time for job growth in the health care industry.

ClassesandCareers.com is a helpful resource that assists prospective nursing students to find a degree program that works best for you.

"If workers are looking for the perfect time to switch into a well-paying career, now is it," says Hill.

"Are you ready to switch to a stable career in health care? Visit ClassesandCareers.com and complete their online form. You will be contacted by an education advisor who will work with you to find the best degree or certificate program to get you into the health care industry fast."

BY MEGAN MALUGANI - Monster Contributing Writer

Nursing may be a labor of love, but it is also a profession in which some additional education and training can go a long way toward taking your job title -- and salary -- to the next level.

Here are seven top-paying jobs in the profession, covering a range of positions and requiring various degrees and certifications, with salary data from the Salary Wizard:

Head of Nursing

Median Salary: $178,190

Typical Requirements: Master’s degree in area of specialty and at least 15 years of experience

Combining strong nursing experience with the overall planning, personnel oversight and policy-making duties of a top executive, one of nursing’s top big-picture positions is also one that brings home the biggest bucks. While the position leans strongly toward the executive end (most hospitals require a master’s degree in nursing and many are hoping for an MBA as well), hands-on nursing experience is also important for conveying the nursing staff’s needs to top management. The head of nursing -- also called chief nursing officer or chief nursing executive -- reflects the senior nurse management position in an organization.

Nurse Anesthetist

Median Salary: $145,833

Typical Requirements: Master’s degree plus certification

The highest paid of all nursing specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) also require the most education and training. In addition to a four-year nursing or science degree, CRNAs must be licensed RNs with at least a year of experience in an acute-care setting. Then it’s another two-plus years in an anesthesia education program before passing the certification exam. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the nation’s 39,000 CRNAs administer 30 million anesthetics to patients annually. And they practice everywhere anesthesia is administered, such as surgical suites, dentist offices and plastic surgery centers. Chief nurse anesthetists, who are also responsible for managing, scheduling and training staff anesthetists, earn an additional $10,000 to $20,000 annually.

Nursing Director

Median Salary: $109,245

Typical Requirements: RN, advanced degree in nursing

From budgeting to policy setting to scheduling, the nursing director oversees all aspects of a department’s nursing staff and often serves as a liaison between the staff and hospital administrators. Like any direct supervisory role, the nursing director -- also called the nursing supervisor in some organizations -- usually rises through the ranks with people skills, project-management ability and leadership aspirations. The nursing director often serves as the nursing program administrator, setting policies and performance standards and directly supervising nursing staff.

Certified Nurse Midwife

Median Salary: $89,657

Typical Requirements: RN program followed by midwifery program for either certification or a master’s degree

Certified nurse midwives (CNMs) attend an estimated 300,000 births per year in settings ranging from hospitals to homes, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. But CNMs do more than deliver babies. They also provide a wide range of care to female patients, including family-planning education, gynecological exams, and prenatal and postnatal care. In hospitals, CNMs often work closely with OB/GYNs. While the educational requirements vary by state, all CNMs will be required to hold a master’s degree (such as a master of science in nursing) by 2010.

Head Nurse

Median Salary: $87,013, higher in certain departments

Typical Requirements: RN with at least five years of direct experience

Whether it’s in an ICU, CCU, OR, ER or obstetrics department, if there’s more than one nurse, there’s usually a head nurse. While still dealing directly with patients, the head nurse is also responsible for patient records, performance reports, inventory levels and the day-to-day duties important to every nursing department.

Nurse Practitioner

Median Salary: $82,902

Typical Requirements: Master’s degree and certification as a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) in specialty area

Most states require nurse practitioners (NPs) to work collaboratively with physicians; however, roughly a dozen states allow NPs to open their own clinics, while a dozen or so others require NPs to work under the supervision of a physician. Regardless of the physician relationship, nurse practitioners provide a wide range of health services, usually specializing in areas such as family practice, women’s health or pediatrics in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and private practice. (Emergency room and pediatric NPs tend to earn the highest salaries.) Depending on the state, NPs often diagnose and treat acute illnesses, injuries and infections.

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Median Salary: $81,202

Typical Requirements: Master’s degree and at least five years of experience

If you like your nursing infused with some scholarly research, number crunching and data evaluation, the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) job might be for you. In addition to treating and diagnosing patients, CNSes also focus on assessing a hospital’s procedures, processes and personnel. The job of a CNS is often broken down into three spheres of influence as defined by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists: patient/family, nursing personnel/practice and system/network organization.

WASHINGTON —  The U.S.healthcare system is pinched by a persistent nursing shortage thatthreatens the quality of patient care even as tens of thousands ofpeople are turned away from nursing schools, according to experts.

The shortage has drawn the attention of President Barack Obama. During a White House meeting on Thursday to promote his promised healthcaresystem overhaul, Obama expressed alarm over the notion that the UnitedStates might have to import trained foreign nurses because so many U.S.nursing jobs are unfilled.

Democratic U.S.Representative Lois Capps, a former school nurse, said meaningfulhealthcare overhaul cannot occur without fixing the nursing shortage."Nurses deliver healthcare," Capps said in a telephone interview.

An estimated 116,000 registered nurse positions are unfilled at U.S.hospitals and nearly 100,000 jobs go vacant in nursing homes, experts said.

The shortage is expected to worsen in coming years as the 78 million people in the post-World War Two babyboom generation begin to hit retirement age. An aging populationrequires more care for chronic illnesses and at nursing homes.

"The nursing shortage is not driven by a lack of interest in nursing careers. The bottleneck is at the schools of nursing because there'snot a large enough pool of faculty," Robert Rosseter of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a telephone interview.

 Nursingcolleges have been unable to expand enrollment levels to meet therising demand, and some U.S. lawmakers blame years of weak federal financial help for the schools.

Almost 50,000 qualified applicants to professional nursing programs were turned away in 2008, including nearly 6,000 people seeking to earnmaster's and doctoral degrees, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said.

Pay Differences

One reason for the faculty squeeze is that a nurse with a graduate degreeneeded to teach can earn more as a practicing nurse, about $82,000,than teaching, about $68,000.

Obama called nurses "the front lines of the healthcare system," adding: "They don't get paid very well. Their working conditions aren't as good as they should be."

 The economic stimulus bill Obama signed last month included $500 million to address shortages of health workers.About $100 million of this could go to tackling the nursing shortage.There are about 2.5 million working U.S. registered nurses.

Separately,Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Nita Lowey, both Democrats, have introduced a measure to increase federal grants to help nursingcolleges.

Peter Buerhaus, a nursing workforce expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said the nursing shortage is a "quality and safety" issue. Hospital staffs may be stretched thin due to unfilled nursing jobs, raising the risk ofmedical errors, safety lapses and delays in care, he said.

Astudy by Buerhaus showed that 6,700 patient deaths and 4 million daysof hospital care could be averted annually by increasing the number ofnurses. "Nurses are the glue holding the system together," Buerhaus said.

Addressing the nursing shortage isimportant in the context of healthcare reform, Buerhaus added. Futureshortages could drive up nurse wages, adding costs to the system, hesaid.

And if the health changes championedby Obama raise the number of Americans with access to medical care,more nurses will be needed to help accommodate them, Buerhaus said.