5 Lucrative Career Paths for Registered Nurses

More and more people are entering registered nurse (RN) programs as the demand for RNs continues to grow. As an RN, you'll be responsible for a variety of duties, including helping doctors perform exams and surgeries, dressing wounds, performing lab work, educating patients about self-care, reviewing patient treatment plans, monitoring patient's progress, evaluating and recording patient symptoms, and more. Not only does being an RN provide a stable career (and allow you to enjoy a fulfilling career within the medical industry), but you have a lot of potential career paths that you can choose from. The following are just five potential career paths that you can pursue as an RN:

1. Physician's Office Nurse

If you're looking for a career that offers a more stable position, then you might want to consider becoming an RN at a physician's office. Such positions are generally competitive because of their stability. You can expect to work normal hours (think 9 to 5) in an environment where you'll have a variety of responsibilities, including helping with exams, doing lab work, administering injections, and more. Physician's offices tend to be less stressful than other nursing work environments as well.

2. Critical Care Nurse

Critical care nurses work in a variety of departments, including ERs, pediatric departments, adult critical care units, and neonatal ICUs. As you can imagine, such an environment involves much more pressure since lives are often at stake. For many nurses, this kind of challenge is much more fulfilling. There's a greater demand for critical care nurses as well since there is currently a shortage -- and they pay very well.

3. Military Nurse

One way that you can not only help people in general but also serve your country at the same time is to become a military nurse. There are two ways that you can do this: you can work as a civilian nurse at a military hospital or you can apply for active duty as a nurse in the military. There are a variety of perks to becoming a military nurse including the ability to travel the world, the ability to receive specialized training, and the potential of tuition reimbursement.

4. Certified Nurse Midwife

Certified nurse midwives not only help to deliver babies, they also provide healthcare to the baby and mother before and after birth. You will also be responsible for assisting with family planning and routine gynecological care. You will not only need to be a certified RN, but you will also have to pass the certification exam as well. A position as a certified nurse midwife is not only personally rewarding (there's nothing quite like successfully helping to bring new life into the world, after all), it's also one of the most financially rewarding RN positions available.

5. Medical-Surgical Nurse

One of the highest RN positions you can obtain is as a medical-surgical nurse. As a medical-surgical nurse, you'll be assisting surgical procedures in a number of different ways. This includes monitoring the status and medications of patients before and after surgery in addition to assisting the surgeon during the actual procedures. While your starting salary will be around the same as the average RN, you can obtain CMSRN (certified medical-surgical registered nurse) certification after two years of experience, after which your salary will increase significantly.

These are five potentially lucrative career paths that you can pursue if you become an RN. If you are interested in becoming an RN, then be sure to inquire about enrolling in our RN program by contacting us at Athena Career Academy today.