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Features

What Does it Mean to be a Nurse?

The challenges and rewards of our profession

The Challenges

Judging by all the stories about desperately understaffed hospitals, anyone would think there aren't enough nurses. It's true the average American hospital falls short of the nursing staff it needs by at least 10 percent. Many facilities offer signing bonuses, attempt to coax nurses out of retirement, and recruit them from abroad. The public is led to believe there is a vast shortfall in the supply of nurses. Wrong! Or, at most, only partly true. There are plenty of nurses, it's just that many of them aren't working in hospitals. They work for insurance companies, become malpractice paralegals, or sell real estate. We are all aware of the downside of nursing today. Sometimes disillusioned nurses burn out and leave the field

Recent measures to attract more students to nursing programs are only part of the solution. Nursing programs lack enough qualified teachers to produce a healthy supply of nurses. Many graduates leave hospitals once reality hits them. Plus, young people are not quite as interested in nursing as they once were, given today's many other options.

The image of nursing has also been in transition for decades, partly due to the media images that influence our world view. Nurses were once defined by their dedication and rigorous training. In 1900, my grandmother wanted to be a nurse, but this meant leaving her genteel Irish family to train in distant Dublin for a profession that wasn't considered "proper" for a well-brought-up lady-so she married instead. At least nursing was considered a "calling" in those days, a vocation to which one made a serious commitment.

During the first half of the 20th century, nurses were respected, hailed as heroines in times of epidemic and war, and featured on LIFE magazine covers. In recent years, the media has cheapened nursing. We are portrayed superficially and unrealistically in sitcoms, soap operas, and over-the-top dramas. We nurses haven't always helped enhance our image, either. But every profession has its drawbacks and what occupation doesn't have a downside?

An Essential Role

In an era when almost one-sixth of Americans lack health insurance, when some form of universal healthcare is under constant discussion by politicians and the public, and when healthcare costs are skyrocketing, nurses are more pivotal than ever. The stability of our complex healthcare system depends on a steady supply of well-educated nurses.

Today, the public's reassessment of the nurse's vital role in healthcare delivery is once again making nursing an attractive and rewarding career choice. Nursing will be taken more seriously as an essential profession as our demographics change. More nurses are now entering the profession later in life, transitioning from other areas of work and bringing maturity, strength, and new perspectives.

The tipping point is being reached as boomers-both nurses and patients-demand changes and improvements in healthcare. This generation, more assertive and educated than previous cohorts, will also age in greater health and thus help offset the demand for nurses.

The Rewards

There are many positives. In what other job would we meet thousands of people from every walk of life-an incredible cross-section of society-who need and want us? Or be able to move from one end of the country to the other and still find ourselves in demand professionally? Or re-enter the field as our life situations change after years on the sidelines? We can work part time, get paid to upgrade our skills, and move laterally to new areas such as research projects, Armed Forces nursing, and travel nursing. A nursing career gives us an inside track on coping with health problems, too. We know how to ask the right questions, access information, and put that information to work as we advocate for others.

Nursing is rarely boring or predictable. In few other professions are we present at life's most momentous events, from birth to death, from crisis to recovery. For those who thrive on variety and the full spectrum of the human drama, every day brings a range of new situations. Our profession usually involves physical exercise, always good in moderation, as opposed to sedentary desk work. Nursing is the kind of job where we usually don't have to take work home with us, though we may have to stay overtime and will certainly take home emotional baggage, at least on occasion.

It's the kind of job where the results and rewards are often immediate. As opposed to careers where employees co-write reports that pass to higher level committees, which then consider them before they disappear forever into the depths of the organization, nursing allows us to get that analgesic to a patient, help him make that phone call, and explain to his loved ones why he needs a particular treatment. We are essential not only to patients and their families, but also to doctors, who rely on us for vital information about their patients' conditions.

