Nursing Trends
Nursing is known to be the most rewarding and demanded job in the healthcare industry to the present date. However, due to the shortage of nursing professionals worldwide, more men are now pursuing their careers in this domain and choosing to take nursing degree since nursing career provides lucrative job and income opportunities.
There have been three million registered nurses as of May 2020 who were employed in the US, where the mean hourly wage rate is $38.47 and an annual salary of $80000. Most nurses seek advanced nursing degrees and additional certifications and hone their nursing skills in one specialty area to boost their salaries.
As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, approximately 12% of RN are men in the US as of 2019. The traditionally female-dominated industry has been changing in the present day. The benefits of the nursing profession, from lucrative salary to flexibility to job security, are just not limited to one gender. The demand for male nurses also increases rapidly in the healthcare industry due to men’s immense benefits. For example, a male nurse’s presence helps male patients feel more relaxed and represented. There are few sensitive medical procedures in which patients mostly prefer a nurse of their gender. If you want to pursue a career in the nursing profession, then these are the following best nursing job opportunities for men-
Emergency Room Nurse
The job role of an emergency room nursing professional is fast-paced, quite significant, and ever-changing. You’ve to treat patients suffering from major health problems in this role. The role of an ER nurse is of great responsibility, and you must not take this lightly. The working hours are also very long, including a twelve-hour shift 3 times a week. The twelve-hour working shift involves male nurses standing on their feet and spending the entire shift moving from one patient to another. This job is too tiring; however, it’s a great advantage to get 4 days off every week to catch up on errands and get time to spend with your loved ones. An emergency room nurse must have extensive knowledge and an intense working environment.
Most of the departments related to the emergency room require nursing staff to acquire great experience since a new grad professional may take at least six months to advance to the level of an ER. You can become a nurse technician at first in an emergency department when you attend nursing school and gain good experience. In this way, you can know how to handle situations in this environment. Several benefits come on your way when you become an emergency room nurse. One such advantage is that you’ll not be bored of your job as you have to deal with many patients. You can meet patients from different walks of life and acquire comprehensive information about several types of health issues. The average salary is $27.06 every hour, which is considered decent pay. Following are the other benefits of becoming an emergency room nurse
- Opportunity to hone nursing skills.
- Decent pay structure.
- Deal with a wide variety of cases.
- Demanding job.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurse
The duty of an intensive care unit nurse is of great significance and can’t be considered lightly. Nurses have to develop their personalities and acquire the necessary skills to tackle the challenges accordingly with every shift. The work of an ICU nurse needs in-depth knowledge and training and is regarded as a position of a specialty nurse. General nurses must deal with different health topics, whereas specialty nurses must deal with the several ins and outs of medical cases they are handling. This is why ICU nursing professionals have to undergo intense training compared to other nursing professionals since the formers have to treat the severity of patient cases. They deal with life and death circumstances daily, so they are an expert in this field.
Apart from intense training, there are lucrative opportunities for career advancement and a higher pay scale. The average pay of ICU nurses is $30.46, which is considered the highest paying. Military nurses tend to pursue ICU nursing positions after their retirement since this field is fast-paced and lucrative. The high-stakes environment is why this nursing position is dominated more by men than women. Following are the advantages of being an ICU nurse.
- Impressive salary.
- Male-dominated job position.
- Opportunities for advancement.
Operating Room (OR) Nurse
There are many traits required to be present to be an operating room nurse, like attention to detail, patience, and high organizational skills. An OR nurse has to work in an operating room, which is a risky environment. So these professionals must be alert about their work shift and need to perform with high efficiency every time and do the work accurately. There is a wide variety of job positions in an OR nurse’s general job description. You can be a scrub nurse where your work would be to assist the surgeon while he performs surgery and offers him the necessary help. You can also be a circulating nurse where your work would be to ensure that the operating room is kept sterile and attends to the patient while the surgery takes place. This job position is a specialty nurse, so you may need certification and accreditation for extra training.
Since this nursing job requires professionals to acquire additional training and education, the pay scale of an OR nurse is much higher than an RN position, where the average annual salary is $70000 as per some sources. Apart from high pay, there are opportunities for career growth and advancement in the position of an OR nurse. You can start your career by taking up the role of RN first assistant and then, after gaining experience, advance to OR nurse. This job position allows nursing staff to participate in actual surgical procedures and assist the surgeon. Following are the advantages of an OR nurse that every man must consider before going for it-
- The annual salary is much higher than average.
