Page 8 Section II Portland Observer, August 11, 1982
Career opportunities
in the nursing profession
There are many employment op
p o rtu n itie s available to help meet
the needs and interest o f those who
wan, to enter the nursing p ro fe s
sion. The demand fo r q u a lifie d
nurse continues to grow. Education
al requirements fo r those who wan,
to enter the nursing profession can
be earned at two, three, or four-year
programs.
In general, a d ip lo m a program
prepares individuals fo r sta ff nurse
positions in hospitals, particularly if
you are receiving education and
tra in in g in a h o s p ita l program .
M Ost h o s p ita l program s take
approxim ately three years to com
plete. M any students a tte n d in g
Junior Colleges, colleges or univer
sities can receive training to work in
a hospital or fo r other a ffilia tio n s .
Junior college s generally have two-
year programs and serve as prepara
tion fo r basic entry-level positions.
A fo u r-y e a r lib e ra l arts degree in
nursing is strongly advised for those
interested in fu tu re career g row th
either in or outside a hospital setting.
The positions listed here are repre
sentative o f just some o f the many
nursing opportun ities available a,
hospitals:
M e d ic a l/S u rg ic a l S ta ff N urse:
T h is general category covers
treatment o f most diseases and con
d itio n s fo r w h ich people go in to
h o sp ita ls. It includes nursing be
fore, during and after surgery.
Operating Room Nurse: Works with
unconscious patients and is respon
sible fo r sterilizing and circu la tin g
instrum ents to the surgeon during
an operation.
Gerontological Nursing: Involves
specialized health care o f the e l
derly. Post-graduate work is usually
required to advance in this area o f
nursing.
N urse A n e s th e tis t: A fte r being
licensed, an RN can take a course o f
study to become specialized in the
giving o f anesthesia.
Under the surgeon’ s instructions,
this nurse also must follow the pa
tie n t’ s color, pulse, respiration, re
flexes, flow and color o f blood dur
ing surgery.
Pharmacy grads pursue hospital careers
Hospital careers hold the most at
tra c tio n now fo r Oregon State
U n ive rsity pharm acy graduates
while the number looking to become
pharmacy (drugstore) owners is go
ing down.
A n OSU survey this spring o f
g ra duatin g seniors showed 28
looking to careers in hospital phar
macy. 20 in d ica tin g they hoped to
practice pharm acy in independent
pharmacies, and 7 were looking to
jo in chain store pharmacies. T h ir
teen said they wished some day to
become a pharmacy owner; 31 said
now , a higher p ro p o rtio n than in
earlier years.
Most o f the 1982 pharmacy grad
uates wanted to find jobs in the W il
lamette Valley (20) or Portland (18).
"T h a t is a big part o f the problem
in fin d in g jo b s ,” observed George
C o n sta n tin e , assistant dean and
head adviser fo r the school o f phar
macy. “ There were more positions
available than graduates but some
graduates were holding out for par
ticular locations. Some o f them may
s till be w ith o u t a jo b to o ,” he
noted.
Between 60 and 70 per cent o f the
1,500 practicing pharmacists in Ore
gon now arc Oregon State Universi
ty graduates, it was reported. Most
are found in community pharmacies
th ro u g h o u t the state. “ But an in
creasing number o f pharmacists are
employed now in hospitals, nursing
homes and health care o rg a n iza
tio n s."
Hospitals allow pharmacists op
portunities to broaden their exper
iences and to participate more with
physicians, nurses and other health
professionals in clinical situations
and to be more “ patient oriented.”
Constantine explained.
A breakdown o f the 63 graduates
showed 34 males and 29 females,
some o f whom com bine p a rt-tim e
careers with their homemaker-fam
ily responsibilities. OSU has one o f
the nation's best records for gradu
ating women pharmacists, Constan
tine noted.
The OSU pharmacy school now
adm its 80 students each fa ll to its
professional program. The number
is tied to Oregon's calculated need
for pharmacists and to the school's
staff-space resources, Constanting
pointed out.
Careers in nursing
According to most knowledgeable
o ffic ia ls there is a serious w o r ld
wide shortage o f q u a lifie d nurses.
