The nursing profession is on the brink of new opportunities.
Nurses provide health care.
This means that employment exist in every area of the health care industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs for RNs will grow 23 percent by 2006. That s faster than the national average for all other occupations. The number of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and ancillary nursing personnel employed in Tennessee s 165 hospitals increased from 33,890 in 1997 to 34,220 in 1998. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects 377,000 registered nurses with a master s or doctoral degree will be needed this year, but only 175,000 are available.