Tag Archive for 'becoming a nurse'

Why is Getting Into Nursing School So Competitive?

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on May 19, 2011
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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

Returning to Nursing School After a Long Hiatus

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on February 22, 2011
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i_nurses_5Going back to nursing school if it’s been a few years since you were in the educational arena can be a bit intimidating. Advances in technology and online learning contribute to the changing face of education—and the things you learned just a few years ago may now be obsolete. This can present a bit of a challenge for the older professional considering a career change. After all, how can you compete with a fresh wave of young faces right out of high school?

Fortunately, nursing is a diverse field, and although a high level of energy and enthusiasm is great, a large percentage of nursing students are older individuals. Whether you were a nurse twenty years ago and want to re-enter the field, or if you’re coming to nursing from a career in sales or industry, you can succeed in this new setting. Here’s how:

  • There is no one type of nursing. Some nurses work on their feet for ten hours a day at a hospital. Others travel around the country, working with under-served populations. There are also careers available in nursing instruction, research, schools, and even insurance offices. You can define your nursing career in any way that fits with your vision of the future. Just be sure to select a program and nursing school that can cater to these visions.
  • There is no one type of learning environment. Online nursing courses are a great way to refresh an earlier career or to get your core classes out of the way while you get back into the pattern of school. Night classes make it easier to go to school around a busy work schedule, or you could dive right in to a full-time university program that puts you in a lecture environment. With so many different nursing schools to choose from, you can build an educational path that suits you.
  • Your experience might work for you. Many schools offer credits for work and life experiences, which means you might be able to skip a few of the prerequisites and core classes. Ask at the admissions office to learn if this is a possibility for you.
  • Prepare to use technology. Even in a standard educational setting, technology is going to play a role in your coursework. From online communication boards and assignments to team PowerPoint presentations, you can expect the computer to be part of your learning experience. If you don’t feel quite up to date, take a few word processing or computer classes before you start.

Above all else, be firm in your belief that you are taking the right step. The nursing field needs new professionals, and your decision to go to nursing school is a good one. Prepare to work hard, but remember to enjoy each step you make on your journey to becoming a nurse.

Related Topics:

How to Prepare for Nursing School

How to Afford Nursing School

Find a Nursing School in Your City

Becoming a Nursing Instructor

Published
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on August 27, 2010
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Almost everyone in the United States has heard about the nursing shortage, and how it impacts the level of care being offered in hospitals and clinics around the country. There are more nursing job openings than there are nurses to fill them, and the result is that many RNs, LPNs, and NPs are overworked.

The easy solution for this problem is to increase student attendance at nursing schools, and to provide more opportunities for earning degrees. However, one of the biggest challenges isn’t the number of students hoping to become nurses; it’s the number of nursing instructors qualified to teach in the field.

Nursing Instructor Requirements

Nursing instructors are the professionals who teach the college-level nursing courses, which range from basic science and anatomy classes to more hands-on clinical work. Because nursing instructors are both teachers and nurses, there is a very high educational requirement, often at the Master’s degree level or higher. State requirements vary, and can go as low as a BSN, particularly in schools where nursing instructors are in high demand. In some cases, years of experience may be used to determine your ability to function in an instructor capacity.

Different types of nursing schools also have their own requirements. Public universities and colleges may prefer part-time instructors with a Master’s degree, while private nursing schools might opt for full-time professors who carry a Ph.D. It all depends on the local laws and what the nursing school is hoping for in terms of its faculty.

Other Nursing Instructor Considerations

Nursing instructors almost always have to carry the same licensure they would need to function as a nurse within their respective states. This includes keeping all licenses up-to-date and taking the necessary continuing education courses.

However, all this work can pay off. Nursing instructors tend to pull in a higher salary than their nurse counterparts, and the hours and workload are often easier on both the mind and the body. Nurse educator salaries range from $44,000 to $63,000 per year, with higher rates of pay for those with doctorate degrees or considerable experience. Long-term job security is also fairly high, given the current ratio of nurse instructors to prospective students and the need for more qualified professionals in this field.