There arc a p p ro x im a te ly 200,000
RN vacancies nationally according
to some health experts. For new
nurses, this should mean not only
excellent prospects fo r im m ediate
em ploym ent w ith flexible w orking
hours and fo r p o te n tia l advance
ment, but also ample w ork o p p o r
tunities in any part o f the country
and a long career in the health care
service. A cco rd in g to the Black
Nurses Association, o f the 1.4 m il-
lio n Registered Nurses in the
c o u n try o n ly 7 per cent are n o n
white. It appears from these figures
black nursing graduates w ill be in
dem and. O f the new ly licensed
nurses who graduated in 1980, 6 per
cent fo u n d em ploym ent p rio r to
g ra d u a tio n and m ore then 16 per
cent took jobs one to three months
a fte r graduatio n. For more in fo r
mation on qualifications and oppor
tu n itie s in the nursing profession
w rite your local state board o f
nursing.
Moving blacks into the corporate world
Surgical team at work
N urse M id w ive s: Involves the
management o f prenatal care, labor
and delivery, post-partum care, care
o f the new born and fa m ily p la n
ning.
N urse A d m in is tra to r: Includes
a d m in is tra tiv e and supervisory
duties plus classroom instruction in
hospital schools. Besides being in
volved w ith patient care, the nurse
adm inistrator usually is responsible
fo r s ta ffin g , overseeing re p o rts,
counseling, ordering supplies, and
record keeping. Some employment
possibilities include: Private agencies
and in s titu tio n s , nursing homes,
public health organizations, nursing
associations, religious and mission
ary associations. Insurance compan
ies, regional health care associa
tions, public agencies, armed forces,
p u b lic health services. Boards o f
H ealth, Boards o f E ducation and
educational institutions.
How many major corporations in
the U.S. can say that they have em
ployed enough blacks at all levels o f
their organization so their numbers
are proportionate to the percentage
o f blacks in (he population o f the
U.S.?
The answer is none. Some corpor
ations have made progress in in
creasing (he numbers o f blacks in
certain types o f jobs, and some cor
porations have managed to de
crease the preponderance o f blacks
in service jobs oi unskilled blacks
into sem i-skilled, skilled, supervi
sory, and middle management jobs.
There are a very few blacks who are
in the top management o f corpora
tions. T y p ica lly, the higher up in a
business organization, the fewer
blacks and other m in o rity groups
arc employed.
In a study conducted in 1972, Ted
Purcell and Gerald Cavanaugh esti
mated that, assuming the current
rate o f progress, it w ould take 86
years for blacks to achieve a propor
tional representation in managerial,
o ffic ia l and profession positions in
the U nited States. The 1960s and
early 1970s were the days o f rather
ambitious and optimistic progress in
race relations and equal o p p o rtu n
ity; today there is at least a freeze, if
not a reversal, o f these gains. Thus,
it is clear that there is a long way to
go before blacks in the U.S. w ill be
fa irly represented at all levels o f
business organizations.
The basic credentials needed to
enter in to managerial ranks o f the
business w orld is at least a college
degree, i f not a m aster’s degree.
Working in the world of health care can be hard work
and long hours, but very rewarding. If you like to help
people, have an interest in the sciences or find typing
and filing the way you want to spend your working
hours, consider the many opportunities in health care.
Many positions require Ph.D., M.S. or B.S. degrees at
the university level; however, many are positions that
require past working experience and some positions
provide on the job training.
If you would like some career counseling about a
future in the health care field, we would be happy to
assist you.
EMANUEL HOSPITAL
2801 N. Gantenbein A\e.
Portland, Oregon 97227
/
N
e a
- J
V.
Donny Adair
280-3963
Faye Meske
280-4164
Evelyn Williams 280-4164
However, many blacks enter
college with the belief that getting a
college degree w ill almost autom at
ically grant them access Io good
jobs, high income, and the o p p o r
tunity to improve their status in so
ciety.
Unfortunately, many learn late in
their college years or even after
graduation that their academic stud
ies have no, prepared them fo r the
w orld o f w ork and that they lack
m arketable skills in the business
world. They also learn that the com
petition for entry jobs into the busi
ness world is no, skewed in their fa
vor by EEO and a ffirm a tiv e action
pressures on employers; rather, they
face problems in obtaining employ
ment because o f their skin color and
cultural background.