Train to Be an RN: 3 Options to Choose From

The three traditional training and educational tracks to registered nursing are a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, and a diploma from an approved nursing program. The most common degrees chosen by individuals going into this vocation are the bachelor's degree and the associate degree. Individuals will then have to complete a national licensing test if they wish to obtain a nursing license. If a nurse chooses to become a nurse-midwife, advanced practice nurse, nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist, they'll need to have a master’s degree.

Choosing to get a bachelor's degree in nursing usually means you'll be going to school and training for approximately four years. You are looking at about two to three years of education and training if you want to get your associate degree. Diploma programs are about three years and are typically done in a hospital. No matter which degree option they choose, licensed graduates should be ready for an entry level job as a staff nurse. You will find lots of RN degree programs that result in an ADN or bachelor’s degree; but, there are very few diploma programs.

Individuals may want to give consideration to the advantages and disadvantages for each program before choosing. There are going to be less chances for advancement for individuals that acquire the ADN, when compared to individuals that go for the bachelor of science in nursing and higher.

As a result of the increasing complexity of the nursing profession, the skills acquired by those individuals that complete a BSN are becoming more important. Furthermore, bachelor degree programs offer more clinical experience in non-hospital settings. A BSN degree, or higher is typically required by teaching and administrative positions.

It's not uncommon for a nurse that initially decided to get an associate degree, or diploma, to go back to college and acquire a bachelor’s degree. In most instances, nurses will begin by finding work in an entry level job. Then, after they start working, they're now able to use tuition reimbursement options. Signing up for a MSN program and earning their master’s degree is a second option. These kinds of degree programs generally take about 3-4 years to finish and will result in the RN earning their bachelor’s degree, in addition to their master’s degree.

There are degree programs available for individuals thinking about changing to a profession in the nursing field too. There are accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs available if you already have got a bachelor's degree in another area. Most of these accelerated programs normally last about a year, to a year and a half. For people who already have a bachelor's degree, another choice is a master's degree program.

All nursing education programs include classroom instruction along with supervised clinical experience in healthcare facilities. Students will take lessons in microbiology, psychology, physiology, chemistry along with other nursing and behavioral sciences. Coursework also includes the liberal arts for associate degree and bachelor degree students.

Supervised clinical training is provided in healthcare facility departments such as psychiatry, surgery, maternity and pediatrics. Several training programs also have clinical training in public health departments, home health agencies, ambulatory clinics and nursing care facilities.

In order to get a registered nursing license in the U.S., individuals will need to graduate from an approved nursing program then pass the NCLEX-RN exam. There are typically additional licensing prerequisites that will vary based on location. Contact your State’s board of nursing for specifics.

Being credentialed in a particular career field is an option that a lot of nurses choose. RNs have several options when credentialing. Two of those options are with the National League for Nursing and the American Nursing Credentialing Center. In general, RNs are not required to get credentialed, nevertheless it demonstrates dedication to a greater standard.

Considering the nature of the job, it is vitally important that those looking at becoming a Registered Nurse be caring and sympathetic. It's important they be prepared to correctly assess patients' conditions, determine when consultation is required and direct or supervise others. Above all, they should need to know how to address traumatic situations as well as human suffering.

A majority of RNs will start their careers by working as a staff nurse in a hospital. As they obtain more practical knowledge, they'll typically move into various other locations and get promoted to opportunities that offer significantly more responsibility. In management, nurses are able to advance from head nurse to more senior level administrative roles of vice president, chief of nursing, assistant director, or director. More and more, management level nursing positions call for a graduate or advanced degree in health services administration, or nursing. Administrative roles demand leadership, communication, negotiation skills and good judgment.

Yet another way for registered nurses to advance their opportunities is by becoming advanced practice nurses. These types of highly trained professionals are able to work independently, as well as in collaboration with a physician and sometimes concentrate on providing primary care. The following is a list of advanced practice nurses. Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse-Midwives, Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists. The nurse practitioners work as primary health care providers, offering a blend of nursing and healthcare services to people and their families. Individuals working as clinical nurse specialists will be providing patient care in one of many areas of expertise. Examples include Rehabilitation , School Health Nursing. Nurse anesthetists offer patients anesthesia along with related care both before and after obstetrical, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Additionally, they are able to provide pain management and emergency services, like airway management. Nurse-midwives provide care to women, including prenatal care, assistance in labor and delivery, gynecological exams, neonatal care and family planning advice.

No matter which advanced practice nurse discipline you end up picking, you need a master's degree. Along with the requirement of a master's degree, each state has some specifications for registered nurses being employed in advanced practice roles. Speak to your State’s board of nursing for specific regulations regarding advanced practice nurses.

