Nursing is a profession that has existed since the very first households cared for their sick. At first, it was merely that - a household duty for family members. Thanks to Florence Nightingale, the field of nursing exploded during war time and has only grown in importance throughout the years. The past showed the field of nursing in a more negative light. Nurses were seen as being the "handmaidens" of doctors who could only carry out orders and didn't have much medical knowledge.
Today, nurses are respected practitioners who are able to specialize in numerous areas in their field. Pop culture makes that joke that it's the nurses who do all the work and can save you before a doctor even reaches the hospital floor. While that instance is exaggerated, it is true that today's nurses are more educated than ever before. In the past five years alone, the trend of education for a registered nurse has changed. Most hospitals and employers now require a nurse to have a bachelor's degree in Nursing in addition to their professional license. The previous standard of an associate's degree is no longer good enough to keep up in this fast-moving field.
Bachelor's degrees also include a certain amount of leadership training for nursing students. Many of the students don't want to be stuck in general nursing on a medical/surgical floor for the next forty years. Instead, they want to specialize. They want to climb the chain of command. They want to participate in nursing away from the bedside and build their leadership skills to the fullest. Today's nursing school curriculums include conflict management, scheduling practices, and budget calculation formulas. It's about managing coworkers in addition to medically treating patients.
The typical journey for a nursing student begins with just that: the realization that it's a journey. A student who wants to become a nurse must first gain acceptance to a nursing program. This has become tough in recent years because the economy has made nursing programs shrink in size. Competition has skyrocketed, and even a 4.0 in all the required prerequisite science classes does not guarantee entrance.
Once the student successfully enters their Nursing Education, he or she faces a challenging curriculum with incredibly high standards. The majority of schools will not pass a student unless their class average remains above a 73%. In the most challenging programs, this number may be as high as 90%. A large amount of information is presented in a short period of time. It's not all medical. Many nursing questions deal with always handling unruly or aggressive patients in a calm and safe manner. Most patients who lash out are acting out of fear, pain, or altered perceptions due to hallucinations or drugs.
Even if the student graduates their nursing program, they must then sit for their examination boards. The NCLEX (National Council Licensure EXamination) features a minimum of 75 questions and a maximum of 265 questions. The uncertainty of the test and the wide breadth of information contributes greatly to the test takers' anxiety. Many students who are taking their boards already have jobs that are contingent on passing the test the first time.
Passing the NCLEX is a cause for celebration because nursing is essentially recession-proof. There are always jobs to be had! The best part about nursing is that options are incredibly varied. A nurse can work anywhere from an elementary school to the army on field assignment to a doctor's office to a hospital floor. It's up to the student to decide where their particular path will take them, and how far they will continue their Nursing Education.
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Today, nurses are respected practitioners who are able to specialize in numerous areas in their field. Pop culture makes that joke that it's the nurses who do all the work and can save you before a doctor even reaches the hospital floor. While that instance is exaggerated, it is true that today's nurses are more educated than ever before. In the past five years alone, the trend of education for a registered nurse has changed. Most hospitals and employers now require a nurse to have a bachelor's degree in Nursing in addition to their professional license. The previous standard of an associate's degree is no longer good enough to keep up in this fast-moving field.
Bachelor's degrees also include a certain amount of leadership training for nursing students. Many of the students don't want to be stuck in general nursing on a medical/surgical floor for the next forty years. Instead, they want to specialize. They want to climb the chain of command. They want to participate in nursing away from the bedside and build their leadership skills to the fullest. Today's nursing school curriculums include conflict management, scheduling practices, and budget calculation formulas. It's about managing coworkers in addition to medically treating patients.
The typical journey for a nursing student begins with just that: the realization that it's a journey. A student who wants to become a nurse must first gain acceptance to a nursing program. This has become tough in recent years because the economy has made nursing programs shrink in size. Competition has skyrocketed, and even a 4.0 in all the required prerequisite science classes does not guarantee entrance.
Once the student successfully enters their Nursing Education, he or she faces a challenging curriculum with incredibly high standards. The majority of schools will not pass a student unless their class average remains above a 73%. In the most challenging programs, this number may be as high as 90%. A large amount of information is presented in a short period of time. It's not all medical. Many nursing questions deal with always handling unruly or aggressive patients in a calm and safe manner. Most patients who lash out are acting out of fear, pain, or altered perceptions due to hallucinations or drugs.
Even if the student graduates their nursing program, they must then sit for their examination boards. The NCLEX (National Council Licensure EXamination) features a minimum of 75 questions and a maximum of 265 questions. The uncertainty of the test and the wide breadth of information contributes greatly to the test takers' anxiety. Many students who are taking their boards already have jobs that are contingent on passing the test the first time.
Passing the NCLEX is a cause for celebration because nursing is essentially recession-proof. There are always jobs to be had! The best part about nursing is that options are incredibly varied. A nurse can work anywhere from an elementary school to the army on field assignment to a doctor's office to a hospital floor. It's up to the student to decide where their particular path will take them, and how far they will continue their Nursing Education.
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