Of course, becoming a nursing instructor requires a love of teaching, as well as desire to enter the medical field. As a profession, teaching and nursing share many of the same characteristics, including an ability to communicate and a real desire to help others succeed. As long as you’re willing to make a commitment to your education, and you see yourself in a mentoring capacity, becoming a nursing instructor might be a great long-term career choice.

Nursing Students Check Their Biases

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on September 4, 2009
in Nursing Seniors
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Check Your Biases

i_student_2Nursing school is an excellent time for self-reflection and awareness of your beliefs, fears, prejudices and any other thoughts or behaviors that you may not be aware of now, but have a good chance of rearing their ugly head later in your career when you least expect it.

I know that all nursing students believe they are fair, just, open-minded, nurturing, unbiased, politically correct beacons of humanity. Yet somewhere between graduation day and years into their career, something happens and, in some nurses (not all), the cynicism switch is turned on.

Whether the cause is career burnout, a cutting sense of humor that helps them survive their shift, or they’re just “going along with the crowd,” the once fresh faced, innocent nurse finds herself saying things that would have horrified her in nursing school.  She finds herself labeling patients as “frequent flyers,” “drug seeking,” or sometimes worse depending on what she (or he) has heard from her colleagues.

One of the most common biases in health care is toward the elderly. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)* stated that “Some studies have indicated that medical students perceive older people as being dull, disagreeable, inactive, and economically burdensome.” Potentially damaging preconceived notions about elderly patients or patients from any specific age group, ethnicity or other demographic, are not confined to medical schools either.

Nurses and nursing students need to examine their own beliefs and notions for potential warning signs.  This is even more true of nurses, since they spend by far the most amount of time in direct contact with patients and also experience a great deal of stress related to heavy workloads. Times of stress have a way of acting like wine, in the sense that “in wine there is truth.”  It is far better to be honest with yourself now and prevent an embarrassing and potentially career threatening situation later.

* “Ageism in the Preclinical Years”; Catherine Caruthers McCray; University of Kansas School of Medicine; JAMA. 1998

Nurse Anesthetists Make Top Nursing Salaries

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on August 20, 2009
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i_anesthesia_nurseIf you’re going to set a career goal, you might as well aim high, right? In the field of nursing, a career as a nurse anesthetist is just about as high as one can aim. A nurse anesthetist, otherwise known as a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) is the certified counterpart to the MD anesthesiologist profession.

The major differences between the two practices are in education (anesthesiologists have six years more as MD’s), corresponding financial cost of the education and level of complete independence in regards to patient care. Other than that, both professions are responsible for complete anesthesia care.

The 150 year old CRNA profession is regulated by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.  I’ve included the AANA link at the end of this blog as an excellent resource for nursing students and nurses interesting in pursuing a CRNA career. While specific educational requirements vary between accredited institutions, here is the general checklist for applying to a CRNA training program.

  • Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing or Science-related major
  • RN License
  • Minimum one year of RN experience in critical/acute care area such as ER or ICU
  • Prerequisite science courses similar to “Pre-Med” courses

Once you’re accepted into a CRNA program, the ensuing tuition costs for your 2-3 year education can be pricey. However, the financial and career opportunity rewards more than cover those costs. The average salary for CRNA’s as of 2007 was $140,013 (AMGA medical group survey) – the highest of all nursing salaries.

In addition to job opportunities in hospitals and clinical settings, nurse anesthetists can work as researchers, teachers and in health care administration. However, it is the clinical settings that offer the most job opportunities for CRNA’s, with nearly all rural hospitals in America opting for nurse anesthetists over MD anesthesiologists. If you have already set your sights on critical care nursing and are also a talented problem solver, critical thinker, and multi-tasker, a career as a nurse anesthetist is worth looking into.