Some nurses step into the business side of health care. Companies, like insurance companies, managed care organizations and hospitals, among others, need RNs for policy development, marketing, quality assurance as well as consulting.

Becoming a Pharmacist: Getting the Necessary Training

For those who are thinking about being a pharmacist, then you need to ready yourself to undertake the rigorous training needed to be equipped for the position and setting of a pharmacist. In general, a pharmacist's main job would be to dispense medications for patients with prescriptions written by a doctor. At some point, pharmacists also compounded the prescription drugs, but that is far less common now in the days of big drug companies.

Even though providing patients prescription medication is a major function of this position, counseling them is a major duty as well. Pharmacists notify patients about side effects, safety concerns, and also catch potential drug interactions with medicines they're currently taking. In addition they consult with doctors and other medical experts to assist in providing the best drug therapy available. Keeping track of the effectiveness and progress connected with drug therapy regimens are also typical of the tasks of the pharmacist.

The biggest piece of becoming a pharmacist in the U.S. is to earn your doctorate of pharmacy from an accredited college. This particular degree program usually takes about four years to complete, but once completed you will be very familiar with drug therapies. Ethics, public health, communication and business management are other topics that will be discussed.

However before getting your doctorate of pharmacy, you've got to be sure to prepare yourself with advanced science courses, and also humanities courses; postsecondary studies can be very helpful here. The Pharm.D is probably not the program for you if you want to concentrate on clinical and research pharmacy; in this situation, go after the Ph.D or the Master of Science degrees. Those that pursue these avenues routinely work in a research facility or a university.

Additionally, there are a few exams that have to be taken, which will differ based on state. The standard exam required in the United States is called the NAPLEX. Other states also require the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam.

The former examination examines knowledge and skills, and the second one is focused on law. But before you think about the examinations, be aware that you have practical experience in a pharmacy setting you will need to get first. There are also proof of age and background checks required for pharmacists also.

Then you can determine which of the two common places pharmacists work is ideal for you:

- Health care facility (ex. hospital)

Hand out medicines. Offer help on medications to health care practitioners relating to choosing medications, how to best use them, as well as issues of safety. Create intravenous solutions. Every so often, a pharmacist's area of specialization is utilized. Prior to discharge, give advice to individuals.

- Community (ex. Drugstore)

Give advice on devices in addition to medical tools for home healthcare. Give prescribed medication to patients. Pharmacists also counsel people on their dietary management, exercise, lifestyle, and managing stress. Paperwork. Responsible for supervising staff as well as all round operation. Vaccine administration is a part of your job.

Pharmacists are enjoying big job growth rates and job security, so those people considering the career field are lucky. This is a profitable career field where the average earning is over $100,000.Considering the aging population as well as the increasing complexity of prescribed drugs and therapies, the demand for pharmacists will most definitely grow.

A Closer Look at Nurse Practitioner Training

Those who know they like to care for others could be seriously considering nursing, but how can you figure out if being a nurse practitioner would be the best fit for you? You can figure it out if you simply think about the opportunities for training, earnings, and occupational duties.

For those who are presently employed as a LPN or an RN, the nurse practitioner position is more advanced and so will take advanced training and responsibility. Nurse practitioners are really diagnosticians, so that is a boost from nursing responsibilities. The nurse practitioner works to plan patient care, write prescriptions and make diagnosis whether they are working in a hospital, health clinic, or a doctor’s office.

Nurse practitioners of all specialties and settings perform a very similar set of functions, which are listed below:

Write prescriptions; request lab tests. Collecting patient history to determine diagnosis, determining which tests should be ordered. Drain and attend to wounds, collect biopsies, complete basic suturing and incisions. Test for glucose levels and insulin tolerance. Do gastric analysis and intubation.

Even though the training is strenuous, nurses report incredible satisfaction with their job, and say the extra training required to acquire this increased autonomy and responsibility are well well worth it.
 
Exactly how is the training different than that of what registered nurses and LPNs receive? Most nurse practitioner training programs require potential students to possess registered nurse licensure and to have practiced as an RN for approximately twenty four months.

At the masters degree level, there will be courses in advanced pharmacology in addition to in depth practice in a variety of areas in different semesters. Anticipate practicum hours in at-risk population care, pediatric, adult, and child health care. All courses are progressively more complicated compared to those offered in registered nurse training.

You'll find training programs which allow you to do some or all of the work online, which allows you to continue working. Many web-based programs are just as good as traditional programs, and many are part-time and full time.

Certification is the next thing in your journey after your coursework is done; Certification comes from one of many national nursing organizations. You will get certification from both the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Nurses' Association.

Certifications in special areas like gynecology, neonatal, obstetrics and pediatrics. You can sit for an exam anywhere in the nation for about $300 per exam.

