How to Choose an Accredited Nursing Program near Homer City Pennsylvania
Searching for the best nursing program near Homer City PA may feel like a challenging undertaking, particularly if you don’t know what to look for in a good degree program. As you may already know, in order to practice as a registered nurse, you must acquire the appropriate education and training in order to become licensed. So it is essential that you study and evaluate the qualifications of each program you are considering before enrolling in your final choice. Unfortunately, too many potential students base their decision solely on the price of tuition and the proximity of the school. Going with the least expensive program or the one that is closest to your residence is undoubtedly not the best way to select a nursing program. There are many important additional considerations to look into before you make a decision where to attend classes. But before we explore that checklist, let’s first go over the nursing degree choices that are available together with what the functions of nurses are in our healthcare system.
Request Free Information on Nursing Schools Below
Nursing Degree Options
There is more than one degree option available to become a nurse. And in order to become a Registered Nurse (RN), a student must attend an accredited school and program. A nursing student can acquire a qualifying degree in just 2 years, or continue on to earn a graduate degree for a total of 6 years. Following are some brief explanations of the nursing degrees that are available to aspiring students in the Homer City PA area.
- Associates Degree. The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is normally a 2 year program made available by community colleges. It readies graduates for an entry level position in nursing in medical centers such as hospitals, clinics or nursing homes. Many utilize the ADN as an entry into nursing and ultimately earn a more advanced degree.
- Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) provides more extensive training than the ADN. It is usually a four year program offered at colleges and universities. Licensed RNs may be qualified to complete an accelerated program based on their past training or degree and professional experience (RN to BSN). Those applying to the program may want to advance to a clinical or administrative position, or be more competitive in the employment market.
- Master’s Degree. The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is generally a two year program after attaining the BSN. The MSN program provides specialization training, for example to become a nurse practitioner or focus on administration, management or teaching.
Once a graduating student has attained one of the above degrees, she or he must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) so as to become licensed. Further requirements for licensing change from state to state, so be sure to contact the Pennsylvania board of nursing for any state mandates.
Click Here to Get Free Information on Nursing Schools Near You!
Why Become a Nurse?
Nurses are an integral component of a Homer City PA medical team, and for a number of patients, their primary care providers. A nursing career can lead to many opportunities, such as healthcare education, research and specialty areas of practice. Nurses go into the profession for several reasons, the most significant are its personal and practical rewards. Nurses provide direct, one-on-one care to patients. Many patients in a hospital or home care setting spend more time with nurses than with doctors. Nurses frequently choose the profession out of a desire to administer to the needs of patients, including in situations of short-term treatment of illness and long-term care of chronic ailments. This humanistic side of the health profession, rather than the research or analytical related facets, is attractive to many who decide to pursue a career in nursing. Nurses have extensive applicable skills and can choose from an assortment of work environments, such as home care facilities, physician’s offices, health clinics, community centers and hospitals. Also, nurses can advance into a number of specialties, such as addictions, critical care, genetics and neonatology. Although most nurses deliver primary patient care, others elect to be teachers, policy advisers or pharmaceutical representatives.
Registered Nurse Job Activities
Registered nurses are the largest occupation in the medical delivery system. RNs practice in many different medical environments, namely Homer City PA hospitals, family practices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and even schools. Their basic job is to help doctors in the treatment of their patients. Having said that, the particular duties of a registered nurse will depend on their job or specialization in addition to where they work. Some of the duties of an RN may include:
- Administering medications
- Monitoring patients
- Performing physical examinations
- Managing care
- Managing LPNs, LVNs and nurse aides
- Informing patients and their families
- Maintaining health records and charts
Nurses with a more advanced degree may have more complex job duties and responsibilities. Nurse practitioners (NP), as an example, must hold a Master’s Degree and typically work more independently than their RN counterparts. They can administer primary or specialty care services, prescribe medications, and diagnose and treat routine illnesses or injuries.
Nursing Online Degrees
Attending nursing programs online is emerging as a more popular way to get training and acquire a nursing degree. Many schools will require attendance on campus for part of the training, and almost all programs require a specific number of clinical rotation hours performed in a local healthcare center. But since the balance of the training can be accessed online, this method may be a more accommodating solution to finding the free time to attend classes for some Homer City PA students. Concerning tuition, some online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus choices. Even other expenses such as for commuting and study materials can be lessened, helping to make education more easily affordable. And many online programs are accredited by organizations like the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for BSN and MSN degrees. So if your work and family obligations have left you with limited time to work toward your academic goals, maybe an online nursing program will make it easier to fit a degree into your busy schedule.