AANA Website: http://www.aana.com

Trials and Tribulations of the New Graduate Nurse

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on August 13, 2009
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Nursing School Graduate Advice

i_nursing_studentIn part one of this blog I discussed why the transition from student nurse to new grad can be a challenging time for a new nurse.  As I said in that blog, hospitals are doing their part to make the transition easier.  There are also some smart strategies a new graduate nurse can employ to make sure that once you finally get employed as a nurse, you don’t get frustrated and throw all your hard work away.

  • Set Goals: Think about it – for the past four years you have been working hard toward this seemingly elusive goal of “RN.”  Now that you’ve earned your letters, don’t settle back and simply try to “survive” as a new grad.  If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to set new career goals.What area would you like to eventually specialize in and how can you be working toward that now (extra training, etc.)? Would you like to eventually earn your Master’s Degree or become a nurse practitioner? Having a new ball to keep your eye on is an excellent way to work through the stress of being a new grad without getting sidetracked by thoughts of bailing.
  • Use Your Mentor: Utilize the experienced nurse mentor the hospital assigns you, just as you would use a nursing instructor. It is in their best interest and the hospital’s best interest (mutually the same) to make sure that you have knowledge and skills needed to move forward safely and confidently into your new role as RN (versus student nurse).If, for any reason, you do not feel comfortable utilizing your assigned mentor in this way speak to your nurse manager about finding another nurse who you feel more comfortable with. If this does not work, do some research on your own or through your school and find an experienced nurse who is willing to answer your “new grad” questions outside of work. The point is – find a mentor you trust and use them to your advantage.
  • Use the Time Wisely: Consider your new grad time as a paid extension of nursing school and squeeze every learning experience from it possible. There is no need to rush through your period as a new grad. I know it seems natural to think like this, since you have been sprinting through nursing school for the last four years.This is the time to slow down and make you know what you need to know to cut the cord and go stand on your own two feet as a nurse. Believe me - you’ll have all the time in the world to not be a student nurse or a new grad. Enjoy the learning curve while it lasts!

From Student Nurse to New Grad

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on August 5, 2009
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i_nurses_2While in my junior year of nursing school during one of my clinicals, I had my first encounter with medical students. For those who think that all hospitals resemble the massive teaching experience depicted on ER, where everyone there is a student of something always learning some valuable lesson, here’s a quick reality check.

Not all hospitals are teaching hospitals with confused, young medical students milling about; although my experience with the medical students didn’t leave a very authoritative first impression when one of them asked me how to take a blood pressure.

It occurred to me that nursing students have the clinical advantage when it comes to on-the-job training before you’re actually on the job. As a nursing student, you start gaining practical patient care skills and hit the hospital floor running during sophomore year.  After that, clinicals and academics are fairly evenly balanced.  The downside is that as a student nurse you are typically responsible for one or two lives. After graduation and entry into the “real world” that number shoots upward of a half dozen warm bodies to care for.

This is a transition, to be honest, that is extremely difficult to prepare for. In fact, an article in the September 2007 issue of the American Journal of Nursing reported that after one year of work, 13% of new graduate (“new grad”) nurses had left the field of nursing and 37% were considering it.  Another study found that 27.1% of new grads bailed after year one.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In my opinion and the expert opinions of many others, the keys to bridging the gap between student nurse and new grad nurse, are training and mentorship. As a new grad you are assigned an experienced nurse to shadow for a period of time in your first job – usually a short period of time.

Many hospitals are starting to realize that a short period of time is not conducive to good patient care and also avoiding the costly nursing rehiring process that occurs when new grads keep quitting.  In response, they are turning shadowing time into training time and making the process longer and more well-defined.

It looks like hospitals are doing their part to make the transition from student nurse to new grad a more streamlined, safe and logical one.  What should new grads know to make the most of this training time?  Stay tuned for the conclusion of this blog.