National Nurses’ Week begins May 6 and ends on Florence Nightingale’s birthday May 12, a celebration demonstrating appreciation and acknowledgment for nurses. Some people have always known they wanted to be nurses, perhaps born into families in which nursing and medicine are a tradition. As a trauma nurse, nursing represented doing the impossible, beating the enemy, giving family members a second chance at new beginnings, or providing the opportunity to say goodbye. Why nursing? I did not choose nursing, it chose me, and I am proud and grateful for the experience.

Nurse-managed health centers are becoming more common, and thanks to recent healthcare trends they are likely to keep expanding the range of services they offer. Read this Exclusive Interview with Donna Torrisi, M.S.N., the Founding Director for the first Nurse-Managed Federally Qualified Health Center.

With the national unemployment rate still hovering around 8.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, setting yourself apart from the crowd during a job interview has never been more important. But as you prepare for your next interview, are you poring over lists of generic questions, brainstorming canned answers, and searching your memory for convincing anecdotes? You may be missing the forest for the trees.

One valuable aspect of health care occupations is a clearly established career path. Those with MSN degrees find a wide-open job landscape with careers available in a number of different specialties and industries. With an MSN degree professional nurses can get a jump on the competition and gain the skills they need to progress to a more satisfying and more rewarding career.

For underpaid and overworked LPNs, an RN degree opens the window to more attractive salaries, interesting nursing specialties, and professional growth opportunities. With the rising vogue of online education, LPNs have more options than ever before when it comes to choosing the best degree program. Here are the top ten benefits of online LPN-to-RN programs.

Many of those who have been in the job market, military, raising children, or caring for elderly parents may question whether or not they have the time, energy, sustained interest, or patience to go back to school. Continuing education is often a back burner item simply because life jumps in to rearrange priorities. Whether the desire to continue one’s education is new or renewed, some folks still entertain nagging questions about timing.