The art of caring combined with scientific knowledge and skills are essential factors in providing quality health care and achieving goals of improving outcomes for patients.Some will argue that only nurses truly understand the art of caring and that otherwise it has become a lost art.
Caring has historically been seen as a weakness and is one of the main reasons nurses were looked down upon for so long, especially by doctors who were too busy treating and curing patients to spend much time actually caring.
Today the need to be cared for as well as the art of caring have seen a renewed emphasis as health care has experienced a shift to improving wellness and health status by placing more responsibility on patients for their own health status. Those who care for others have achieved a special status and professions such as nursing have seen improved salaries and working conditions as a result.
It is a well known fact that the events of September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, and the devastating tsunami in Asia in 2005, left many with a hunger to help others and to find a purpose to both their lives and their career. Many have turned to health care for career paths to provide that substance to their lives.
The art of caring has begun to fill voids. As a result, professionalism in the heath care industry has grown. There has been an increased need for a team approach with the shifting of roles and responsibilities for many health care professions. Team members such as doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, and patients have developed ways to work together efficiently and to respect each other for their skills and contributions to improved outcomes for patients.
A strong desire to help others and learn the art of caring is an essential quality for anyone seeking a career in health care whether or not the job involves direct patient care. Many individuals with established careers have found themselves dissatisfied with their life's work and have chosen to move into the health care industry as second or even third career options. For some becoming a nurse or physical therapist was an original dream that got sidetracked because of personal obligations or other factors. Now, they have chosen to revisit and fulfill their dreams.
With the increasing demand for professionals in most health care fields, these individuals can help to fill voids and ease severe shortages. Health care is a booming industry as manufacturing, retail and construction take a nose dive with the downturn of the economy.
The one constant in the economic forecast is that the population is aging and growing. This creates an increasing demand for more and better health care. The outlook for health care careers is great well into the next decade at least.