The bump in salary for nurse practitioners is roughly $14 an hour typically over that of an RN. Master's degrees typically mean an increase in earnings like this.

Nurse practitioners don't just get to work with patients one on one, but they also enjoy an income increase, and those two reasons persuade many people to pursue it. By acquiring higher education, RNs are able to re-invent themselves and open up new and enjoyable opportunities.

Certified Nurse Midwife Training: A Look at Training Requirements

The term midwife makes one think of women having a baby on their floor, but in fact there is a midwife certification enabling midwives to give alternatives for their patients’ childbirth experience together with a number of career choices for nurse midwives. Midwife career choices include:

Healthcare team practice. Nursing care associated with hospitals. Birthing centers. Health department-based nursing.

First, let's analyze the education required for becoming a certified nurse midwife. The training program you'll need for the nurse midwife is challenging; as it's a master nursing role, this shouldn't come as a surprise. The midwife program can be quite challenging; thus, it is advisable to pick the best program that will fit your location, personality, schedule and learning style.

While training to become a midwife, there are a lot of the same prerequisites as other master degree level nursing disciplines. Having said that, the midwife training program focuses on the nursing practice for the care of women including labor and birth, prenatal and postnatal nursing. But additionally, training in the lifespan of women’s health is required as well as pharmacology.

The days of the typical midwife will be diverse; one never knows what you will find yourself doing, like gynecological exams, writing a prescription, delivering a baby, or even executing an episiotomy.

There are a lot of programs that are available, such as internet based study, and also degree programs that allow students that have a bachelor's degree in something other than nursing. In such programs, you have rigorous prerequisites you need to get a firm foundation in-usually science and math.

Some educational institutions will require up to 1 year of experience in a delivery and labor setting. A midway stage you might like to take a look at is training as a doula. Doulas are qualified to guide soon to be mothers through the process of giving birth without pain medications. A doula goes to labors as well as deliveries however does not perform any functions except inspiration. If you're considering being a midwife, the doula path may be a year well spent allowing you to be sure that this is what you want to do.

The amount of energy required to be a midwife is extreme, considering that babies arrive at all hours. The individual will also have an in depth practicum prior to finishing a degree in this field. This practicum requires the presence of the prospective student to at least 40 births, as well as the prenatal appointments tied to these births.

Additional gynecologic visits, as well as peri/post-menopausal treatment is also a requirement of the practicum. Gaining all these skills under supervision normally requires as long as two years.

The American Midwifery Certification Board determines the guidelines for certification and requires recertification every five-years, requiring proof of continuing education credit. These tests are given at testing centers across the United States and it is a computer based test. Even though you can take the examination again, you would want to make sure you are all set to pass the test on the very first try as it costs $500 to take the test.

All masters-level nursing programs are arduous, although the midwife training program demands the greatest number of nursing skills, given that the midwife treats patients from birth to death and is frequently needed to perform surgical procedures on a basic level. Deciding on midwifery as a nursing occupation brings with it both fiscal as well as spiritual advantages far beyond other nursing choices.

Answering the Question How Do I Become a Neonatal Nurse

RNs now have the choice of going after a neonatal nursing path, which is relatively new as compared to more common nursing career options; and neonatal nursing is a specialty with many different openings for trained professionals that want to work with new infants. Neonatal nurses handle premature and chronically ill babies, along with their mothers, who need support and coaching to care for their babies.

You'll probably be asking yourself specifically what a neonatal nurse does? A neonatal nurse is a person who works with infants younger than 28 days, providing intensive care for them. Neonatal nurses are employed in one of three types of nurseries:

• Level I nursery is commonly for healthy babies. Thanks to shorter hospital stays as well as the fact almost all mothers and their newborns now share a hospital room, Level I nurseries have essentially disappeared.
• A Level II nursery offers specialised care for premature babies and also those coping with an ailment. In instances like these, the baby requires special care and quite often specialized feedings; oxygen or intravenous fluids might be administered; a longer stay could possibly be required.
• For those infants who require care beyond that of a Level II, the Level III nursery is an intensive care unit. These babies might not be of sufficient size, premature, or suffering ailments that require advanced technological care. The infants who stay in these nurseries often require ventilators or incubators, or even surgical intervention. The level III nursery is frequently found in larger conventional hospitals or in a children's hospital.

The educational requirements for becoming a neonatal nurse require simply becoming a registered nurse, which usually takes between 2 to 4 years, based on whether a bachelor's degree or associate degree is chosen. After graduation from an RN program, there is a state licensing exam.

Every institution hiring for the neonatal specialty has their very own requirements. Some hospitals call for a year of medical surgical or adult health nursing experience. Other medical centers will hire RNs with no prior experience.

