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How to Become a Nurse
If you want to help people and want a career with solid prospects, you may want to consider how to become a nurse. Nurses form the backbone of the medical field and often have greater patient contact and care than even the patients’ physicians.
Basic Job Duties
Nurses are not only integral in patient care, they also educate, counsel and train. Nursing specialties can include emergency care, pediatrics, geriatrics, surgery and private practice, although many more specialties are possible.
Online Education Available
Whether you currently hold a full-time job or want to attend classes full-time, an online college education to obtain an online degree of either an Associate or Bachelor of Nursing is affordable, widely available through most colleges and university and entirely possible.
A Registered Nurse must have at least an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), however, and for some advanced positions, an online Masters degree or an online PhD may be required.
As you investigate how to become a nurse, you will probably read that a typical curriculum includes courses heavy in science and math. If these are weak areas for you, you may want to consider another career field.
A second option into nursing is through an Associates degree program. The Associate Degree in Nursing program is usually offered through community colleges and junior colleges. The ADN program lasts for two years and can lead to entry-level positions. For advancement and higher pay, however, many ADN-holders choose to continue their education toward the four-year degree, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
A third option that provides an answer regarding how to become a nurse is through a diploma program taught by a hospital. However, these three-year programs are extremely rare because the business of medical care as mandated higher levels of training.
Once the preferred course has been completed, the graduate must still study for and pass the NCLEX-RN examination developed and administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Once passed, a nurse is licensed to provide nursing care within the state of issuance. The license exam may be standard nationally, but the license itself does not cross state jurisdictions.
As noted briefly above, nurses can find valued positions in almost any medical or patient-care environment.
Surgical nurses assist surgeons in the operating room. They can be employed at a hospital, surgical center or within the surgeon’s private practice.
Geriatric specialists care primary for the aged patient. As life spans increase, this specialty nurse becomes more valuable because senior citizens are fraught with injuries and conditions not often seen in younger generations.
Pediatric nurses care for the infant-to-adolescent patients. He can be employed by hospitals or private practices as well as family clinics, to name a few.
Emergency room nurses assist the ER physicians in treatment of trauma patients and can make a difference in life-or-death situations. The ER nurse must handle stress for long periods of time.
Lay a solid foundation for advancement and greater financial rewards and enroll in a program that will grant you years of career satisfaction. Now that you’ve learned how to become a nurse, choose your school and get started!
