Nursing is the primary care taker of the patients who are in need of health. This is the major responsibility of the nurse. But as time changes, the populations are growing and the needs of everybody increased, the role of nursing became highly developed. When doctors are not around or when they are still busy with other patients, the nurses are the one who temporarily attends to the needs of the patients especially in case of emergency. They were trained on what to do in special cases. Today's nurse does things that were done by only doctors less than forty years ago; tasks like taking blood pressure readings, changing dressings, physical examinations, giving injections, and handling machines and sophisticated monitors (University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2006). Now, there are many type of nurses in this kind of career, they ought to take their specialization if they want to succeed in this area. But then if you are considering this course, you should prepare yourself to work overtime, be assertive, motivated, active and energetic. These considerations should not be forgotten for the reason that being a nurse is not an easy job since it takes a lot of patience and understanding. Here are the standard requirements before entering a nursing course in some of the schools in the United States as based on the Clarion County Career Center (2006):.

             Issue: Critical Thinking .

             Standard: Critical thinking sufficient for clinical judgment.

             Example: Competent assessment of patient in timely manner; correct interpretation of assessment; readily respond with appropriate interventions, treatment plans; ability to work alone and to make correct, independent decisions, as needed.

             Issue: Interpersonal.

             Standard: Interpersonal abilities sufficient to interact with individuals, families and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural and intellectual backgrounds.

             Example: Life and death situations; working with families stressed by the condition of a loved one; working with other health care providers in stressful situations.