Even in the midst of a global downturn that has affected nearly every industry in the United States and around the world the nursing profession remains much in demand Perhaps more importantly for anyone thinking about a career as a registered nurse (RN), the nation's need for nurses is expected to increase by more than twenty percent over the next seven years, creating more than half a million new nursing jobs that will need to be filled, as well as several hundred thousand more openings due to retirements in the current field of nurses

With two and a half million men and women working as nurses in the United States, nursing is the largest occupation in the health care industry It is also one of the most dynamic, as new technologies, new medicines, and new approaches treatment are continually developed and introduced into the nation's hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities