Nursing: A rewarding career
Nursing: A rewarding career
When N.C. Nurses Association president Eileen Kohlenberg spoke Tuesday at the 2009 Celebrating Nurses awards luncheon, she marveled at the variety of nurses nominated, from traditional hospital nurses to nurses who work for Hospice agencies, government health departments and even a prison.
There’s also a variety of paths people can take en route to joining the profession, she said after the ceremony at the O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro, where Debra Allen of the Rockingham County Department of Public Health was named the Triad’s 2009 Nurse of Distinction. The event is held in partnership with the News & Record’s Triad Careers division and NCNA.
“There are many ways to enter nursing,” Kohlenberg said. “Some will come in initially as nursing assistants, and then others will come in as licensed practical nurses.”
Diploma, associate degree and baccalaureate degree programs prepare nurses to take the state licensing exam, “and then many of our nurses go on to specialize in the master’s level, and some even go on to get a Ph.D. in nursing or become a doctor of nursing practice,” she added.
Allen opted for a four-year degree program with an eye toward making herself more marketable than nurses with two-year associate degrees.
“I knew I wanted to go to nursing school, and I had a desire to get a baccalaureate degree. I didn’t want to go far away from home because I had really good family ties here,” she said.
So Allen attended UNCG after speaking to a recruiter during a career fair at Reidsville Senior High School when she was a student there in the 1970s. She liked UNCG so much she returned two decades later, earning a master’s degree in nursing and getting a post-master’s certificate to become a nurse practitioner, a designation that allows the individual to diagnose and treat a wide range of health problems, much like a doctor.
Like Kohlenberg, Allen marvels at the variety of career options that have opened up for nurses in the three decades since she was in college. Beyond traditional jobs in hospitals and doctors’ offices, nurses can work in assisted-living centers, schools and specialized treatment facilities, such as kidney centers, Allen said. She also noted that pharmacies have begun to hire nurse practitioners. “There’s more of a choice now than ever,” she said.
Health care remains a safe bet through economic ups and downs. For job seekers in the current recession, it’s only natural to gravitate to nursing.
“Nurses are something we always need and always have,” Allen said.
The biggest need for nurses now is in the fields of public health, mental health and urgent care, said Tina Gordon, executive director of the NCNA. While the job market has become a little less wide open since the recession began, she expects the need for nurses to become even more acute as nurses, along with the population they serve, get older.
“The average age of nurses is probably in the low 50s,” Gordon said after Tuesday’s awards luncheon. “A lot of people are going to be retiring, so we feel like now is the time to really make sure the pipeline is well-prepared to get more faculty in the nursing schools so that we can expand the number of spots available for students. We still have waiting lists of qualified applicants at many of the nursing schools in the state.”
Contact Eddie Huffman at 373-7335 or eddie.huffman@news-record.com.
Debra Allen, right, and Lenora Clapp 051009
Debra Allen, right, is congratulated by fellow nominee Lenora Clapp after being named 2009 Nurse of Distinction.
Nancy Sidelinger Special Sections PhotographerNurse of Distinction Finalists
Nursing Schools in Guilford County
There are several preparation options locally to become a nurse, and the level of education required depends on the kind of work a person wants to do.
■ UNCG, offering Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in nursing, as well as post-master’s and
post-baccalaureate certificates.
More information: www.uncg.edu/nur
■ GTCC, offering a diploma in practical nursing, a Certified Nursing Assistant certificate and an associate degree in nursing.
More information: www.gtcc.edu/programs/
healthSciences/nursing
■ N.C. A&T, offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. More information: http://son.ncat.edu
