How to Choose the Right RN School near Skippack Pennsylvania
Choosing the right nursing college near Skippack PA may feel like a formidable undertaking, particularly if you don’t know what to search for in a good degree program. As you may presently understand, for you to practice as a registered nurse, you must acquire the proper education and training in order to become licensed. So it is critically important that you research and measure the qualifications of each school you are thinking about before enrolling in your ultimate selection. The fact is, too many future students base their selection exclusively on the price of tuition and the distance of the school. Picking the least expensive school or the one that is local to your home is no doubt not the best way to select a nursing program. There are many crucial additional aspects to explore before you make a decision where to attend classes. But before we delve into that checklist, let’s first review the nursing degree choices that are offered together with what the roles of nurses are in our health system.
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Nursing Degree Options
There are several degree options available to become a nurse. And in order to become a Registered Nurse (RN), a student must enroll in an accredited school and program. A nursing student can earn a qualifying degree in just two years, or continue on to earn a graduate degree for a total of 6 years. Following are some short descriptions of the nursing degrees that are offered to aspiring students in the Skippack PA area.
- Associates Degree. The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is commonly a two year program made available by community colleges. It preps graduates for an entry level job in nursing in healthcare centers such as hospitals, clinics or nursing homes. Many utilize the ADN as an entry into nursing and subsequently achieve a higher degree.
- Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) provides more expansive training than the ADN. It is typically a four year program offered at colleges and universities. Licensed RNs may be able to complete an accelerated program based on their past training or degree and professional experience (RN to BSN). Those applying to the program may desire to progress 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 normally a 2 year program after obtaining the BSN. The MSN program offers specialization training, for instance to become a nurse practitioner or concentrate on administration, management or teaching.
When a graduating student has obtained one of the above degrees, he or she must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) in order to become licensed. Further requirements for licensing change from state to state, so don’t forget to contact the Pennsylvania board of nursing for any state requirements.
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Why Choose Nursing as a Career?
Nurses are an indispensable part of a Skippack PA medical team, and for many patients, their primary care providers. A career in nursing can lead to a number of opportunities, such as research, health care education and specialty areas of practice. Nurses go into the profession for several reasons, among the most meaningful are its practical and personal advantages. Nurses provide personal, one-on-one care to patients. Most individuals in a medical facility or home care environment spend more time with nurses than with doctors. Nurses frequently go into the profession due to a desire to tend to the needs of patients, including in instances of short-term treatment of illness and prolonged care of chronic conditions. This human side of the medical profession, as opposed to the research or analytical related facets, is appealing to many who elect to pursue a nursing career. Nurses have a wide range of applicable skills and can select from a number of work environments, including home care facilities, doctor’s offices, medical clinics, community centers and hospitals. Also, nurses can progress into a number of specializations, such as substance addictions, critical care, genetics and neonatology. Although many nurses provide personal patient care, others elect to be educators, policy advisers or pharmaceutical representatives.
Registered Nurse Job Functions
Registered nurses are the primary occupation in the medical care delivery system. RNs practice in numerous different medical environments, namely Skippack PA hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and even schools. Their general duty is to assist doctors in the care of their patients. Having said that, the exact duties of a registered nurse will be dependent on their job or area of expertise along with where they work. Some of the responsibilities of an RN may include:
- Administering medications
- Overseeing patients
- Conducting physical examinations
- Coordinating care
- Managing LPNs, LVNs and nurse aides
- Educating patients and their families
- Maintaining health records and charts
Nurses with a higher degree may have more high level job duties and responsibilities. Nurse practitioners (NP), for example, must hold a Master’s Degree and commonly 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 Classes
Attending nursing programs online is emerging as a more preferred way to obtain training and earn a nursing degree. Many schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and nearly all programs require a certain number of clinical rotation hours performed in a local healthcare facility. But since the remainder of the training can be accessed online, this method may be a more accommodating answer to finding the time to attend college for many Skippack PA students. Pertaining to tuition, a number of online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus choices. Even supplemental expenses such as for commuting and study materials can be reduced, helping to make education more easily affordable. And numerous online programs are accredited by organizations like the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for BSN and MSN degrees. So if your job and family commitments have left you with little time to pursue your academic goals, perhaps an online nursing training program will make it easier to fit a degree into your busy schedule.
