Archive for the 'Nursing Schools' Category

Why is Getting Into Nursing School So Competitive?

Published
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on May 19, 2011
in Nursing Schools
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i_student_2Much of the available information about nursing school and the current nursing shortage is conflicting. On the one hand, the demand for qualified nurses is higher than it’s ever been before, and shortages are only expected to increase over the next ten years. Nursing recruitment initiatives are encouraging students to consider this field and are even covering many of the costs associated with nursing school, since the demands are so great.

On the other hand, getting into nursing school can be a really competitive process. You might find yourself wait-listed for years while you wait for a program to open up, and you may even be denied admissions to your local nursing school even though you have great grades and a history of health care experience.

How can there be so much competition to get into and succeed in nursing school if there is such a high need?

The answer has to do with nursing instruction and the number of qualified programs in the United States. There simply aren’t enough nursing instructors and programs to meet the current demand. Getting into a nursing program—especially the top-ranked ones—can be a challenge simply because of the number of applicants versus the number of openings.

Although federal initiatives and private schools are working hard to correct this imbalance, it may be a few years before the output meets demand. In the meantime, your challenge is to find a way to succeed in the nursing field even if you don’t get accepted to the nursing school you were considering. Here are a few tips:

Consider a less prestigious education. Unless you intend to pursue an advanced nursing degree or enter the academic/research side of nursing, you don’t really need a big-name school attached to your resume. Accredited programs from community colleges and small, private vocational schools can be just as effective at getting you education and certification you need.

Take small steps. If you haven’t been accepted to a four-year Bachelor’s program, consider your short-term alternatives. You can get a two-year RN Associate degree, a one-year LPN certification, or even spend some time working as a nursing assistant. It is always a possibility to advance your education through an LPN-to-BSN or RN-to-BSN program at a later date.

Consider online courses for your core curriculum. In many cases, it doesn’t matter where you get your basic education (the English, social sciences, math, biology, and chemistry courses required for any BA degree). As long as you check to make sure the credits you earn will be transferable, you can look online or at a different school to get many of the initial classes out of the way.

You can also boost your nursing school application through volunteer opportunities or an extensive healthcare-related work history.

There is no single path to becoming a nurse, and many professionals succeed without going through a costly and competitive program. Find the fit that’s right for you and move toward that goal. With hard work and perseverance, you can become a successful nurse after just a few years of training.

Related Topics:

Pros and Cons of Online Nursing Schools

Writing the Nursing School Admissions Essay

Find a Nursing School in Your City

What is an Accelerated Nursing Program?

Published
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admin
on January 24, 2011
in Nursing Education and Nursing Schools
. 1 Comment

i_student_2Accelerated nursing programs are designed to produce graduates at a faster-than-average rate in an effort to combat the growing nursing shortage. Although there are over 135,000 nursing openings currently in the United States, there simply aren’t enough nursing schools and instructors to meet the demand. By allowing students with the time and dedication needed to graduate faster (but with the same level of education), the nation hopes to avoid giant lapses in the quality of care.

Accelerated Nursing Program Requirements

Most accelerated nursing programs are designed to accommodate students who have some background in the medical field. Whether you have a CNA designation or have been working as an LPN for years, you probably have the basic nursing experience necessary to qualify for the accelerated program. In fact, if you have most of the core nursing courses already completed and out of the way, you can have a BSN in as little as 11 months or a Master’s degree in 3 years. And if you are an RN with an Associate degree, there are some nursing programs out there that will get you your BSN is as little as 3 months.

The top nursing schools also want to ensure that you’ll be able to handle the heavy course load without getting overwhelmed or falling behind in your grades (accelerated programs can have dropout rates of up to 75 percent). That’s why most of them require that you have a 3.0 GPA or higher in order to qualify for the accelerated program…and you may be expected to maintain that in order to remain in the program.

Why Choose an Accelerated Nursing Program?

It might seem daunting to undertake a program that has such stringent requirements and such a high dropout rate, but it is a great choice for many individuals. One of the perks of accelerated programs is that there are nursing scholarships and federal grant money dedicated solely to the faster-paced courses.

Accelerated programs are also great for professionals who don’t want to take on basic nursing classes that are below their current skill level. For example, traditional BSN programs start at the beginning and work you up to the Bachelor’s level. But if you’ve already been working as an LPN or RN for years, it’s a waste of both your time and your money to start all over again.

Getting Started

Nursing programs in the accelerated format aren’t available everywhere, and many of them take advantage of the online learning platform in order to reach a wider audience and to allow students to learn at their own pace. If you’re interested in learning more, look at online nursing schools and schools in your area with non-traditional class times and options to see if they have a program you qualify for.

Related Topics:

LPN-to-RN and RN-to-BSN Programs

Online BSN Degree

Find a Nursing School in Your City

Pros and Cons of Online Nursing Schools


Published
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admin
on December 29, 2010
in Nursing Schools
. 0 Comments

i_nursing_studentThanks to the prevalence of online learning platforms and a growing demand for nurses, online nursing programs are growing in popularity. Like traditional nursing courses, many of these online courses are accredited and can provide the core classes you need in order to get your degree in nursing. However, because so much of nursing is hands-on clinical care, you will need to attend some of your courses in person. In fact, if you’re pursuing your RN (registered nurse) or LPN (licensed practical nurse) degree, even the best online nursing programs can’t offer the full package.