Making a Difference

We make a difference, sometimes just by listening to someone for a few minutes or answering a simple question. What may be routine for us is a matter of life-and-death for patients and we can demystify the hospital structure for them. I remember an ER patient who lay shivering on a gurney, unaware that she had only to ask and we would find her another blanket. Another patient, on her way home in a wheelchair, detoured to find the nurses who had looked after her to thank them. As nurses, we often forget that what is familiar to us is a frightening new environment for patients, where they feel helpless, vulnerable, and overwhelmed.

While each of us sees hundreds of patients in the course of a year, patients often remember us individually as key to their recovery or care. Most of us have been recognized by a former patient whom we fail to remember. "There's my nurse!" exclaimed one man, months after he had left the hospital. He spotted me in a corridor while he was visiting a hospitalized friend. I was embarrassed at being unable to place him, but tried to convey sincerity as I asked him how he was doing.

As nurses, we can look back and say that our efforts are effective, practical, and make a difference. Maybe not every day, maybe things don't always go smoothly, and maybe we aren't always perfect, but we can enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that at least we tried, and sometimes fought well against all odds. How many other professions can make such a claim?

This article is from workingnurse.com.

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The challenges and rewards of our profession The Challenges Judging by all the stories about desperately understaffed hospitals, anyone would think there aren't enough nurses. It's true the average American hospital falls short of the nursing staff it needs by at least 10 percent.

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https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/college-application-process

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The college application process can seem intimidating, especially if students don't have parents or siblings who have already been through it and can offer advice.

Since there are so many steps, such as writing an essay and obtaining letters of recommendation, experts say a good way for students to get started is to create a to-do list during their junior year of high school.

"Once you can see it visually, the number of tasks and a schedule to do them, it simplifies a lot of things," says Christine Chu, a premier college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based education consulting company. "It will take away a lot of the anxiety."

Though there is often prep work, students generally begin filling out college applications the summer between their junior and senior years of high school, experts say.

Here's what prospective undergraduates need to know about completing a college application.

What Are the Important College Application Deadlines?

High school seniors have multiple deadlines to choose from when applying to colleges.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Applying to College

First are early decision deadlines, usually in November. Students who apply via early decision, or ED, hear back from a college sooner than their peers who turn in applications later. ED admissions decisions often come out by December.

However, students should be aware that ED acceptances are binding, meaning an applicant must enroll if offered admission.

Some schools also have a second early decision deadline, ED II, which is also binding. The difference is in the timelines. ED II deadlines are usually in January, Chu says. ED II admissions decisions often come out in February.

Early action is another type of application deadline that tends to be in November or December. Similar to early decision, students who apply via early action hear back from schools sooner. The difference is EA acceptances aren't binding.

Students can also choose to apply by a school's regular decision deadline, which can be as early as Nov. 30 at certain colleges but is typically Jan. 1. Students who apply regular decision generally hear back from schools in mid-to-late March or early April.

One other admissions policy to be aware of is rolling admissions. Schools with rolling admissions evaluate applications as they receive them and release admissions decisions on an ongoing basis. These schools may have a priority filing date, but they generally don't have a hard cutoff date for applications. The institutions continue accepting them until all spots in the incoming class are filled.

In deciding when to apply, as well as how many colleges to apply to, students should consider financial aid implications. Experts say if money is a concern, as it is for many families of college-bound students, applicants should choose nonbinding deadlines - EA and regular decision. This will enable families to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools.

For regular decision deadlines, students typically have until May 1 to decide which school they will attend and pay an enrollment deposit.

Which College Application Platform Should I Use?

Students have several options when it comes to college application platforms.

One popular choice is The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 900 colleges, including some outside the U.S. Students fill out the Common App once and can then submit it to multiple colleges.

However, in addition to the main application, Common App schools often have a supplemental section, Chu says. The supplement sometimes includes additional essay questions, so students may need to budget time for more writing.

Other application options include the Coalition Application, a newer platform accepted by more than 150 schools, and the Common Black College Application, accepted by more than 60 historically Black colleges and universities.