- Opportunities for career advancement.
- A wide variety of job positions are available.
Mental Health Nurse
The role of a mental health nurse is completely different from the other nursing position that has been described above. A mental health nurse is required to study a patient’s mental health and know the ins and outs of a human body. You need to perform mental health assessments, communicate with the concerned family of the patient, offer medicine to the patient, and collaborate with different healthcare professionals such as psychiatric, physicians, and psychologists. There are a variety of functions included with this job position, so a nurse has to be organized and perform multitasking in high-pressure conditions. You don’t need to be a registered nurse to take up the career of mental health nurse. An LPN or licensed practical nurse can also fill this job role. Mental health nursing professionals are employed in different healthcare environments such as home healthcare, clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s office. There are different positions available within this role, and so the average salary is $96460 for mental health nurses as per sources.
All men must consider the following benefits before pursuing a career as mental health nurse.
- Different work environments.
- Great opportunities for career advancement.
- An LPN can also fill in this job.
Flight Nurse
If you like to deliver critical care to people and enjoy traveling by flight, then a flight nurse’s job is the perfect option for you. A flight nurse must offer care to all patients transported through flight/aircraft to a medical setting or hospital. They have to perform the job in life and death environments and deliver patient care. This makes this nursing job to be very rewarding and demanding. A flight nurse is required to tackle high pressure and risky situations while traveling on aircraft. However, if you have issues like fear of heights and motion sickness, this job may not be the right position. On the other hand, if you like to work in challenging situations and are a thrill seeker by trait, this nursing field is a great option to enter and showcase your skills. As the job of a flight nurse involves high stakes and pressure, these professionals are required to gain an experience of 5 years. Prior experience in the emergency department and ICU is mostly preferred to be a flight nurse. Besides this, nurses need to gain certification before pursuing a career in this field. As per sources, the average annual salary of a flight nurse is $84223, making this position the highest paying nursing job. Following are the benefits if you become a flight nurse-
- Excellent income opportunities.
- Advancement opportunities and career growth.
- Exciting work environment.
Telemedicine nurse
This nursing field is rapidly growing and has been significant in the phase of covid 19 pandemic. As a telemedicine nurse, you can connect via video technology with the patients for monitoring and checkups. Nowadays, telemedicine tools are being used by medical professionals, so if you are interested in technology, then this is a suitable field for you.
School nurse
Suppose you are passionate about nursing but not sure about having a long-term career inside a hospital or clinical setting. In that case, you can become a school nurse where you’ve to deal with children of various ages and deliver care to them. You also have to deal with health education, offer preventative screening examinations, and dispense medicines. You’ve to earn a BSN degree and become a registered nurse first to work inside a school.
Nursing informatics
This nursing job is really the future of the nursing profession, which allows nursing professionals to utilize health information systems for analyzing and collaborating with patient data. It is the analytics or the IY side of a nursing career where professionals earn a BSN degree and some years of experience to get informatics nursing certification.
Nurse educator
The demand for nursing professionals has continued to increase, and so the requirements and demand for qualified educators have also increased. Nurse educators can be employed in healthcare device manufacturing companies, research facilities, and textbook publishing organizations. It is a great opportunity where nurses can work in universities and colleges and teach nursing students about classroom knowledge and clinical information.
Legal nurse consultant
This nursing position often requires professionals to move to a big city where the demand for legal nurse consultants is high, especially in legal matters. Attorneys employ a legal nurse full-time for interpreting healthcare records. You have to earn the American Association of legal nurse consultant certification. Also, if you wish to become an expert on a particular subject and like the idea of being present in the courtroom, then this is the ideal field for you.
General nurse practitioner
The average annual salary of a general nurse practitioner is $111, 680 and there are a wide variety of job options. You can work either in a primary care setting such as a clinic/hospital or can open your own independent practice. This nursing field is rapidly growing, and you’ve to earn a degree in master of science in the field of nursing along with the licensure of a nurse practitioner.
Forensic nurse consultant
The work of a forensic nurse consultant is to work with attorneys, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and other experts in the nursing field. This is the most unique manner for putting nursing experience and education to the right use, and this career may also require you to travel from one place to another in some cases. You’ve to fulfill all RN requirements and earn certification via the International Association of Forensic Nurse to become a forensic nurse.
Family nurse practitioner
The role of this nursing position is the same of a primary care physician. If you become a family nurse practitioner, you’ve to work in a hospital, medical offices, and clinics to offer physical, consultation, and general treatment to the local community.