What to Ask Nursing Colleges
Now that you have determined which nursing program to pursue, along with whether to attend your classes on campus near Skippack PA or on the web, you can utilize the following guidelines to start narrowing down your options. As you no doubt are aware, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges within Pennsylvania and the United States. So it is important to decrease the number of schools to choose from in order that you will have a workable list. As we already mentioned, the location of the school as well as the cost of tuition are most likely going to be the first two factors that you will look at. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So before making your ultimate selection, use the following questions to evaluate how your selection measures up to the field.
- Accreditation. It’s a good idea to make sure that the degree or certificate program in addition to the school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. In addition to helping confirm that you obtain a quality education, it may help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are oftentimes not provided in Skippack PA for non-accredited schools.
- Licensing Preparation. Licensing criteria for registered nurses are different from state to state. In all states, a passing score is needed on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) as well as 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 provides an outstanding education, but also readies you to comply with the minimum licensing standards for Pennsylvania or the state where you will be working.
- Reputation. Visit internet rating companies to see what the evaluations are for each of the schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Additionally, check with the Pennsylvania school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can speak with some Skippack 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 colleges you are considering 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 unhappy with the program and dropped out. It’s also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a favorable reputation within the Skippack PA healthcare community, but that it also has the network of contacts to assist students obtain a position.
- Internship Programs. The best way to acquire experience as a registered nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. A number of states have minimum clinical hour requirements for licensing too. Find out if the schools have a working relationship with Skippack PA hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the positioning of students in internships.
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Top Nursing Courses Near Me Skippack Pennsylvania
Enrolling in the ideal nursing college is probably the most important phase to launching a new career in the health care industry. There are numerous variables that you need to consider when deciding on a nursing school. These factors will be prioritized differently contingent on your existing career goals, lifestyle, and financial situation. As we have highlighted within this article, it is important that you pick a nursing college and a degree program that are both accredited and have exceptional reputations within the health care community. You originally came to this website due to your interest in Top Nursing Courses Near Me and wanting more information on the topic Guide to RN Schools.. However, by using our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to produce a short list of schools to choose from so that you can make your ultimate selection. And with the appropriate degree and training, combined with your dedication and drive to succeed, you can become a practicing nurse in Skippack PA.
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Skippack, Pennsylvania
In 1683, thirteen families from the lower Rhine River arrived at Philadelphia aboard the Concord, on October 6, 1683. These families were primarily linen weavers, but also knew how to farm too. These first German immigrants gave up the homeland of Germany because of religious persecution they experienced as Mennonite and Quakers from the Catholic and Reformed Churches. Upon arriving at Philadelphia, the families were greeted by the representative of the Frankfort Land Company, a highly educated German lawyer, Franz Daniel Pastorius, charged with the authority to make land transactions with the thirteen families. After inspecting different areas of the vicinity of Philadelphia, the families settled on the land that was to become the villages of Germantown, Summerhousen, Crefeld, and Germantownship.
Within approximately twenty years German farmers in the Electorate of the Palatinate began to immigrate to Philadelphia in such numbers that Benjamin Franklin wrote an editorial fearing that Philadelphia would become a German-speaking colony. As the Germantown area became settled, there was a departure of some of the original families of Germantown to an area twenty miles west of Philadelphia further up the Schuylkill, purchasing land from the father in-law of Herman op Den graefe, (an original settler of Germantown) that earlier purchased approximately seven thousand acres. These German Mennonites brought the linen making business to the community, along with their farming skills to the vicinity of Perkiomen Creek and Skippack Creek to a point where travel by boat became impossible because of shallow water. This point is where Skippack Creek crosses Skippack Pike in Skippack Township. The origin of the name "Skippack" came from early German settlers, they originally spelled it Schippach, named after a town of the same name in the Bayern region of Germany South East of Frankfurt.
Skippack Township was originally named "Van Bebber's Township" after Matthias Van Bebber, to whom the original land patent was issued in 1702 by William Penn. The name later changed to "Skippack and Perkiomen Township" until the township was split into two townships. Skippack Township is home to one of the oldest homes still standing in the area, the Indenhofen (De Haven) Farmstead, built in circa 1720. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, as the Warren Z. Cole House.[1] Originally, the Indenhofen Farm consisted of 440 acres (1.8 km2).
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