Registered nurses administer medical care to sick or injured individuals to help achieve health and prevent disease (Exploring Health Care Careers 818). A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing and has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam titled the NCLEX. They care for the sick and injured in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, physician offices, private homes, public health agencies, schools, and camps. General responsibilities can include dressing wounds, providing emergency care, administering medications and injections, maintaining records, and offering health counseling (Field 52). Registered nurses are blessed with rewarding careers that allow them to assist fellow human beings in their quest for a full, healthy life. There are many steps one must complete before engaging in the rewarding field of nursing. First, a college education is required. A student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program must complete the requirements to become a registered nurse. A student must maintain a 2.0 grade point average on the courses outlined in the university’s curriculum pattern. A minimum grade of a “C” is required to exit all biology, chemistry, mathematics, and nursing courses. After earning credits for the courses required at the university, a student must apply for clinicals by completing the “Application to Enroll in Clinical Nursing Courses.” In order to graduate from clinicals and receive the desired BSN degree, one must complete the approved curriculum within a four year period after enrollment in the first clinical nursing course. A standardized test called the NCLEX is gi... ... middle of paper ... ...raduates of 60 College Majors. 2nd. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works, 2006. Print. Heiserman, David. "Nursing Care Related to the Gastrointestinal System." SweetHaven Publishing Services. (2006): n. page. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. "Improving Patient-Centered Medical-Surgical Nursing Practice with Quality-of-Life Assessment." MEDSURG Nursing. 19.4 (2010): 224-232. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. LeMone, Priscilla. "Medical-Surgical Nursing: Critical Thinking in Client Care." Medical-Surgical Nursing. 3rd. Web. . Northwestern State University of Louisiana: University Catalog 2011-2012. LXXXXVI. Natchitoches, Louisiana: University, 2011. 99-104. Print. "Nursing." Exploring Healthcare Careers. 3rd. 2. New York City: Infobase Publishing, 2006. Print. "Spotlight on Gastroenterology Nursing." Nursing. 32.10 (2006): 72. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
The national shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) has helped generate formidable interest in the nursing profession among people entering the workforce and those pursuing a career change. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service in 2002, the national population is continuing to grow and age and medical services continue to advance, so the need for nurses will continue to increase. They report from 2000 to 2020 the predicted shortage of nurses is expected to grow to 29 percent, compared to a 6 percent shortage in 2000. With the projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses and nursing salaries ever-increasing, the nursing profession can offer countless opportunities. But first one must determine which educational path to pursue, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Associate Degree in nursing (ADN). Most will initially be educated at the associate degree level, even though the American Organization of Nursing Executives (AONE) has recommended a baccalaureate level as a minimal for entry-level nurses. With the expanding number of RN to BSN programs available there is always the option to further one’s education at a later date. The benefits for acquiring a BSN over an ADN include a better knowledge for evidence-based practice, an increased advantage for promotion, and the necessary gateway for higher education.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs strive to ready student nurses for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) that tests not only pure knowledge, but the reasoning and application of that knowledge. These programs provide student nurses with the necessary knowledge base and ability to apply knowledge in practice; especially since the introduction of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has been integrated into didactics. EBP, along with hours of clinical placement, benefit student nurses by arming them with the clinical judgment skills called for in the workplace. However, if student nurses accrue more focused clinical hours in their areas of specialty, they will be better prepared for the situations they will face in their careers for which simulation labs or nonspecific clinical settings fail to adequately prepare them. With more hours spent in specialty areas, student nurses will be able to establish higher degrees of mental preparedness and hands on experience as well as understanding of the difficulties and demands of working as a nurse in a specific field as opposed to shifting between various focuses of nursing.
Ignatavicius, D.D. & Workman, M.L.(2010). Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care. (6th ed.). St. Philadelphia PA: Saunders Elsevier
Medical-surgical nursing: patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier University. Taylor, C. (2011). The 'Standard'. Introduction to Nursing -.
