Why Choose the Nursing Profession?<\/strong><\/h3>\nNurses are an essential component of a Hillsboro WI medical team, and for many patients, their primary care providers. A career in nursing opens doors to a number of opportunities, such as research, health care education and specialty areas of practice. Nurses go into the profession for many reasons, among the most meaningful are its personal and practical advantages. Nurses provide direct, one-on-one care to patients. Many individuals in a hospital or home care environment have more contact with nurses than with doctors. Nurses commonly choose the profession out of a desire to tend to the needs of patients, including in instances of short-term treatment of illness and long-term care of chronic ailments. This humanistic aspect of the healthcare profession, as opposed to the analytical or research related elements, is attractive to many who decide to pursue a career in nursing. Nurses have extensive applicable skills and can select from a variety of work settings, including home care facilities, physician’s offices, medical clinics, community centers and hospitals. Also, nurses can advance into a number of specialties, including addictions, critical care, neonatology and genetics. Although most nurses deliver primary patient care, others opt to be teachers, policy consultants and pharmaceutical representatives.<\/p>\n
Registered Nurse Job Activities<\/h3>\n
Registered nurses are the primary occupation in the medical delivery system. RNs practice in many different medical settings, namely Hillsboro WI hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and even schools. Their general function is to assist doctors in the care of their patients. Having said that, the specific duties of a registered nurse will depend on their job or specialization in addition to where they work. A portion of the responsibilities of an RN may include:<\/p>\n
\n- Administering medications<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Observing patients<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Conducting physical examinations<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Coordinating care<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Managing LPNs, LVNs and nurse aides<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Educating patients and their families<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Taking care of health records and charts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Nurses with a higher degree may have more high level job duties and accountabilities. Nurse practitioners (NP), for instance, must hold a Master’s Degree and generally work more independently than their RN counterparts. They can deliver primary or specialty care services, prescribe medications, and diagnose and treat basic illnesses or injuries.<\/p>\n
Online Nursing Programs<\/h3>\n
Attending nursing programs online is becoming a more in demand way to receive training and earn a nursing degree. Many schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and almost all programs require a certain amount of clinical rotation hours conducted in a local healthcare center. But since the rest of the training may be accessed online, this alternative may be a more accommodating approach to finding the free time to attend classes for many Hillsboro WI students. Pertaining to tuition, a number of online degree programs are less expensive than other on campus alternatives. Even supplemental expenses such as for commuting and study materials may be minimized, helping to make education more easily affordable. And numerous online programs are accredited by organizations such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for BSN and MSN degrees. Therefore if your work and family responsibilities have left you with limited time to pursue your academic goals, it could be that an online nursing training program will make it easier to fit a degree into your busy schedule.<\/p>\n
Things to Ask Nursing Schools<\/h3>\n
Now that you have chosen which nursing degree to enroll in, along with whether to attend your classes on campus near Hillsboro WI or online, you can use the following guidelines to start narrowing down your choices. As you no doubt realize, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges within Wisconsin and the United States. So it is important to decrease the number of schools to select from to ensure that you will have a manageable list. As we earlier mentioned, the location of the school along with the expense of tuition are most likely going to be the primary two things that you will take into consideration. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So before making your final decision, 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 recognized accrediting agency. In addition to helping ensure that you get a premium education, it may help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are oftentimes not provided in Hillsboro WI for non-accredited schools.<\/li>\n
- Licensing Preparation<\/strong>. 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. Many states require a specified number of clinical hours be completed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It’s essential that the school you are attending not only provides an exceptional education, but also preps you to satisfy the minimum licensing requirements for Wisconsin or the state where you will be working.<\/li>\n
- Reputation. <\/strong>Check internet rating services to see what the reviews are for each of the schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews as well. Additionally, contact the Wisconsin school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some Hillsboro WI 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 programs 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 Hillsboro WI healthcare community, but that it also has the network of contacts to help students gain a position.<\/li>\n
- Internship Programs<\/strong>. The most ideal 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 requirements for licensing also. Ask if the schools have associations with Hillsboro WI hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the placing of students in internships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n