With salaries averaging $60,000 – $80,000 a year, it comes as no surprise that a growing number of students are looking towards building a career in the field of nursing. To help you out, here is a compiled list of the most common nursing career questions we get asked.

1. Q: What is a nurse?

A: A nurse is a professional who has successfully combined the use of medical knowledge (science and technology) with interpersonal skills (communication) and that of the willingness and compassion to be of service to others. Unlike doctors or surgeons whose main obligation is to see to the treatment of their patients, nurses are further tasked with the invaluable role of seeing to their patient’s overall welfare and comfort.

2. Q: What do nurses do?

A: Nurses form the backbone of the healthcare industry not just because of their quantity but because of the kind of service they provide to the sick. While the work of nurses depends on their specialization, in general, nurses are tasked to promote overall health by regularly assessing the conditions of their patients and administer their medication. They also work to guide both the patients and their loved ones to help them cope with their situation. Together with the doctors and the rest of the medical team, nurses work hard each day to save lives.

3. Q: What is a registered nurse (RN)?

A: Registered nurses are those who have completed a 2 year or 4 year degree in a community college or nursing institution and have passes the NCLEX-RN licensure examination. Additional training and courses can help RNs advance their career as nurse practitioners or nurse anesthetist, if they so desire.

4. Q: How long do I have to study to become a nurse?

A: Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to pursue your nursing career. One of which is to enroll in a 2-year program typically offered at community colleges or complete a 4-year degree course at state universities.

5. Q: Do I have to be exceptionally good at math and science to become a nurse?

A: While these 2 subjects are considered pre-requisites to a nursing degree, you do not exactly have to be experts at Math and Science to purse your nursing career. You do however need to have a strong interest in the fields of anatomy and physiology.

With these questions, we hope that you can start to make an informed decision on whether to become a nurse or not. Finding a career that you enjoy for most of your life and provides the income to make you comfortable is serious business.

As a writer for www.onlinenursingdegrees.org, Mandy helps answer the tough questions about what it takes to train to become a nurse.