Ohio has world-class hospitals as well as community-based health institutions. It’s also an area where there’s a lot of need right now for registered nurses. Some areas of the state are having difficulty finding sufficient certified nurses. As such, if you’re an RN, you may find lots of opportunities await you in Ohio.
Registered nurses are licensed nurses with a wide range of skills. They are more likely to work in environments that manage acute illnesses. They also do higher-level responsibilities in environments that provide non-acute care
Basic credentialed nurses operate under supervision, which means they follow treatment programs devised by others. RNs, on the other hand, develop treatment programs. They also perform patient evaluation, which is a procedure that entails examining data critically rather than simply collecting it.
The Ohio Board of Nursing publishes interpretative guidelines on operations that may be covered within a nurse’s scope of practice; proven competence is a word that appears frequently. Sharp wound debridement, and the management of patients undergoing cardiac stress tests are among the issues covered. These technical responsibilities are only a few of the many that an RN may be asked to perform.
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How to Become a Registered Nurse
An aspiring registered nurse must complete an approved program (RN programs in Ohio) and pass a licensing exam before being licensed. Associate’s, diploma, bachelor’s, and direct entrance graduate programs are the four categories of Ohio registered nursing programs. All prepare graduates to take the NCLEX-RN exam, but career possibilities differ. Many Ohio nurses go on to get other nursing degrees in addition to the one that qualified them in the first place.
The RN Workforce in Ohio
At the time of renewal, the state collects thorough information on the RN staff. A total of 183,188 responses were collected for the 2016 report. Some RNs who were not working in the field were included. The majority, however, stated that they worked as a nurse. Inpatient nurse was the most popular category, with 61,006. The second-largest group, nursing homes, extended care, and assisted living, accounted for just 11,077 people. Two further types of hospital RNs, emergency room, and operating room/perioperative, as well as home health RNs, rounded out the top five. Hospital outpatient was only below this threshold (still 7,618). Ambulatory surgical center, ambulatory care, insurance setting, hospice, school health, public or community health, academia, physician partnership, and physician single setting specialty were among the other frequently mentioned settings.
Advanced practice nurses, a type of nurse that works in settings where health needs aren’t as urgent as they are in an emergency room or an acute care hospital, are included in the statistics. Their numbers, however, are insignificant. In primary care settings, advanced practice nurses with master’s and doctorate degrees perform higher-level tasks, similar to those of a primary care physician.
The RNs polled reported a wide range of specializations, some of which overlapped; no specialty was indicated by more than 10% of the respondents.
Medical/surgical was the greatest subgroup of RNs (15,899); med/surg is a fairly prevalent hospital categorization. The second most prevalent scenario was geriatrics, which is frequently observed in skilled nursing. Emergency, cardiology, and surgery were the next leading specialties. A lot of registered nurses claim to specialize in demographics or age groups (pediatrics, neonatal). Ohio, in particular, features a number of well-renowned children’s hospitals.
Many others mentioned physical ailment or therapy nursing. Many nurses specialize in working with cancer patients. Some work in gastrointestinal, neurology, nephrology, or physical medicine and rehabilitation, among other specialties.
Hospitals in Ohio
Many large hospitals in Ohio have highly specialized units. It also contains more than 30 critical access hospitals, which provide essential care to those who do not have access to alternative options.
Magnet designation is a significant accolade bestowed upon hospitals, and it usually denotes a desirable work environment for nurses. Ohio is home to 30 of the 471 hospitals that have received the Magnet designation. Multiple magnet hospitals are part of some big medical organizations (for example, the Cleveland Clinic and Mercy Health).
Nursing in Public Health
Nurses who work in public health are employed to work in a variety of programs, including those that support mothers and children. The Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH), is a well-known initiative.
Other public health responsibilities might include neonatal home visits, examining lead exposure and assisting families in reducing their risk, doing other health surveillance operations, and giving tests and information about medical concerns. Special programs may be available through local health departments.
Meeting the Demands of the Workforce
The Northeast has the most registered nurses, while the Southwest has the second-highest number. Despite its larger population, the Northeast has struggled to fill nursing positions in recent years (http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20170128/NEWS/170129849/nursing-in-northeast-ohio-is-in-critical-condition). Travel nurses are in high demand; they get higher compensation in exchange for their readiness to go wherever they are required.
Overtime is still a contentious issue. A measure was introduced in 2018 that, if enacted, would limit required overtime for nurses.
In 2016, registered nurses in Ohio earned an average of $30.75 per hour or $63,960 for a complete year of employment at 40 hours per week. However, salaries do vary from city to city. In the major cities, salaries are slightly higher. Furthermore, RNs in the Cleveland-Elyria area may make $2,000 to $3,000 more on average than those in the broader Cincinnati and Columbus areas.
Salaries, on the other hand, fluctuate more inside a single city than they do between cities. Even within the same context, actual earnings might vary significantly due to factors such as shift differentials, overtime, and earned incentives.