Additionally, some colleges have school-specific or university system-specific applications. For example, the University of California system has its own application - the only platform used by UC schools - and students can apply to multiple campuses with one application.

Students can visit a college's website to determine which application platforms are accepted. Also, the Common App, Coalition Application and CBCA websites list their partner schools.

What Do I Need to Know About the College Application Essay?

As part of the application process, most colleges require students to submit at least one writing sample: the college essay. This is sometimes referred to as a personal statement.

There's usually a word limit of around several hundred words for a personal statement. The main essay on the Common App should be around 650 words.

"The application essay prompts are broad and open-ended, and I think that's sometimes what challenges students the most," says Niki Barron, associate dean of admission at Hamilton College in New York. "But they're open-ended for a reason, and that's because we do really want to see what students choose to write about, what students feel is important."

Experts say students should try to tell a story about themselves in the essay, which doesn't necessarily mean writing about a big, impressive accomplishment.

Barron says the most memorable essays for her focus on more ordinary topics. "But they're done in such a self-reflective way that it gives me so much insight into who a student is as a person and gives me such a sense of the student's voice," she adds.

What Are the Other Key Components of a College Application?

Here are other parts of the college application that prospective students should be ready for.

Personal information. In the first portion of a college application, students have to provide basic information about themselves, their school and their family.

High school transcript. Colleges also ask for an official high school transcript, which is a record of the courses students have taken and the grades they have earned.

Admissions offices typically ask that a transcript be sent directly from the high school rather than from the student, says Geoff Heckman, school counselor and department chair at Platte County High School in Missouri. Students usually submit a transcript request to their high school's counseling office, but some schools use an online service, such as Parchment or SENDedu, that allows students to request the transcript be sent through a secure online provider, Heckman says.

Students can also send their transcript via a registrar if their school has one rather than through the counseling office.

Standardized test scores. Many schools require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. These scores are usually sent by the testing companies. The number of schools requiring standardized test scores has dropped dramatically as the coronavirus pandemic upended these exams, with many testing centers closed across the U.S. in parts of 2020 and 2021.

Prospective students should know, however, that testing policies vary even when such exams are not required. Key terms to pay attention to include test-blind and test-optional. Test-blind means that scores will not be considered if submitted. By contrast, test-optional colleges do not require ACT or SAT scores but will consider them if submitted as part of an application.

Chu notes that "admissions officers still want to see test scores if possible" and that high marks will only help. A good ACT or SAT score varies by college, and Chu encourages students to look at a college's first-year student profile to determine its admission goals.

SAT test-takers are allowed four free score reports each time they register for the exam. Students can select which schools they'd like their scores sent to before or up to nine days after the test, according to the College Board, which administers the standardized test. The fee for each additional score report is $12.

Similarly, students who sit for the ACT can send their score to up to four colleges at no cost, according to the ACT website. Additional score reports are $16 each.

Students should seek out recommenders - often they have to be teachers or counselors - who know them well and can comment not just on their academic abilities but also their personal qualities and achievements, Chu says.

It is a good idea for students to provide recommenders with a copy of their resume to help them cover all these bases, Heckman says.

Students should request letters of recommendation well before the application deadline. Chu advises at least two months in advance.

"The more time students can give the authors of those recommendations, I think the more thorough and helpful those recommendations are going to be for us," Barron says.

Do I Need to Submit a Resume?

On some college applications, it may be optional for students to upload a resume.

But much of the information generally contained in a resume - such as awards, work experience and extracurricular activities - is asked for in other parts of a college application, often in an activities section.

In this section, students should detail all of the ways they spend their time outside of class, Barron says. This includes structured activities like sports or clubs, as well as family obligations such as caring for siblings or part-time employment, she says.

How Much Do College Application Fees Cost?

There's no set price for college application fees, which experts say typically range from $50 to $90 per application, though costs can stretch upwards of $100 in some instances. Prospective students should check college websites to determine these individual fees.

How Can I Get a College Application Fee Waiver?

