It sometimes may seem like there are pages in the classified ads every Sunday for registered nurse jobs. In fact, registered nurses now constitute the largest healthcare occupation, as there are over 2.3 million jobs available. If you are looking to get into a growing field where you are in the driver's seat with employment and salary choices, it may be that becoming a registered nurse is a good option for you.

What is a registered nurse and why are there so many registered nurse jobs out there? A registered nurse is one that has a college degree (Associates or Bachelors degree) from an accredited institution and has passed his or her nursing boards. Required classes to get a degree so that you can qualify for registered nurse jobs include anatomy, physiology, chemistry, nutrition, and behavioral science classes like psychology. Most schools require clinical experience, and this experience will also help you when you are looking for registered nurse jobs.

Education and experience are key components to certain registered nurse jobs. If you are considering registered nurse jobs in administration, you may want to consider getting a Bachelor degree, as many organizations now require it. Sometimes if you are considering registered nurse jobs in more complex areas like surgery or neo-natal intensive care, organizations will want you to gain significant clinical experience. Also, other registered nurse jobs may even require you to have a masters degree, like being a nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or certified nurse anesthetist.

Registered nurse jobs require a lot of patience and dedication, as a registered nurse will be promoting good health, prevent disease, and helping patients through times of illness. Registered nurse jobs also require you to be detail oriented and have decent writing skills. For instance, registered nurse jobs in psychology will require a nurse to document (in detail) behavior, response to medication, and follow doctor directions carefully so that a patient receives the appropriate care.

If you are qualified or looking to be qualified for registered nurse jobs, then you should be pleased that the job outlook for registered nurse jobs is very high. In fact, registered nurse jobs are expected to grow faster than the average growth for all other jobs through the year 2012. Registered nurse jobs in hospitals is expected to remain the same, though registered nurse jobs in nursing care facilities is expected to grow exponentially as the baby boomer generation ages.

Other areas in which registered nurse jobs are expected to increase is home healthcare and outpatient care centers. The growth for these registered nurse jobs may be due to technological advances and pressure from insurance companies to avoid in-patient hospitalization. Many advances in medicine have created registered nurse jobs in which RNs travel to patient homes to provide care or perform procedures in outpatient facilities.

Read the rest of the article here: Registered Nurse Jobs.