Jumpstart Your Nursing Career: Attend Nurse Practitioner School

A key part of a nurse practitioner's job is to teach patients good health habits and disease prevention. In essence, they give patients the knowledge and tools to make better life style choices that can lead to long-term wellness.

As CNNMoney.com reports, nurse practitioner jobs continue to grow at a steady pace. The increase in retail health clinics and decrease in the number of primary care doctors have created extensive opportunities for nurse practitioners in a wide rage of health care settings, including the following:

• Community clinics and health centers
• Health departments
• Home health care agencies
• Hospitals and hospice centers
• Physicians' offices
• Private practice
• Public health departments
• Schools and colleges
• Veterans' Administration facilities

Additionally, nurse practitioners have the versatility to shift to careers as medical researchers or educators as a means of bringing their knowledge and experience to a new generation of nurses.

Certainly, the rewarding nature of the profession itself has inspired students to choose nurse practitioner school. Other reasons more nurses have entered the occupation include the flexibility and choice it offers. Among the many specialties nurse practitioners can select are the following options:

• Acute Care Nursing
• Adult Care Nursing
• Public Health Nursing
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Geriatric Nursing
• Holistic Health Nursing
• Neonatal Nursing
• Pediatric Nursing
• Women's Health Nursing

What's more, today's nursing students have a wide variety of financial aid alternatives available to help fund their education. From scholarships and grants that do not have to be repaid to loans and work-study programs, nursing students have extensive opportunities to earn their degree without accumulating overwhelming debt.

^{Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010
CNNMoney.com, 2009}