Monthly Archive for June, 2009

Online BSN Degree For Nurses

Published
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admin
on June 28, 2009
in Nursing Education
. 4 Comments

Online BSN Training Excellent Option for Working Nurses

BSN Nursing DegreeYou’re an RN with an Associate Degree working several 12 hour shifts per week plus overtime because of sporadic staffing shortages (even though BSN schools are matriculating and graduating nurses as quickly as humanly possible).  Your goal is to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, for higher pay and more job opportunities with additional responsibilities in different clinical settings outside of the hospital such as home health.

But how is such a goal even realistic with your work schedule and family responsibilities?  Going back to school the traditional way, in the classroom at a local college or university for a full 15 week semester, makes for an almost impossible schedule to juggle. Thank goodness innovative nursing programs across the country are starting to understand this and offering a flexible alternative.

Many community colleges and universities are now offering online versions of BSN refresher and BSN transition programs to help existing or former nurses meet their continuing education goals. Online courses incorporate the same academic coursework typically taught in the classroom setting on a more rigid schedule.  The courses also include practical work in clinical settings that emphasize more advanced clinical skills required by the RN BSN along with an emphasis on leadership and management training.

I recently participated in an online RN, BSN refresher course. This was my first time “back to school” along with my first time taking any kind of online training course.  Live classroom discussions among students and teachers are replaced by online message board discussions that resemble regular message board threads on popular social websites.

The discussions are extremely academic with strict guidelines revolving around specific weekly assignment questions that reflect the reading.  However, students are encouraged to share their opinions, clinical experiences, observations and research findings.  Honestly I found these discussions to be much more thorough and informative than the ones I recall from traditional nursing school.

This may be due to the combination of experienced nurses as students along with the online aspect removing any fears of raising one’s hand and speaking up.  Quizzes and exams are also taken online; experiences that feel partly like taking an online trivia exam and partly like an online IQ test.

Overall the experience was extremely positive, very convenient and I’m glad that nursing programs are recognizing online BSN training as a viable solution for nurses to meet their goals.

Military Nursing Shortage

Published
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admin
on June 14, 2009
in Nursing Education
. 1 Comment

Nursing Shortage Spreads to U.S. Military

As Walter Reed Army Medical Center celebrate its 100 year anniversary this month, recent reports coming from America’s military hospital are a reminder that the nursing shortage is not limited to civilian health care settings.  The military nursemedical center, which opened on May 1, 1909, has 247 beds, 60 outpatient clinics, 16 operating rooms and, based on published reports, not enough nurses to go around.

Being a military nurse is a demanding but highly fulfilling branch of nursing. Active duty nurses take care of everything from minor injuries to near-death traumas that test every aspect of military and nursing school training.  The military also offers flight nurse opportunities for flights transporting soldiers to hospitals, often over long distances.

In order to become a military nurse, current college nursing students and those already accepted into a nursing program, should get in touch with their campus ROTC program.  Even if you’re currently enrolled in another major program and want to switch to nursing, check in with your college ROTC program to see if it’s too late. By joining ROTC, nursing students receive the military training and military nurse training they need while also eligible for a variety of ROTC scholarships to help pay their way.  Some ROTC scholarships pay for 100 percent of a military nursing student’s tuition (aka cadet).

A career as a military nurse is a great way to serve those who serve all of us.  Don’t forget, especially as we celebrate National Nurse’s Week during this May that the original matron of nursing, Florence Nightingale made a name for herself mainly while working as a military nurse, caring for ill and injured soldiers from the Crimean War.  With the job market in a temporary slowdown right now, planning a path into a military nursing career is something at least worth looking into.

Career Opportunities in School Nursing

Published
by
admin
on June 14, 2009
in Nursing Career
. 0 Comments

school nurseBecoming A School Nurse

School nurses are responsible for a heck of a lot more today than they were in the days of scoliosis screenings, eye tests, tummy aches and the occasional episode of pediatric projectile vomiting. Kids today are entering school with more serious chronic conditions and developmental disabilities such as autism, psychiatric disorders and multiple medical problems.

School nurses act as primary caregivers for these children during school hours while also administering scheduled medications, managing immunization programs, wellness and prevention programs, emergency and disaster preparedness, and acting as an overall advocate in a leadership role on behalf of the students and school staff.

It’s no wonder that public school systems and county officials in cities across the country are growing anxious about the shortage of school nurses. Although most of the media coverage about the nursing shortage focuses on hospitals, nurses are needed just as much in the public school setting.

The national average is one school nurse per 1,100 students with an agreed upon goal ratio by some administrators of one per 750 students. In Oregon, the ratio has ballooned to one nurse per 3,100 students. School officials in Michigan are also concerned, with their ratio of one school nurse for every 4,000 students.

In Calhoun County Michigan, where this ratio was reported, public health officials are proposing an innovative solution to their school nurse shortage. Their unique initiative would place local nursing students in the county’s public schools as school nurses, freeing up the RNs currently employed in those roles for a strictly educational and leadership role.

This program is a strong possibility, since each county and state in the country sets their own standards of educational requirements for school nursing. The spectrum of county educational requirements ranges from nurses with an LVN (licensed vocational nurse) license all the way to nurses with a BSN (Bachelor of Science degree in nursing held by RNs).