Becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) is not only one of the safest sectors for future job growth, but it is also recession-proof. RNs are in high demand, with some recent graduates making up to 300% more when picking up PRN shifts through Nursa. Nursa is an application that connects recent or experienced RNs with health care facilities all over the United States.
What is a Registered Nurse (RN)?
Nurses provide direct patient care in round-the-clock hospitals, physicians' offices, outpatient clinics, and residential care facilities. Nurses' duties include recognizing abnormalities, assessing patients, and administering medications while communicating with a team of healthcare professionals. As of right now, there are currently sixteen states that allow RNs to administer medications. Specialized training is available in oncology, acute and critical care, gerontology, geriatrics, clinical research, anesthesia, pediatrics, and many other areas of specialization.
How to Become a Registered Nurse
The career path of an RN follows a specific order of degrees and tests to be taken and passed to become an RN. In the traditional approach, a person would graduate from high school and enter into an accredited college or university system with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. This can either be completed at an associate's level, which will take around two to three years or a BSN, which takes four to six years to complete. The benefit of getting an associate's degree instead of a BSN is that it is much faster to obtain a degree in nursing by only taking two years to complete. The downside to an associate's degree is that certain states and even individual healthcare facilities require a minimum of a BSN or bachelor's degree. Another route some people take is getting a bachelor's degree but not in a nursing program. Depending on the bachelor's degree already obtained, people in this category can get an RN designation within as little as one to two years after the bachelor's is gained. From this point, all RN students will have a solid understanding of the liberal arts classes and the foundations of nursing.
Approximately six weeks before graduation, all RN students can apply for licensure and register for The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). It is required that test-takers answer 75 questions on this computerized test. There is a time limit of six hours for them to complete the exam. You can learn more about the NCLEX-RN by reading these sample questions here. The length of time for each program varies from state to state. Some states will allow for yet another option to obtain RN status by doing it online. Part-time and full-time programs exist online everywhere. The problem with getting an RN degree is that the learning facilities have to be accredited. They also must be recognized by healthcare institutions where the future RN is looking to work. The other downside to this method is that it is very hands-off and may prove a tad more complicated when doing clinical and healthcare facility patient care.
What Are The Prerequisites To Become An RN?
When choosing a path toward becoming an RN, students must look at their grade point averages (GPA) when applying to programs across the country. The BSN degree sometimes requires around a 3.0 GPA. The associate's degree usually admits students with a GPA of around 2.0-2.7. Numerous other prerequisites depend on the program, but they all have a very similar foundation in class subjects, credit hours, class length, and more. Credits can sometimes even transfer if a student was to find a better program or have to move somewhere outside of the current program. There are more prerequisites listed here.
The Best Way for New RNs to Find Employment
Nursa is an easy-to-use application for new RNs to connect with hospitals, healthcare, and clinical research facilities for per diem shifts. Nursa allows the freedom to only work the shifts or jobs chosen and selected. New or experienced nurses benefit from PRN shifts while traveling to various cities or trying to see if the next hospital is suitable for the future. Download Nursa, fill out a profile, upload necessary documents, and start searching for PRN shifts today.
