Nursing

Nursing is our country’s largest healthcare profession with more than 2.9 million registered nurses practicing across our nation.  Even with these numbers, according to the US Department of Labor, employment of registered nurses has been projected to grow 19 percent between 2012 and 2022.  The Associate in Science with a major in Nursing prepares men and women for careers as registered nurses.  Nursing is the assessment and treatment of patients dealing with actual or potential health problems.  The Registered Nurse (RN) provides care, treatment, counseling, and health education to facilitate functioning and recovery of ill or injured people.  National health care system trends, emerging technological advances, and shifts toward health and wellness have helped broaden the scope of nursing career opportunities.

Visit NHTI’s Nursing Department for information on degree and course offerings.  The following related options are also offered: LPN to RN Completion Option, and for Registered Nurses, Legal Nurse Consultant.

• Career Paths for This Major
• Skills Developed Through This Major
• Sample Career Titles
• Sample Employers
• Ways to Explore and Reality Test Careers
• How to Increase Employability
• Professional Association Links
• Employment and Internship Links

Career Paths for This Major

When you graduate with a degree in nursing, you will have work options that are varied and that depend upon your specific interests. 

Career options for RNs vary by area of specialty and work setting. In-patient career options include hospital based nursing, nursing administration, case management, risk management, and education. Out-patient career options include home care, long-term care, cardiac rehabilitation, school nursing, community health, and occupational health careers.  Non-traditional career options include insurance, law, sales, consulting and entrepreneurship.  Careful career planning can help nursing majors make the most of their education.  Further graduate study is necessary to pursue certain specialties; for example, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, and Nurse Practitioner, as well as advanced positions in health care administration, research, and higher education.

Clinical experiences offer NHTI nursing students exposure to a variety of specialties and settings.  Students are encouraged to research and reflect upon their special career, geographic, and employment setting interests. Upon degree program completion, the student can seek positions which will advance his/her skills and lead towards area(s) of interest.

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Skills Developed Through This Major

Sample Career Titles

These titles include positions that may require a bachelors degree and beyond…

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Sample Employers

Ways to Explore and Reality Test Careers

There are four key ways to explore your favorite career interests…through reading, through speaking with those in the know, through observing and through doing.  Use the link(s) below to begin exploring major related careers through ‘reading’.  Go to the Exploring Career Interests link to get tips on all four key exploration strategies.

• Registered Nurses
• What is Nursing? - From the American Nurses Association

Additional sources of information for this major include:

• NHTI Faculty, Academic Advisors, and Nursing Department resources
• Professionals working in the field
• Professional Associations (see below)

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How to Increase Employability

• Become an active student member of college, community, or Student Nurses' Association, which helps you build leadership skills and promote connecting (networking) with fellow professionals.
• Obtain quality practical experience prior to graduation through part-time, full-time and summer employment related to your targeted field.
• Participate in volunteer and service learning opportunities.

Professional Association Links

Professionals who do work related to this major belong to these associations.  You can use the links below to do career research and to connect with local association members.  You may also be able to join an association of interest, at a reduced rate, as a student member.    

• National Student Nurse's Association
• American Nurses Association
• American Academy of Nursing
• American Nursing Informatics Association
• Association of Peri-Operative (Operating Room) Registered Nurses
• American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nurses
• American Holistic Nurses Association
• The American Psychiatric Nurses Association
• Association of Pediatric Hemotology/Oncology Nurses
• Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
• Emergency Nurses Association
• Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses
• American Assembly for Men in Nursing
• National League for Nursing
• National Association of School Nurses

Employment Links

See below for job posting sites related to this major (including our own home grown NHTI posting site – see first link).

• NHTI Job Posting Site
• Nursing Center
• Nursing Career/Job Search (from the National Student Nurse’s Association)
• Nurse’s Professional Cyber Nurse

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