Students who received SAT or ACT test fee waivers are eligible for college application fee waivers from the testing companies. The College Board sends such waivers automatically to students. Not all schools accept these waivers, but many do.

Similarly, the ACT has a fee waiver request form students and school counselors can fill out and send to colleges. The National Association for College Admission Counseling also offers a fee waiver request form.

In addition, eligible students can request a fee waiver within the body of some college applications, including the Common App.

There are other times schools waive application fees, and not just for low-income students. Students can sometimes get an application fee waived by participating in instant decision day events at their high school or on a college's campus. Applicants should also keep an eye out for free application periods in some states, when some colleges waive fees to apply.

Using a College Visit to Decide Where to Apply

A common piece of advice offered by admissions consultants and college officials alike is to tour a campus. Visiting a college can help prospective students get a sense of the culture and community and understand how they may or may not fit in. While it's not part of the formal application process, exploring a college can help students determine which schools to apply to.

Such visits, Chu says, offer a "glimpse into a day in the life" of students living and learning on those campuses. But in the absence of the opportunity to visit - say, due to cost restrictions or other travel limitations - students should consider virtual visits, which have emerged as a popular option for applicants since the coronavirus pandemic began.

While virtual tours may offer fewer opportunities to make personal connections, students should still attempt to forge them.

"Virtual visits can be the next best thing" to an in-person tour, Barron notes. She also encourages applicants to "check college websites for offerings and opportunities to connect virtually with current students, admission staff, professors, coaches and others."

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Your Complete Guide to College Applications

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The college application process can seem intimidating, especially if students don't have parents or siblings who have already been through it and can offer advice. Since there are so many steps, such as writing an essay and obtaining letters of recommendation, experts say a good way for students to get started is to create a to-do list during their junior year of high school.

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"Job application" can refer to either the forms and formats used to apply for a job or to the process of applying for a targeted job. Most employment resources counsel prospective job applicants to carefully apply only to the employment opportunities that best match their professional backgrounds and to follow up with employers politely and expeditiously. However, choosing the target is only the first step toward hitting it. A common additional job application challenge is to get feedback from the employer about how good the "shot" at getting a shot has been-often with only deafening silence as the only clue.

In some instances, the reason for a lack of response is insufficient resources; in others, it is insufficient consideration. When common courtesy or respect appears to be lacking, the job search can become an even more frustrating, uncertain and time-consuming process that, in any event, demands intense planning, persistence and personal grit-while keeping pessimism in check.

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Most people begin the process of getting their very first job by filling out a job application. Employers of blue-collar or entry-level workers often use standardized job applications as a means of screening applicants, especially if the position is one for which no previous experience is required.

Other companies may still require a job application but use it more as a screening template for the Human Resources Department to use to collect data, while those responsible for the actual hiring rely more upon resumes, references, and interviews.

Whatever the ultimate purpose of a job application, however, the attitude of the applicant should be the same. Honesty is absolutely essential on a job application, for if a deception is discovered, it almost inevitably results in dismissal from the position and sometimes even criminal charges.

At the same time, a job application is much like a resume, inasmuch as it can be one of the most valuable self-marketing tools a person has in the course of a job search. Because of this, it is important to be prepared when visiting a prospective employer, whether it is to interview for a position already applied for or on the occasion of the application itself.

Some employers require that the application be completed on sight and may use it as a first indication of a prospective employee's ability to follow instructions. As such, when filling out job applications always carry a copy of your resume, driver's license, social security card, and reference information (including referees' all-important titles, phone numbers and emails) with you on every visit.

Nothing can be more frustrating than being turned down for a job for which one is qualified and which one is perfectly capable of performing because of a shoddy application or a lapse in following directions.

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Job Application - Tips and Articles about Applying for Jobs

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Find resources about job applications and what to include in your employment application. Search open jobs and connect with local employers and recruiters. Find out what you need to do to make the job application process a little less frustrating and a little more organized and efficient.

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