Bethany Kludt: Reality of Nursing

As a current nursing student at Ohio Northern University, Bethany Kludt has learned many interesting facts about the nursing profession. One of the first things that surprised her was the wide variety of locations where a nurse can choose to work.

Hospitals are the primary employer of nurses, but definitely not the only institutions and agencies that need nursing help. Of all of the employed nurses in the world, roughly sixty-two percent work in hospitals. The remaining thirty-eight percent are spread throughout places such as private practices, public health agencies, home health care, primary care clinics, and outpatient surgicenters. Other nurses find their calling in health maintenance organizations, insurance or managed care companies, schools, nursing homes, in the military, and with hospices. The possibilities for Kludt in the future are endless.

She has also learned that there are four times more nurses in the health care field than there are doctors. This is because nurses are the professionals who work directly with the patients. It is the nurse, whether an RN or an LPN, that handles the giving of medication, the coordination of tests and services, the general maintenance and upkeep of the patient's needs, and so on. Without nurses, the health care field would collapse.

Bethany Kludt is currently studying to receive her BSN, a four year Bachelors degree of science in nursing. Upon completion of her college education, she will have choices as to what type of nurse she becomes. Options available include two, three, and four year programs to become a Registered Nurse. Regardless of her choice, she will need to sit for the NCLEX-RN state licensing exam before she can become a working professional nurse in the field. The BSN that she is seeking will allow her to choose any nursing field in any of the available locations.