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Registered nurses are some of the most vital team members in any medical workplace. They can be found in hospitals, health clinics, home nursing services, hospice care, and a variety of other settings, and are relied upon for their competence, caring, and breadth of medical knowledge. Like the rest of the health care field, nursing positions are expected to grow enormously in the next few years as the need for medical services expands.

What Is a Registered Nurse (RN)?

Registered nurses, or RNs, treat, educate, and collect information from patients in a variety of medical settings. They work in hospitals, doctors' offices, hospices, private homes, public health clinics, and anywhere else that trained medical professionals are needed.

Nurses are often the first point of contact with medical clients, collecting patient histories and performing routine tests and diagnoses. They may also help to educate patients about nutrition, disease management, and treatment options, or administer IVs and medication.

Even when working long, grueling hours on their feet, nurses must be patient, kind, compassionate, and possess strong communication skills. They must also follow health and safety regulations with extreme care to prevent infection or mislabeling of samples and medications, and they must be strong enough to perform the physical tasks involved in this challenging, but rewarding career.

RN Salary and Career Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov, 2010) reports the median registered nurse salary in 2009 as $63,750, though the top 10 percent of nurses earned over $92,240, depending on employer, location, experience, and training. Nurses can improve their chances at top-paying positions by pursuing additional skills and expertise, such as those gained through registered nurse training online.

According to Salary.com (2012), the median annual salary for RNs working as staff nurses is $64,147, with home care and hospice nurses earning marginally more at $66,883 and $65,423, respectively. Home care nurses have the capacity to earn the most, with the highest paid 10 percent bringing home more than $80,823 per year.

The highest paid nurses in the U.S. work in California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Maryland, and New Jersey, while the top cities for nursing positions include Rochester, New York; Gainesville, Florida; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. About 2.6 million people worked as RNs in 2008, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that number to grow by 22 percent through 2018, adding 581,500 new nursing jobs in hospitals, health centers, doctors' offices, and nursing homes across the nation.

Registered Nurse Education and Training Online

The vast majority of registered nurses have completed either a two-year associate's degree or a four-year bachelor's degree, though many also have additional training or a master's degree, and wages generally rise with increasing education. Some nurses study through shorter certification programs, but these are not the most advantageous for those seeking competitive career opportunities.

Hospice care nurses, in particular, are likely to require additional education: either a master's or specialized qualifications are desirable for this career path. The majority of nurses--nearly 60 percent of today's RNs--work in hospitals and emergency rooms, but the fastest growing employment areas are in physicians' offices and home health care services. Students with an eye on future career opportunities would be wise to pursue training and certification that can make them eligible to work in these thriving fields.