Things to Ask Nursing Schools
Once you have decided on which nursing degree to pursue, along with whether to attend your classes on campus near Homer City PA or online, you can utilize the following pointers to begin narrowing down your options. As you probably realize, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges within Pennsylvania and the United States. So it is necessary to reduce the number of schools to select from in order that you will have a manageable list. As we previously pointed out, the site of the school as well as the cost of tuition are most likely going to be the first two things that you will look at. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So before making your final selection, use the following questions to evaluate how your selection compares to the field.
- Accreditation. It’s a good idea to make sure that the degree or certificate program along with the school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. In addition to helping make sure that you get an excellent education, it may assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not provided in Homer City PA for non-accredited schools.
- Licensing Preparation. Licensing prerequisites for registered nurses are different from state to state. In all states, a passing score is required on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) together with graduation from an accredited school. Some states require a specific number of clinical hours be performed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It’s essential that the school you are attending not only delivers a top-notch education, but also preps you to comply with the minimum licensing standards for Pennsylvania or the state where you will be working.
- Reputation. Check internet rating services to see what the evaluations are for each of the schools you are considering. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. In addition, check with the Pennsylvania school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can contact some Homer City PA healthcare organizations you’re interested in working for after graduation and ask what their judgments are of the schools as well.
- Graduation and Job Placement Rates. Find out from the RN schools you are looking at what their graduation rates are as well as how long on average it takes students to finish their programs. A low graduation rate may be an indication that students were displeased with the program and dropped out. It’s also important that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a good reputation within the Homer City PA healthcare community, but that it also has the network of contacts to help students attain a position.
- Internship Programs. The most effective way to acquire experience as a registered nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Almost all nursing degree programs require a specific number of clinical hours be completed. Many states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing as well. Find out if the schools have associations with Homer City PA hospitals, clinics or labs and assist with the placement of students in internships.
Nursing Degree Online Homer City PA
What Degree Do You Need To Be An RN Homer City Pennsylvania
Selecting the right nursing program is perhaps the most important phase to launching a new career in the health care industry. There are many variables that you need to take into account when deciding on a nursing school. These variables will be prioritized differently contingent on your current career objectives, lifestyle, and financial status. As we have stressed in this content, it is important that you pick a nursing school and a degree program that are both accredited and have excellent reputations within the health care community. You originally came to this website due to your interest in What Degree Do You Need To Be An RN and wanting more information on the topic Online Nursing Masters Degrees Programs.. However, by using our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to produce a shortlist of schools to select from so that you can make your final selection. And with the appropriate degree and training, combined with your hard work and ambition to succeed, you can become a practicing nurse in Homer City PA.
More Pennsylvania Nursing Locations
Homer City, Pennsylvania
Homer City is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census. Homer City is located in the Indiana metro area. The community was named for the famous Greek poet Homer by founder William Wilson in 1854. It was incorporated as a borough in 1872.
The two treaties of Fort Stanwix (of 1768 and, after American independence, of 1784) secured the westward expansion of Pennsylvania into the region where the Borough of Homer City is now located, on land inhabited by the six Indian nations. With white settlement these new territories were initially organized as part of existing counties in eastern and central Pennsylvania. White settlers were few in the eighteenth century and encountering Indians still very much a part of daily life. Any degree of stability and safety came only after the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). Indiana County was carved out of Westmoreland and Lycoming counties in 1803 and divided into three townships: Wheatfield, Armstrong, and Mahoning. The confluence of Two Lick and Yellow creeks (present-day Homer City) was a contender for the seat of government for the new county, but instead the "extraordinary overtures" of George Clymer, a local landowners and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, saw the county seat situated instead in what would become the Borough of Indiana. Center Township - the unincorporated area surrounding present-day Homer City - was created from a portion of Armstrong Township in 1807, its landscape dotted with larger and smaller family homesteads (farms) and an increasing number of mills and trading posts.
Parts of Center Township were settled early on by Scots-Irish Presbyterians as in other parts of Indiana County, but Methodist families of English and Welsh descent came to dominate the Homer City area, and they remained prominent in its civic and commercial life well into the twentieth century. William Wilson laid out the village of Homer in 1854 naming it after the Classical Greek poet. For several years, however, its post office was designated Phillips Mill (or Mills on some maps), a name derived from that of early settler Armour Phillips, Sr. When the village became a borough in 1872 - with the consolidation and annexation of neighboring parcels - more and more it was referred to as Homer City.
Business Results 1 - 10 of 2
2 Reviews 
1 Reviews 