Nursing has been a respected position longer than you may image. The 1st nursing school was established in India all the way back in 250 B.C. And while woman now dominate this field with only 5.8 percent of U.S males in the field in 2009 the first school only allowed men.

The first nursing in the United States was the New England Hospital and Children, established in 1862. This was the first time women were admitted to join hospital staff and medical school, with the first nursing degree class graduating in 1873. The school still exists today, known as the Dimock Community Health Center.

As of 2016 there were 3.2 million professionally active registered nurses in the Unites States, and 19.3 million nurses and midwives as of 2011 according to the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics Report.

Even with millions of nurses around the world, there is still a global shortage of people in the profession. They represent 50% of the total shortage in health workers. The countries with the largest need for nurses and midwives are South East Asia and Africa.

Nursing is physically demanding. Nurses are more likely than construction workers to suffer from a back injuring during their shift. U.S workers in this field suffer the second highest number of non-fatal work-related injuries and the highest incidence of musculoskeletal injuries. 

Nurses may be associated mostly with hospitals, but only 3 out of 5 nurses work in hospitals. Non hospital jobs include: nurse midwife, forensic nurse, nurse educator, school nurse, academic nurse writer, and legal nurse consultant. 

Some nurses even work in prisons. In 1976 the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners had a constitutional right to health care - enter the correctional nurse. Just like the hospital this comes with risks, but despite what you think not from the prisoners. Correctional nurse Lorry Schoenly says that, "It's safer to work as a nurse in a prison than a nurse in an emergency room," explaining, "The bad guys wear color-coded clothes." Schoenly even states the patients are more appreciative,"Many of them are so happy to get services behind bars."

A report from the Journal of Advanced Nursing found that newly licensed nurses work 12-hour shifts, close to half work overtime and more than one in 10 have a second job. And while a 12-hour shift may not seem like a lot to those in the medical community, nurses in Saudi Arabia would disagree. In the Middle East country nurses can unofficially work only 8-hours of their 12-hour shift - sorry patients you're on your own. 

Nursing is backbreaking work that more people need to join according to The World Health Organization who states: For all countries to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health and well-being, the world will need an additional 9 million nurses and midwives by the year 2030.

Even with all the work hazards, work hours and pay nurses are still appreciated by those they serve. In a 2016 Gallup poll, Americans ranked nurses as the most trustworthy when asked about honesty ethical standards of people in various professions.