Why Become a Nurse?<\/strong><\/h3>\nNurses are an essential part of a Poplarville MS medical team, and for a number of patients, their primary care providers. A nursing career opens doors to a number of opportunities, including research, health care education and specialty areas of practice. Nurses go into the profession for several reasons, the most meaningful are its practical and personal advantages. Nurses provide direct, one-on-one care to patients. Most patients in a hospital or home care environment spend more time with nurses than with doctors. Nurses frequently go into 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 conditions. This humanistic aspect of the healthcare profession, rather than the analytical or research 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 environments, including nursing homes, physician’s offices, health clinics, community centers and hospitals. Also, nurses can progress into a number of specializations, including substance addictions, critical care, genetics and neonatology. Although many nurses deliver direct patient care, others elect to be educators, policy consultants or 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, including Poplarville MS hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and even schools. Their general job is to aid doctors in the treatment of their patients. Having said that, the particular duties of a registered nurse will depend on their job or area of expertise along with where they work. A few of the duties of an RN may include:<\/p>\n
\n- Administering medications<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Overseeing patients<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Conducting physical examinations<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Managing care<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Supervising LPNs, LVNs and nurse aides<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Informing patients and their families<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Taking care of 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 typically work more independently than their RN counterparts. They can deliver primary or specialty care services, prescribe medications, and diagnose and treat common illnesses or injuries.<\/p>\n
Nursing Online Schools<\/h3>\n
Enrolling in nursing colleges online is emerging as a more favored way to receive training and acquire a nursing degree. Some schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and virtually all programs call for a certain amount of clinical rotation hours completed in a local healthcare center. But since the balance of the training can be accessed online, this option may be a more accommodating solution to finding the free time to attend college for some Poplarville MS students. Regarding tuition, many online degree programs are less expensive than other on campus alternatives. Even other expenses such as for commuting and study materials may be minimized, helping to make education more economical. And many online programs are accredited by organizations such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for BSN and MSN degrees. Therefore if your job and family commitments have left you with very little time to work toward your academic goals, perhaps an online nursing program will make it more convenient to fit a degree into your active schedule.<\/p>\n
Things to Ask Nursing Degree Programs<\/h3>\n
Now that you have determined which nursing degree to enroll in, as well as if to attend your classes on campus near Poplarville MS or on the web, 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 throughout Mississippi and the United States. So it is important to reduce the number of schools to select from so that you will have a workable list. As we earlier pointed out, the location of the school and the price of tuition are probably going to be the first two points that you will consider. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So before making your ultimate selection, use the following questions to evaluate how your pick measures up to the field.<\/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 organization. Besides helping confirm that you obtain an excellent education, it may help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Poplarville MS 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 required on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) as well as graduation from an accredited school. Certain states require a specific number of clinical hours be completed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It’s imperative that the school you are attending not only provides an exceptional education, but also prepares you to meet the minimum licensing standards for Mississippi or the state where you will be working.<\/li>\n
- Reputation. <\/strong>Check internet rating services to see what the evaluations are for all of the schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews too. Additionally, get in touch with the Mississippi school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some Poplarville MS healthcare organizations you’re interested in working for after graduation and ask what their assessments are of the schools as well.<\/li>\n
- Graduation and Job Placement Rates<\/strong>. Find out from the RN programs 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 dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It’s also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only confirm that the school has a superb reputation within the Poplarville MS medical community, but that it also has the network of relationships to help students attain 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. Virtually all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. A number of states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing also. Find out if the schools have associations with Poplarville MS hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the positioning of students in internships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n