Once you are finished with nursing school, you will need to complete continuing education hours, which can be required by the state and sometimes by the group issuing your certification. The state board of nursing establishes exactly how many hours of continuing education are required to renew an RN license, which is usually every two or three years.

What starting salary can a new neonatal nurse expect to make?

• If you live and work in the Midwestern portion of the country, you can expect to start at $38,000 to $44,000.
• If you live and work on either coast, you can expect to start at $40,000.
• If you are working in the South, then you can look for $30,000.
• If you have no experience, the most you could expect to ever start at would be $48,000.

For anyone who is considering being a neonatal nurse, you can anticipate a rewarding professional career. Assisting babies is the dream of a lot of nurses; but understand that whenever a newborn is suffering, it can be sad, but when you nurse them to be healthy enough to go home that prevails over everything else.

Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs: Training for Success

People thinking about enrolling in a neonatal clinical nurse specialist program, will be training for a profession that focuses on helping babies. Before you apply for a training program, there are a few necessary requirements you will want to take care of. If someone does not meet these specifications, they won't qualify to apply for this sort of program.

Before you apply you have to make certain you've got a Bachelor's degree with a major in nursing. This degree will need to be certified by the Nursing Accrediting Commission also known as NLNAC, or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education also known as the CCNE. Many schools offering these kinds of programs will likely demand a grade point average of at least 3.0.

If you get accepted into a program there's a whole lot for you to learn. In a clinical nurse specialist program you will be prepared to be an expert in the practice of neonatal nursing, as well as theory.

You'll be required to learn to establish as well as review patient care and assess and determine education needs for patient. This means you'll be learning how to begin the treatment of a patient however, you must also keep track of the care to determine if the patient is making progress. On the subject of the educational part you'll want to find out what the patients and the families of the patients need to know to help make this a successful recovery.

You'll be learning tips on how to design and implement programs plus ways to work with others and collect data. To be able to pass this phase of your training, it's going to be quite important to develop good communication skills. This is also a skill you will end up making use of on a regular basis once you are working in the field.

You will be trained to carry out changes anytime research findings require this to happen as well.

It is possible that you might discover the hospital you are applying for has different requirements. That is why, you need to make sure the school you decided on will prepare you for a position you desire. This will minimize the chance that you will need to have more training to get the job you're trying to get.

Most hospitals that you go to will require that you have a minimum of 24 months of experience working as a medical surgical nurse or an adult health nurse before you enter into the area of expertise although this isn't always the case.

When thinking about neonatal nurse clinical specialist programs you need to know that these nurses are in high demand and depending on the region in which you live could easily start off making about $30,000 - $48,000 without having any experience working in any other hospitals or facilities.

Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs: Specializing as an RN

A registered nurse, looking for additional education as well as responsibility, may want to consider registering in one of the many post-graduate clinical nurse specialist programs that are available throughout the country. These programs are much more advanced than typical nurse training and are at the master's degree and doctorate level. Upon completion of a program, and passing an exam, a registered nurse becomes a clinical nurse specialist (CNS), which usually carries a good deal more responsibility, and better pay when compared with an RN.

Clinical nurse specialist programs are accredited by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, which works with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The necessary coursework is mandated by these associations. Because of this the healthcare facility that hires these professionals can always feel comfortable knowing that they're well trained for the job they'll be doing.

As the title implies, these nurses get a level of clinical training far and above that of an RN. Clinical nurse specialist programs really focus heavily on the clinical work needed to diagnose and treat specific ailments. A nurse with this position may also be responsible for training other medical staff, as well as things such as playing a key role in making healthcare policies and writing treatment plans. Overall, a CNS is crucial to the success of the healthcare facility.

These particular programs prepare an RN to specialize in fields like pediatric, adult and geriatric nursing. They may also have concentrations on specific diseases, such as diabetes or cancer, as well as nursing sub-specialties, such as surgical, psychology or rural nursing, allowing a CNS to obtain a high degree of expertise in a particular sub-category. Within the framework of the education, there are main competencies, in clinical work, ethics and infrastructure, as well as specialty-specific training. For instance, if a clinical nurse specialist chooses to specialize in adolescents, they may take classes in subjects like substance abuse and social work. While training for somebody specializing in geriatrics will concentrate on things like pain management and end-of-life ethics.

In the United States, there are more than 150 accredited clinical nurse specialist programs. Several have both full and part time programs, which take 2 or 3 years. Not every program offers each specialty or sub specialty, but an RN in search of particular credentials, not available locally, has the choice of web based classes.

Enrolling in one of the many clinical nurse specialist programs is a great opportunity for registered nurses to get more from their occupations. The advanced training they get will allow them to take on far more responsibilities. A career as a clinical nurse specialist is very satisfying, opens job opportunities and offers increased pay, which makes it the next logical step for any current registered nurse who would like to get to the next stage.