Pros of Online Nursing School

If you have a restricted schedule (due to work, family obligations, or travel considerations), online courses can be the ideal way to get your core curriculum out of the way. Many of these classes are textbook and lecture-based, so if you learn well on your own, you can save both time and money by skipping those trips to campus.

Many nursing programs are highly competitive, and there simply aren’t enough instructors to meet the current nursing demand. Online courses allow more students to access the program at one time, and because everyone works at their own pace, the instructor should be available whenever you need him or her.

Cons of Online Nursing School

Online nursing school only works as hard as you do. Because you are doing so much of the work at home and on your own time, you have to have a high level of self-discipline and drive. Even though the course is more flexible, there are still deadlines and tests.

Online school is also very textbook-based. If you learn best by listening to others speak, asking questions, and seeing demonstrations first-hand, you might not benefit from taking courses this way. Everyone learns differently, and online courses aren’t for everyone.

You also have to do extra homework before you even start classes. The nature of online learning means that it’s all too easy for scam artists and non-accredited schools to make promises they fail to keep. For example, you might spend two years getting your core classes done only to find that the clinical nursing school you want to attend doesn’t recognize that program at all. It’s also vital that you take courses from a school that will make you eligible to sit for the NCLEX exam, since you can’t be a nurse in the United States without a passing score.

Location Matters

In addition to accreditation and NCLEX considerations, there are some states that will not recognize an online nursing program. It’s always best to talk with nurses in your city as well as employers and the potential school to ensure that your education doesn’t go to waste.

Although you can’t get your whole nursing degree online, you can get a lot of the legwork done and out of the way. If done correctly, you can save time, money, and still get a quality education that places you on the front line of the health care industry.

Related Topics:

Getting a Master’s Degree in Nursing Online

Online BSN Degree for Nurses

Top Online Nursing Programs

Learn to Work as a Team in Nursing School

Published
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admin
on May 5, 2010
in Nursing Schools
. 0 Comments

i_nurses_2During nursing school, there is the tendency to live in a learning vacuum. The only interactions you have as a student are with your instructors, fellow students, and, if you are lucky to have them and can properly manage your time, friends from other majors and extracurricular activities.

Even on the bustling floor of a hospital during a clinical, when you are surrounded by a slew of other health care workers, it is easy to get a bad case of tunnel vision and see only your two or three patients, your instructor, and your fellow students.

This kind of tunnel vision is immediately shattered as soon as you hit the real world running. Suddenly, as a new grad, you are responsible for working in harmony with other nurses, doctors, nurse’s aides, lab technicians, unit clerks (the heart of every floor that you learn quickly to worship) and others on the health care team. The fact is, health care is a team sport and the sooner that nursing students can put this principle into practice, the better.

While you are still in nursing school, make a concerted effort to take the blinders off and observe how the finely tuned (most of the time) environment operates in hospitals, nursing homes, and other clinical settings. Each facility is different and there are valuable lessons to be learned in each of your clinical locations.

For instance, I learned during my nursing home rotation how the top priority of all the nurses and health care workers is maintaining a “homey” feel; it’s all for one and one for all when assisting residents (not patients) without such a strict “my patient versus your patient” delineation of care. In the fast paced settings of hospitals, however, the nurse is essentially the CEO of a care team for each patient.

Some savvy nursing schools are now implementing programs that teach nursing students how to work with other members of the health care team. Whether your school offers such an approach or not, this is still a learning experience that you can seek out for yourself that will ultimately give you an edge after graduation.

Incentives for Nurses to Teach

Published
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on November 19, 2009
in Nursing Schools
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i_nurse_female_4Unlike many medication dosage formulas, the math about how to fill the gradually growing number of available nursing jobs is simple.  In order to graduate nursing students into the workforce, nursing schools need to be able to accept more students.  And in order to make a dent into those increasingly common nursing school waiting lists, schools need nursing instructors.

The main challenge faced by understaffed nursing schools, is making instructor jobs attractive enough for nurses to leave (or cut back to part time) hospital and clinical jobs with higher salaries.  Some U.S. states are providing financial support for nursing schools by offering additional financial incentives for nurses who choose to teach. In Rhode Island, a legislative commission created to find solutions for that state’s nursing shortage, has proposed a $3,500 tax credit for nursing instructors.

The idea is that with the tax credit, the salary disparities between being a clinical nurse and a nursing instructor would be much less. In Texas, lawmakers have already passed a bill that gives nursing schools financial incentives that would help them hire more instructors.

Although many new nursing school graduates are having trouble finding their dream jobs at the moment, industry forecasts predict a need for significantly more nurses to keep up with health care demands in the coming years. But, in order to translate those waiting lists into actual nurses who can meet this demand, there need to be enough nursing instructors to meet the mandated ten to one student to teacher ratio.

While educators and lawmakers are doing their parts to make this happen, the best thing aspiring nursing students can do is get on the waiting list.  Then, use that time to gain as much health care experience in other positions (such as certified nurse’s aide), so that when your school of choice does have an opening, you are the most qualified applicant to fill it.