Tag: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Accreditation

Steps to Becoming a Competent Nurse

A nursing education has its own procedure. You can’t just finish a certain course and be eligible for a nursing job. There are steps that you need to do for you to become a legitimate nurse.

First, you need to complete an accredited nursing program. This can be accomplished through nursing diplomas, associate programs for nursing and even a bachelor’s degree. This is your initial step before proceeding to a higher level of nursing education. After which, you need to pass the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCLEX-RN). The purpose of this exam is to assess how much you have learned after taking associate courses in nursing. This exam is crucial since it will pave the way for your nursing license.

And speaking of license, nurses should have proper licenses for them to function as legitimate nurses. It goes without saying that those who don’t have licenses of their own are not allowed even to diagnose a patient, let alone take care of them.

After completing these initial three steps, it is advisable that any nurse should get employment. This is the fleshing-out part of having a nursing degree. Unless you do this employment thing, your calling as a nurse is not so much complete. When you are employed, you have the opportunity to widen your options as well as developing certain skills like decision-making. Get training, if need be. This will further enhance your capability as a nurse and will increase your chances of getting promoted if you so desire to become a preceptor or a medical specialist in the future.

These are the steps to becoming a competent nurse. These may vary depending on the need of the hospital. But with these steps, your chances of becoming nurse are as sure as a waiting patient just outside your door.

 

Advanced Nursing Education is Empowering Nurses  

Today, the role of nurses is rapidly evolving as they are tasked with an even wider range of health care responsibilities. The health care system is dealing with an increasing number of complex illnesses that means caring for the sick has gotten more complicated. Thankfully, nurses are rising to meet these challenges.

Advanced nursing education is empowering nurses to lead the way. With nursing education continuously advancing, nurses are not just caring for the sick anymore; they are also changing the notion of modern medicine and health care delivery.

Charles Tiffin, PhD, Senior Core Faculty at Capella University, said, “Nurses are giving TED talks, publishing scientific research, developing mobile medical applications, and actively addressing health care policy. They’re collaborating with their colleagues, from social workers and oncologists to hospital administrators and public safety personnel. The field is growing, and so are opportunities for nurse practitioners, DNP and PhD nurses, nurse educators, nurse-anesthetists, and nurse researchers.”

In addition, Tiffin said, “New health care technology is also creating opportunities for nurses. More and more aspects of the profession are electronic: Test results, X-rays, blood work, and ordering medication. An array of new technologies [such as] mobile devices, electronic medical records, cloud computing, and teleconferencing,  invite nurses to be digitally ambitious.”

Nursing education is not what it used to be, even more, nursing has become more complex in ways that we could not have imagined a generation ago. More than great caregivers, nurses are becoming great innovators too. A new generation of thinkers who want to be agents of care and innovation are in high demand in health care. The nursing profession is for the intellectually curious, lifelong learner.

However, amidst the innovation and advancement of nursing education, the job of a nurse is first and foremost a caregiver and advocate for the most sick and vulnerable members of our communities.