When you think of fame and fortune, nursing is not the first profession that comes to mind.  For one thing, it is not a career that lends itself to grandstanding or public attention.  Most people who enter the nursing profession do it because of a deep-seated desire to help others in need, rather than advance their own interests.  Further, it does not tend to be a field in which one gains notoriety, even if they are the best at what they do (unlike, say, doctors, who can expect a higher salary and a waiting list of wealthy patients if they are the top in their area of expertise).  So let’s take a look back at some of the great nurses in history and what put them in the pages of history.

1.      Florence Nightingale – no surprise here…some of you may have even heard of her.  Also known as “The Lady with the Lamp” (for checking up on injured soldiers throughout the night), she became famous for her humanitarian efforts with the poor as well as her endeavor to pioneer a new health care system for the British military.  She spurned her aristocratic family and a married life in order to pursue a career in the noble art of nursing.  Appropriately, International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday, May 12th.

2.      Clara Barton – she is best known as the founder of the Red Cross.  She began her illustrious career in nursing at the tender age of eleven, caring for her injured brother, and went on to work in the battlefields of the Civil War.  She was a noted patriot and advocate of both the women’s suffrage movement and black civil rights.  After lecturing abroad about her wartime experiences, she returned to the United States and convinced President James Garfield to support her movement to form the American Red Cross for the purpose of managing any type of mass medical crisis, not just those found in wartime.  She became the first president of the newly found American Red Cross in 1881 and subsequently traveled to Istanbul, Beijing, Cuba, and several other countries to open hospitals and aid humanitarian efforts.

3.      Mary Eliza Mahoney – she is noted as the first African-American professional registered nurse and she paved the way for women of color in the nursing profession.  In 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), which later merged with the American Nurses Association (ANA).  The Mary Mahoney award, offered biennially, is given out by the ANA in her honor for significant contributions to race relations, namely in the field of nursing.

Sadly, not all nurses are good and kind. Some of them twist and pervert their noble code to suit their own aberrant interests.  Here are a few notable nurses who give an example of what to look out for when seeking a nursing professional.

1.      Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, 1975)– she represents all that could go wrong in nursing.  She is a tyrannical bully who lords her power over her patients by withholding medication and other sundries as well as famously lobotomizing the only one who challenges her power.  The American Film Institute voted her the fifth worst movie villain of all time, and it’s easy to see why.  It took a good, long choke to knock this naughty nurse down a peg.

2.      Sam Lockwood (Awake, 2007) – she may be pretty, but beware the siren song.  She reels in successful businessman Clay Beresford with the intention of killing him to claim the insurance money (to cover a previous malpractice suit, no less).  She has definitely gotten the wrong idea when it comes to bedside manner.

3.      Beverley Allitt (this one is real!) – a British pediatric nurse, she became known as the “Angel of Death” after attacking 13 children in her care over a 15-day period.  Four died and five others were seriously injured due to smothering or injections of insulin or potassium chloride to bring about cardiac arrest.  She was convicted in nine cases and sentenced to life imprisonment.  She stands to be released in 2022 at the age of 54, but only if she is deemed to pose no threat to the public, which seems unlikely.  She crazy.

But for every bad nurse out there (and let’s be honest, most of those catapulted to fame are fictional characters), you can find thousands that love what they do and sincerely want to help their patients.  So during National Nurses Week, think of something nice a nurse has done for you and consider sending her a little thank you.  After all, not every nurse requires fame and fortune, but they could use a little recognition.

For starters, one must look at the level of education required.  Generally speaking, most states require that a school nurse be at least an RN (a two-year Associate’s Degree, plus you must pass the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX-RN).   And some states even require a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).  However, it is not unheard of for a Licensed Practicing Nurse (LPN) to be hired as a school nurse (only a 1-year program), so depending on where you practice, you may not need as much education as an RN or a traveling nurse.  You will, however, be required to receive certification through either the Department of Education or the Department of Health in order to become a school nurse.  It may also be mandatory to obtain education in some or all of the following areas: growth and development, child and adolescent psychology, public health, crisis intervention, handicapping conditions, sociology, and sports medicine.  Handling the health issues of ch
ildren is a pretty broad category, so be prepared for continuing education.

