Higher Education in Health Services

January 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For those who work in health care, sometimes it can be hard to pin down exactly what drew us to our jobs, because there are so many perks. We find our jobs satisfying not just because of the excellent pay, or the fact that our jobs are easier to find (even in a recession) than most others–the ability to help people every day is often what gets us out of bed in the morning. However, sometimes it isn’t enough–sometimes, for whatever reason, the time comes to further our education and look for a new job. If you’re looking to further your education and you know you want to keep working in healthcare professions, it’s possible that a Masters in health services would be the best decision you ever made.

The types of jobs you can find with a Master’s degree in health services are highly variable. Salaries range from the mid five figures (if you’re planning on working for nonprofits) and well up into the six figures for, say, an experienced hospital administrator. Of course, not all the jobs you can find with a degree like this are in hospitals. You may find yourself working on the business development end of clinics or nursing homes. Or, you may find yourself managing a medical supply company. If you’re interested in the stability and great benefits that usually come with government jobs, rest assured that various government agencies (and even some political groups focused on health care policy) have use for individuals with an advanced degree in health services. Other degrees might lead you to a career like being a physician’s assistant; this job had an average income over eighty thousand dollars in 2008. The health care field is rich and varied, and the rewards are many. The only question is which career path would be right for you.

Filed Under: Nursing, Physician Tagged With: , , , ,

Scrubs For Everyone

December 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Operating staff in an operating room, wearing ...
Image via Wikipedia

There is nothing more important in hospital then sanitation. If sanitation is not up to par, people who come in can actually become sick. Scrubs are clothing that doctors and nurses wear in order to ensure that they are completely sanitized before interacting with a patient. This precaution was not always a viewed as a necessity.

Scrubs were simply designed for there to be few places for dirt and germs to hide. Since their design began surfacing in operating rooms, surgeons have adopted scrubs as their uniform. Scrubs have gone from what was once just an operating room attire to extending to other areas in the hospital. Now nurses typically wear scrubs, and the majority of doctors wear scrubs and lab coats. Scrubs are also beneficial to those who come in contact with bodily fluids on a regular basis by allowing the nurses the satisfaction of knowing that their street cloths are not being contaminated. Scrubs have even shown up outside of hospitals. Veterinary clinic nurses and technicians wear scrubs, and some prison inmates have been required to wear scrubs. Scrubs have also reached the fashion industry and are a trendy pajama choice for some young adults.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that surgeons started to wear specific uniforms. Before scrubs, a surgeon would wear normal street cloths with an apron of some sort to protect his clothing from stains. Neither the equipment nor the surgeon’s hands were sterilized before the procedure. Many instruments were reused, and some of the bandaging and gauze was made out of scraps found on the floors at cotton mills. Today we are relentless with cleanliness, making sure that everything is sterile and washed before patients interact with physicians. Scrubs have provided for sanitary and safe environments for patients and care providers around the world.

Filed Under: Health care, Nursing, Physician Tagged With: , , , , ,

Military Nursing Providing Exciting, New Career Opportunities

September 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - FEBRUARY 20: Doctors,...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Military Nursing Providing Exciting, New Career Opportunities

There are a significant number of advantages to the man or woman choosing to pursue a nursing career in the military. These range from substantial pay bonuses to a much wider degree of on-the-job training. There are also a wide variety of benefits that are unique to those trained and serving as a military nurse, including best in class benefits, many retirement benefit programs, and up to a month each year in paid vacation time. But perhaps most importantly, you’ll have the unique perspective as a military nurse of also being a soldier. This provides the nurse serving in the military with the ability to empathize with your patients as no other nurse could do. This empathy has been proven to be a critical aspect of the healing process for patients.

Research and Consulting Opportunities for Military Nurses

Another unique aspect of a career as a military nurse is the opportunities you’ll have for research and consulting. On the research side, military nurses have a tremendous opportunity to use cutting-edge, state of the art technology that is otherwise often not available to someone who works as a traditional nurse. This will likely be a decided advantage for the nurse who may eventually decide to enter the traditional nursing field. Military nurses also have unique opportunities to study in a wide range of medicine-related categories, giving them advancement potential. On the consulting side, military nurses also have the chance to work closely with highly-trained medical professionals to determine best practices for helping a patient to heal.

Greater Autonomy for Military Nurses

Military nurses also enjoy an autonomy unique to their profession. Because of the degree of training required in order to be certified as a military nurse, military nurses frequently are called upon to make important decisions as to a patient’s state as well as determining possible scenarios for recovery. Although it is true that being a nurse is a fulfilling opportunity for anyone serving in this capacity; having the chance to be a military nurse may be the best of both worlds.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Health care, Nursing, Physician Tagged With: , ,

Why a Nurse Might Hand out Prepaid Credit Cards

August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Why should a student choose to go into the field of nursing instead of becoming a doctor? Are the two fields that much different or just the pay scale? The answer to that question will be answered by the student’s personality type and also what they would like to accomplish. A doctor’s job is to find out what is wrong with the patient and to try and cure them of their ailments. The nurse, on the other hand, does not try to cure the patient, but rather they work with them while trying to make them more comfortable through the sickness.

Nursing is a very satisfying field to those who feel it beckoning to them. Not only is the nurse available to a family during one of the happiest times in their life, the birth of a new baby, but they also are there to comfort them during one of the most traumatic times, which is the death of a loved one. This may not seem like a benefit to many people, but when a group of nurses were polled, they felt that being a comfort to people in a time of sorrow was one of the greatest gifts their job gave them. One nurse tells of how she used to hand out prepaid credit cards to new fathers in her ward. They only had a few dollars on them, but after years of working in the maternity ward she noticed that these new fathers rushed out of the house with their wives in labor forgetting their wallets and change.

The hospital is not the only place for a nurse. Nurses are also needed on the battlefield, in private homes, schools, and as teachers. There is a place for every personality type in the nursing field.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Nursing, Physician Tagged With: , , ,