Things You Do not Know About Nurses

Nursing is one of the most popular and, today, one of the most sought-after careers. That's why Nursing is among our most popular programs at Concorde. Everyone thinks they want to be a nurse. They also might think they know all there is to know about the profession.

They would be wrong.

There are many things people don't know about the Nursing profession, and U.S. News & World Report recently published a list of some of the more prominent unknown aspects of the career.

Read on, and chances are you might want to go into the Nursing profession even more.

14 things you don't know about nurses

1. Nurses speak up. Advocating for patients is a core value for nurses. They spend the most time with patients, by far, so their words carry weight. If doctors' orders don't seem right, or patients are scheduled for discharge too soon, nurses speak up.
2. Nurses provide care to all. Even the "deplorables," as a certain former presidential candidate would call them, are entitled to care. In fact, in 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court deemed that prisoners have a constitutional right to health care.
3. More men are choosing nursing. Men make up nearly 10 percent of today's RN workforce - triple the rate from 1970.
4. Travel nurses hit the ground running. Travel nurses work short stints typically with short-staffed hospitals. Whereas a permanent nurse hire might receive several weeks of orientation, a travel nurse might just have four or five days before having to function independently.
5. Home is where the nurse is. Home care management helps fill a growing U.S. demographic void - older parents in their 80s who want to stay at home. Nurses accompany seniors to doctor office visits, keep medications straight and coordinate local services.
6. Nurses look different these days. The Nursing profession represents men and women of all races and ethnicities these days... and, a wider age span.
7. Hospitals can be hazardous. Nurses see patients with highly infectious conditions. Needle sticks, chemical exposures, and body fluid splashes are on-the-job hazards.
8. Nurses flock to many areas. They create virtual care environments, devise health care games and apps, work for government agencies and crop up in areas ranging from transplant to hospice to lactation counseling to the military.
9. Tech savvy is mandatory. Nurses perform an endless array of specialized and technical procedures which require technological expertise.
10. Nurses keep their cool. Throwing tantrums or taking time to regroup after a patient setback is a luxury those in Nursing don't have. Nurses must set emotional boundaries to keep functioning.
11. Even nurses have limits. Every nurse has that one thing they can't deal with. For some, it's vomit or bodily fluids. For others, the sight of a newborn who's suffering. That's when they must rely on co-workers to help out.
12. 'Nurse Jackie' is not a role model. TV shows tend to put nurses in an unflattering light. Even when they do show them as hardworking and compassionate, they fail to capture subtle attributes such as decisiveness and critical thinking.
13. Bedside nursing is tough work. More than 52 percent of nurses experience chronic back pain, according to the American Nurses Association.
14. Patients come first. If a patient puts on a call light to be taken to the bathroom, that trumps the nurse's own need for a break, no matter how many hours it's been.

Nursing is one of the most fulfilling careers

Now you know everything there is to know about the Nursing profession. It's hard, back-breaking work. But, you can achieve the fulfillment of positively impacting the lives of those in your community as well as your own life and those of your family. Are you searching for a Nursing school that can get you to your career quickly and effectively? It's time to contact Concorde, where you can earn an associate's degree in Nursing or diploma as a vocational/practical nurse and put your passion to work every day!