Why Choose Nursing as a Career?<\/strong><\/h3>\nNurses are an indispensable component of a Brookings OR medical team, and for many patients, their primary care providers. A career in nursing opens doors to many opportunities, including healthcare education, research and specialty areas of practice. Nurses enter the profession for several reasons, among the most meaningful are its personal and practical rewards. Nurses provide personal, one-on-one care to patients. Most individuals in a hospital or home care environment have more contact with nurses than with physicians. Nurses commonly choose the profession due to 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 aspect of the medical profession, as opposed to the research or analytical related elements, is appealing to many who choose to enter into a nursing career. Nurses have a wide range of applicable skills and can choose from a number of work settings, such as nursing homes, physician’s offices, medical clinics, community centers and hospitals. Also, nurses can advance into a variety of specialties, including addictions, critical care, neonatology and genetics. While most nurses provide direct patient care, others opt to be educators, policy advisers or pharmaceutical representatives.<\/p>\n
Registered Nurse Job Duties<\/h3>\n
Registered nurses are the most extensive occupation in the medical care delivery system. RNs practice in numerous different medical settings, including Brookings OR hospitals, family practices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and even schools. Their primary role is to aid doctors in the treatment of their patients. However, the particular duties of a registered nurse will depend on their job or area of expertise along with where they work. Some of the duties of an RN may include:<\/p>\n
\n- Providing medications<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Observing patients<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Conducting physical examinations<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Managing care<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Managing LPNs, LVNs and nurse aides<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Educating patients and their families<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Keeping health records and charts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Nurses with a more advanced degree may have more high level job duties and accountabilities. Nurse practitioners (NP), for instance, must hold a Master’s Degree and normally work more independently than their RN counterparts. They can provide primary or specialty care services, prescribe medications, and diagnose and treat routine illnesses or injuries.<\/p>\n
Nursing Online Degrees<\/h3>\n
Attending nursing programs online is growing into a more favored way to obtain instruction and acquire a nursing degree. Some schools will require attending on campus for part of the training, and almost all programs require a specified amount of clinical rotation hours conducted in a local healthcare facility. But since the remainder of the training may be accessed online, this option may be a more convenient approach to finding the free time to attend school for some Brookings OR students. Regarding tuition, many online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus alternatives. Even additional 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. Therefore if your work and family commitments have left you with limited time to pursue your academic goals, maybe an online nursing training program will make it more convenient to fit a degree into your hectic schedule.<\/p>\n
What to Ask Nursing Programs<\/h3>\n
Once you have chosen which nursing degree to enroll in, along with whether to attend your classes on campus near Brookings OR or on the internet, you can utilize the following guidelines to start narrowing down your options. As you probably are aware, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges throughout Oregon and the United States. So it is important to reduce the number of schools to choose from in order that you will have a manageable list. As we already discussed, the site of the school along with the price of tuition are undoubtedly going to be the initial two points that you will consider. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So before making your final choice, use the following questions to see how your pick compares to the other programs.<\/p>\n
\n- Accreditation. <\/strong>It’s a good idea to make sure that the degree or certificate program as well as the school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. Aside from helping verify that you obtain an excellent education, it may assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Brookings OR for non-accredited schools.<\/li>\n
- Licensing Preparation<\/strong>. Licensing requirements 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) along 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 important that the school you are enrolled in not only provides an exceptional education, but also readies you to comply with the minimum licensing requirements for Oregon or the state where you will be working.<\/li>\n
- Reputation. <\/strong>Visit internet rating companies to see what the reviews are for each of the schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Also, check with the Oregon school licensing authority to find out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some Brookings OR healthcare organizations you’re interested in working for after graduation and ask what their judgments are of the schools as well.<\/li>\n
- Graduation and Job Placement Rates<\/strong>. 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 confirm that the school has a superb reputation within the Brookings OR medical community, but that it also has the network of contacts to assist students obtain employment.<\/li>\n
- Internship Programs<\/strong>. The most ideal way to get experience as a registered nurse is to work in a clinical setting. Virtually all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. Various states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing too. Find out if the schools have a working relationship with Brookings OR hospitals, clinics or labs and assist with the positioning of students in internships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n