In terms of salary, you can expect to make less, on average, than other nursing professions.  According to national surveys, school nurses earn an average of $45,000 per year while staff nurses (RNs) tend to pull in about $55,000 and travel nurses can make upwards of $70,000 on average.  So salary does not necessarily correlate with the amount of schooling required for each of these professions.  As a school nurse, you may end up doing the same amount of (or more) schooling than other types of nurses for a lot less pay.  And with the budget crisis facing schools right now, that number could drop.

However, for most people who enter the nursing profession, it’s not really about the money.  It’s about helping people, and as a school nurse, you will certainly do that.  Your primary goal is to facilitate the health and well-being of students and to further their education.  As such, you may be responsible for a number of tasks, including health services, health education, a healthy environment, monitoring physical education and activities, counseling, parent and community involvement, and staff wellness.  And remember school-wide screenings for scoliosis and lice?  All you.  You will be the one kids come to when they’ve got chicken pox, the flu, or a sprained ankle in gym class.  You’ll have to deal with bloody noses, sore throats, and Sally-dropped-a-rock-on-my-head.  However, you will also get thank-you notes from grateful parents, adolescents seeking sexual advice, and classrooms full of kids who learn to wash their hands.  You can make a real difference in the lives of children.  You can help them stay healthy and teach them lifelong habits.  Just keep that warm, fuzzy feeling close at the times when they’re yakking all over the floor.

Travel nursing starts with your education.  Because there is a call for all types of nurses in the travelling field, you can start with a 2-year Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN), a 4-year Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN), or even a 3-year diploma (usually a hospital-based degree).  From there you must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) and practice at least one year in your specialty of choice.  Types of travel nurses that tend to be in demand include registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners, nurse managers, and those that specialize in dialysis, speech pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and radiology.  In all likelihood, you will be required to have one to two years of recent experience if you want to take advantage of employment in travel nursing.

So now that you know how to become a travel nurse, the question is, why?  For one thing, travel nursing is contract work.  That means you decide which jobs you want to take based on location, duration, and pay.  Looking for something semi-permanent?  Try working as a live-in caregiver.  These types of jobs are easy to find and can last for weeks, months, or even years depending on the needs of the patient.  If you’re looking for something short term, sign up with a travel nursing company that can place you based on your specifications.  If you’re working full time, you stand to make an average of $70,000 per year and many companies that place travel nurses now offer insurance, 401(k), and continuing education, just to list a few perks.

In addition, now is a great time to join the nursing profession.  Although jobs in every profession have been scarce due to the recession, nursing is a field that is expected to grow substantially over the next decade.  And if health care reform continues as planned, there could be a lot more Americans with insurance who are looking for health care, possibly for the first time.  So if your goal is to help people with their health care needs, and you would like to travel while you do it, take the steps necessary to become a travel nurse.  The schooling is similar to what you would face as a staff nurse and the pay can be substantially more, not to mention the opportunity to see the world while you work.

For starters, nursing can be a very fulfilling career in that it allows you an opportunity to help others and make a difference in the day-to-day lives of real people.  What could be better than making a sick child feel better or telling someone that their mother is going to be okay after her accident?  For most nurses, this aspect of the profession is what makes it so rewarding.  You get instant gratification from making sick patients well, or at least easing their discomfort.  In addition, a nurse gets to know her patients intimately and possibly play a role in some of the most important events of their lives.  The gratitude that comes from these interactions is often enough to keep a harried nurse going through a tough day.

Nursing is also a versatile vocation.  Jobs can range from live-in situations, staff, and travel nursing to management, education, and administration.  In addition, many seasoned nurses can set their own hours, depending on the field they choose.  And in the future, nurses will surely continue to enjoy job security.  With less people entering the field and baby boomers hitting retirement age (not to mention health care reform on the horizon), nurses are going to be very much in demand in the years to come.

So besides learning skills that can easily transfer to other areas of your life, a career in nursing allows you to give something of yourself to each and every patient you interact with, to take pride in the fact that your choices help save lives, and to use your knowledge to heal and give comfort.  This will give you a strong sense of satisfaction that far outweighs long hours, low pay, and anything the day might throw at you.