Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Hospital Nurses More Likely to Report Sign-on Bonuses

The value and importance of education in nursing. Nurses who are certified in a specialty make about $9,200 more annually than nurses who were not certified. Those who have advanced degrees also stand to make a little bit more. For example, LPNs make $36,700 and RNs with diploma make $57,400. It is not uncommon to hear about sign-on bonuses for nurses. Hospitals are quick to offer them because by law they have to meet the numbers on the hospital floor. They can be penalized if they do not. More than 35% of hospital nurses said that they received sign-on bonuses. Other bonuses and benefits received by nurses are: reimbursement for certification fees, incentive bonus, child care on the premises and retention bonus.

Now we are talking about a great job. And why are men fighting to get in? We are only wondering. RegisteredNursesToday exists to encourage people, specially men and people of color to embrace nursing to cut down the shortage.

What's up with P.A.D or Peripheral Arterial Disease?

What is peripheral Arterial Disease?

P.A.D means that you have clogged arteries in your legs. Who is more likely to catch this disease? Peripheral arterial disease tends to raise your risk of heart attack, stroke and even death. So if you belong to any of these categories, watch out. If you smoke or have smoked, have diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or a personal or family history of vascular disease, heart attack, or stroke, your chances of getting P.A.D are even greater. Anybody who has these conditions must inform himself and consult with his physician. '

Get more info from RNConnect and HealthConnect at News

Friday, December 1, 2006

Traveling Nursing Agencies: Traveling Nurses May Claim These Write-offs During Tax Times

Travel nursing agencies are trying to get nurses, RNs, LVNs, APNs to sign up with them. Nurses need to get smart on what and where they want to work. These travel agencies will not want to lose you. So you can make your list of demands known. They will negotiate with you. Get ready to get some of the benefits offered by their agencies. If you want to, you can do some comparison shopping. Nothing says that you have to stay with an agency. Nursing allows you to be free.

Some of the perks of the profession are housing, insurance coverage, retirement planning, sign up bonuses, convenience and support. Now it is up to you to get the best deal possible.

Also, during tax times, do not forget to claim some of the following: (If you have to leave your primary residence to live on the road, you will be able to writeoff a few things)

Uniforms with dry cleaning expenses, malpractice insurance, dues and subscriptions, RN licence fees, continuing educaton, computer or laptop, internet expenses, cellular phones, long-distance calls, parking fees and tolls, job search costs, hotel expenses etc.

Make sure you consult with financial or tax advisor to ge the whole list of writeoffs.

Men can be attracted to the profession for many reasons. They can be on the road whenever they want to.

Men in Nursing: How Come They are not Here and How to Draw Them In

Nursing leaders are preoccupied by the problems men face in entering this lucrative and rewarding profession. Men are a minority in nursing all over the country. If there was an attitude change, more men would embrace the profession. Actually, only 6% or RNs labor in the U.S. workforce. That is truly clear a major problem. Nursing recruiters must show men that nursing is a fast-paced environment that uses lots of fancy and sophisticated technologies. These days, high tech is so prevalent in nursing. Nursing leaders must mount a campaign to sell the profession to young boys, football players and adult men. They must show men that the profession is built around embedded independence, collaboration with physicians, opportunities to get promotions, challenges, lifelong learning and more importantly service to others in need. By nature, men can be caring too. Being shown as caring is not only the domain of women. This change of attitude must include the fact that the profession is perceived as being feminized. To grab the attention of technology-oriented men nowadays, a concerted effort must be made to reach them out.

Why should they choose nursing over construction work, engineering and other professions?

Give them the right pitches. Sell the profession to them. Give the reasons why it can be seen as a good career move. Talk about enjoyment (being happy at work and liking the job of serving others), good salary (money they could use to meet their goals and there would not be any financial worries any longer), stability (the idea of having a steady and secure job with flexible scheule with embedded hours allowing you to participate in one's kids' education and games)

How to Attract More Men to the Nursing Profession

From all who are in the nursing profession, you can hear one word. Nursing is a rewardig career besides the good pay and all the jobs that are out there. Why are men not rushing down the doors of nursing schools trying to get in? A California RN with some years of experience can expect to make up to $66,000. Recruiting these high-pay nurses is not a problem. In addition to the flexible schedules they have, they are offered bonuses to keep them happy. Emergency hospitals and the state need them. You may be asking why more men are not nurses considering how much money they expect to make.

What is clear is that men have worked as nurses for many years in this country and elsewhere. What some industry insiders are saying is about what's keeping them out is the perception of male nurses. First, what needs to happen is an attitude change. Negative attitudes about male nurses need to change. Obviously, they are stereotypical behaviors that should not be condoned. For example, young boys grow up with the ideas that women are nurses. Even among adults, you will hear about stereotyped roles such as "a woman is a nurse" whereas a man is "a male nurse." Nursing should encourage gender-free role and language. Another thing that keeps men from being nurses is the lack of information about what nurses do on a daily basis. Yes, they can be overworked and understaffed. Many regular people do not get the full story about what nurses do. They do many fun things. They do not only change bedpans. They help doctors make decisions about the best possible care for patients. What needs to happen is a positive campaign that needs to take place in the media. This way, we will not talk about shortage of nurses in the country. The health care system will work better.

What needs to happen to change attitudes about the nursing profession?

Misconceptions must be corrected. Accurate and current info must be provided about the industry. A nurse can work in a variety of settings such as trauma rehabilitation unit, intensive care unit, emergency ward or departments, primary care department and even in Fortune 500 companies, schools and private institutions. Once the public is educated about the value, the independence and rewarding experience of being a nurse, the stereotypes will change. From the school counselors to the job recruiters, more attention should be granted to men who want to have a career change. It would be very helpful if they could get some scholarships to help them out. If men want a lucrative career, nursing is the solution.

So who is man enough to be a nurse?

Men who are carin and compassionate should apply. Men and women of various ethnic and religious backgrounds should apply. The healthcare system wants people of color to become nurses too. Why should they stay away?

Men as well as women will come to the nursing profession for the same reasons. Studies show that they want to care for the sick and injured people. They want a challenging profession, job security and higher standards of living. Some changes are overdue. To recruit men, we as a society need to change the image, culture and language of nursing. Even nursing textbooks publishers need to approve some books by male writers. So far, the majority of textbooks are written by female authors.

Welcome to RegisteredNursesToday.blogspot.com: The NursesConnected Network

RegisteredNursesToday is about the national shortage of nurses and the importance of nurses besides our MDs, physicians, and nurse practitioners in our healthcare system. RegisteredNursesToday hopes to help highlight some of the major nursing programs that exist in the US. You, readers, can also be part of this effort to pay our dues to the nursing profession. We will tackle some of the issues faced by the nursing industry and profession in the country. We hope that this NursesConnected Network will be of great service to various nursing schools, agencies and programs all over the country and the world.

Through our NursesConnected Network, we hope to connect nurses with their colleagues, regional and national centers who want their services. RegisteredNursesToday is about nurses, for nurses and by nurses.