Community Helpers: Nurses
Name _____________________________________ Date ____________________________
Nursing - Learn about this rewarding career!
Have you ever thought about becoming a nurse? I planned to become a doctor from a very young
age, but as I grew older, I changed my mind and decided to become a Registered Nurse. It is an
excellent career choice to become a physician, but being a nurse is also very rewarding.
I have been a Registered Nurse for ten years now, and have worked in a variety of nursing
specialties. I’ve worked as an Adolescent Psychiatric nurse in a state mental hospital, as a Home
Health nurse caring for elderly patients in their own homes, as an Emergency Room nurse, and as a
Medical-Surgical nurse. All of these specialties taught me many things, and each field was rewarding
in its own way. As a nurse, one doesn’t have to remain in one type of setting; one can choose from a
wide variety of specialties.
One of the most rewarding aspects of working as a nurse is working very closely with patients and
their families at a time when they need a compassionate and caring individual to help them deal with
their illness. Nurses also teach patients and their loved ones about illnesses, how to prevent or lessen
recurrences of health problems, and even help to find and utilize helpful community resources.
Another very important role that nurses perform is that of a patient advocate. A patient advocate is
someone who looks out for the patient’s well being in every way possible. Many times, nurses
become very close to their patients and families. Nurses help people every day, and it is a great
feeling to know that you have helped someone, no matter how large or small your assistance may
have been.
There are different levels of educational requirements for different types of nurses. A Licensed
Practical Nurse, or L.P.N., usually attends school for about one year to become eligible to take the
licensure exams. A Registered Nurse, or R.N., may take a two-year course to receive an Associate of
Science Degree in Nursing, or may attend a four-year college to receive a Bachelors of Science
Degree in Nursing. Whether they attend for two or four years, graduate nurses take the same test,
called the N-CLEX. Each state in the United States uses the same computerized testing system to test
graduate nurses for their ability to become licensed in that state. Nurse can also choose to take their
education further. A Master’s of Science Degree in Nursing requires an additional year of education,
and there are many educational opportunities for Nurse Practioners. A Nurse Practioner is a nurse
that is able to perform most of the same skills as a physician.
Another very important member of the nursing profession is the Certified Nursing Assistant. CNAs,
as they are often called, are many times the closest member of the health care team to the patient.
They perform many personal care duties, such as bathing, shaving, or shampooing a patient. They
also take vital signs, which includes checking the patient’s temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate,
and respiration rate. The pulse rate is how many times the patient’s heart beats per minute. The
respiration rate means how many times the patient breathes per minute. All of these vital signs are
extremely important in patient care - they alert the nurses and doctors to a possible emergency, or a
worsening condition. Certified Nursing Assistants generally attend training for approximately six
months, although that varies from state to state.
As our country’s population ages, and there are more and more elderly patients in need of
professional care, there will be an ever-increasing demand for nurses in the United States. If you
want to become a nurse, you should concentrate on Math and Science courses throughout high
school, especially Biology and Anatomy and Physiology. Spanish language knowledge is also very
helpful in the nursing field, as the Spanish-speaking population grows ever larger. It is very difficult
to accurately treat a sick patient when you cannot speak or comprehend their language. If you are
interested in a career where helping people comes first, I would urge you to consider nursing as a
career - it has certainly enriched my life.
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Community Helpers: Nurses
Name _____________________________________ Date ____________________________
Check your comprehension: Answer the following questions
1. What foreign language is very useful to learn in high school that is helpful in nursing?
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2. How long does a Licensed Practical Nurse generally attend school to become an L.P.N.?
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3. What does a patient advocate do?
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4. What is the test called that R.N.s must take to receive their licensure?
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5. What are two very important subjects to take in high school if you plan to become a nurse?
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6. How many years must a nurse attend college to receive a Master’s Degree in Nursing?
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7. What does the term “pulse rate” mean?
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8. What does the term “respiration rate” mean?
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9. Why will there continue to be an increasing demand for nurses in the U.S.?
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10. Name two specialty areas that you can work in as a nurse that were mentioned in this story.
1. _________________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________________
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Community Helpers: Nurses
Name _____________________________________ Date ____________________________
Answers
1. Spanish
2. One year
3. A patient advocate looks out for the patient’s well being in every way possible.
4. The N-CLEX
5. Maths and Sciences - Biology and Anatomy & Physiology could also be acceptable answers.
6. Five years
7. The pulse rate means how many times a patient’s heart beats per minute.
8. The respiration rate means how many times the patient breathes per minute.
9. There will continue to be an increasing demand in the U.S. for nurses due to the fact that the
population is aging, and more and more elderly patients exist that need professional care.
10. Any two of the following answers are correct:
Emergency Room nursing
Home Health Care nursing
Adolescent Psychiatric nursing
Medical-Surgical nursing
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