Define Nursing Nursing is a knowledge-based profession within the health care sector that focuses on the overall care of individuals. According to The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP), “defines nurse practitioners as registered nurses who have received graduate-level nursing education and clinical training, which enables them to provide a wide range of preventative and acute health care services to individuals of all ages. They deliver high-quality, cost effective care, often performing physical examinations, ordering tests, making diagnoses, and prescribing and managing medication and therapies”. Nurse Practitioners are able to specialize in a particular area, such as family and adult practice, pediatrics, and women’s health; and refer patients to other specialists when necessary. Some nurse practitioners work under the supervision of a physician while others run their own practices.
There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster health and prevent disease.
The type of education varies based on the type nurse one pursues to become. Becoming a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or licensed vocational nurse (LVN) requires you to attend a yearlong educational program. This program is offered at technical schools, vocational schools, or community colleges. At these various programs, the student will receive lectures and hands on clinical practice. However, those seeking to be become registered nurse (RN) must receive at the least, an associative degree in nursing. After obtaining an associative or bachelor’s degree in nursing, the graduate will have to pass the licensing exam to officially become a registered nurse. Being successful on the licensing exam is required to become a registered nurse. Becoming an advanced practical nurse (APN), requires the student to obtain a Master’s of Science in Nursing. After graduating, the graduate will have to successfully pass the licensing exam also. The type of nurse one chooses to become dictates the type of education he or she has to
The BSN program helps the nurses in many ways including utilizing the process to the full scale and it will encourage nurses to use their skills like educating the patient as we’ll as creating new nurses. Because of the new health care reform, the BSN program will also aid in filling the gap from the influx of patients. The baccalaureate degrees and BSN program helps prepare students for the significant part they are going to play in reinforcing the new healthcare reform. At present, I utilize and develop nursing care plans in the nursing process, even though it needs some corrections due to the nature of my work. The highest standards of nursing can only be achieved through better research and advanced training.
Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, M. L. (2013). Medical-surgical nursing: patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
Registered nurses work to contribute good health and prevent illness. They also treat patients and help go through there rehabilitation and also give support and advice to patients family. Registered nurses are general-duty nurses who focus in the achievement of caring for their patients. They are under the supervision of a doctor. As I researched this career It brought more questions to my life. It became a big interest that soon I would have an opportunity to answer my own questions obviously with the help of others.
Davenport, Joan M., Stacy Estridge, and Dolores M. Zygmont. Medical-surgical nursing. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008, 66-88.
Brunner, L.S. & Suddarth, D. S Textbook of Medical- Surgical Nursing, 1988 6th ed. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia
Ignatavicius, D. (2013). Medical-surgical nursing: Patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). . St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
The demand for high-quality, cost-effective health care in the United States is growing expeditiously due to the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act in 2010, the lack of physicians specializing in primary care and the shortage of graduate level educated nurses (Watson, 2007). The new expectations for access, quality and affordability within the health care system are creating opportunities for nurse practitioners to expand their roles as advance practice nurse specialists (Watson, 2007). This paper will examine the role of the perioperative nurse practitioner. This examination will define perioperative nursing, give a brief history of operating room nursing, and look closely at the role of the nurse practitioner in pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative care. This paper will report the evidence-based findings that nurse practitioners in the perioperative setting, when compared to physician-only facilitated care, create an equally therapeutic and healing environment for patients and families, improve the efficacy of surgical procedures and increase patient satisfaction with surgical outcomes. Other topics that will be examined include educational training, the scope of practice for nurse practitioners within the perioperative setting and the application of the holistic nursing approach in perioperative care. The final area this paper will examine is The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Report on the Future of Nursing and how it’s recommendations have the potential to change perioperative nursing.
Classes needed with this major is mathematics, chemistry, and baccalaureate track allied health class. Once graduated they will have to take and pass the NCLEX-RN, a national exam to practice as a registered nurse. Conventional BSN programs take around four years to complete.