Considering a career as an RN? If so, you'll be happy to know that the number of registered nursing jobs Arizona has will skyrocket in the coming years.
RNs are responsible for treating and educating patients and the public about various medical conditions. While the day-to-day duties of an RN may vary, depending on the field they're working in, all RNs take care of patients and provide support to family members.
Most RNs perform such basic tasks as keeping track of patients' medical records, performing diagnostic tests, analyzing test results, operating medical machinery, administering treatments and medications, and helping with patient follow-up and rehabilitation.
Now is a great time to work as an RN in Arizona. Employment of RNs throughout the state is expected to reach 50,014 by 2018, an increase of 23.5 percent from 10 years earlier. There will be a total of 9,503 jobs available during that time span, with an average of 1,658 job openings every year.
Where will you most likely work as an RN? According to the Arizona Workforce Informer, the following industries were responsible for the majority of RN employment throughout Arizona during 2008:
- General medical and surgical hospitals - 52 percent
- Offices of physicians - 9.9 percent
- Outpatient care centers - 5.5 percent
- Employment services - 4.7 percent
- Home healthcare services - 4.1 percent
- Elementary and secondary schools - 2.9 percent
- Nursing care facilities - 2.9 percent
- Management of companies and enterprises - 2.1 percent
- Other ambulatory care services - 1.5 percent
- Community care facilities for the elderly - 1 percent
- Other hospitals - .8 percent
- Offices of other health practitioners - .8 percent
- Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals - .8 percent
- Colleges and universities - .4 percent
- Electronic shopping and mail order houses - .3 percent
Another plus to working as an RN is that you'll get paid pretty well. During 2009, RNs in Arizona earned an average wage of $32.27 per hour. Entry-level employees earned about $23.02 per hour and experienced employees earned roughly $36.90 per hour.
