subject: Nursing Programs In Long Term Care [print this page] Are you one of those who like to work with elderly patients? Well, if your answer is yes then the career as a long term care nurse is actually meant for you. As a long care nurse, your responsibilities may include providing health care and basic living care for elderly residents. In fact, you could be the key heath care personnel playing an important role in assisting elderly residents with medical treatments and other daily and community activities like dressing, bathing or helping elderly patient going to the bathroom. This is one of the few nursing professions that provide you with an opportunity to help seniors living semi-independently in an assisted living community.
The employment outlook for long term care nurses is very good. As per the recent studies made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that by the year 2020 almost 12 million older Americans will be in need for long term care. This clearly indicates that in the next few years the demand for long term care nursing will increase. In terms of salary, it is profession that even helps you earn a good salary. In fact, as per CNN Money, the salary range for long term care nurses usually ranges from $51,921 to $64,355. Besides this, the career offer you options to enjoy great benefits such as paid vacation, medical, life and professional liability insurance. Adding to this, depending upon the geographic location, you may also enjoy complete relocation packages. Apart from all this, the long term care nursing program may also help you as a student to manage the administrative aspects of residential care for the elderly and chronically ill. So, by now if you are looking to make a career in this profession, it becomes essential to complete a nursing program.
The long term care nursing program is one of the few programs that are basically dedicated to enhance the standard of life for residents of long-term care facilities including adult care facilities and family type homes specially meant for adults. But, the important point to note is that not every nursing school provides a long term care nursing program. As a result, the best thing that you can do is to enroll in a general nursing program and then take particular courses that relate to long-term care. Once you complete the program and training, the best thing you can do is appear for proficiency exams. It is only after passing these exams, you become qualified for licensure. These days, almost every state in the United State requires nurses to be licensed before they start their practice. Today if we carefully look at the situation, nearly about 1.4 million long term care nurses in a job in the United States. It is one of the few nursing career options that may provide you the long-term job growth and meaningful rewards. With the increase in the ratio of older patients in the United States, surely the demand is further expected to grow.
