What does it take to become a Nurse and is it Flexible Hours?

Question

Hi everyone, im in college right now, i was wondering what are the steps to becoming a nurse tell me if im right and correct me if im wrong

1) get an AS in Nursing @ 2 year accredited Community College
2) get a part time job @ a hospital
3) apply for 4 year university to get a BS to become a Registered Nurse
4)????

When exactly do you receive the license to become a nurse? is it after the AS degree?

Last question for all of you nurses out there, what's your typical schedule, and can you choose your own hours to work? i prefer not to work overnight

thanks!

Answer 1

The steps to becoming a nurse are:

1.Take the prerequisites. This includes Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, Math, & your General Education (especially Speech & Psychology). This can take about 2 years.

2.While you are doing these prerequisites, volunteer at a hospital & learn what you can.

3.You have to apply and then get accepted to get into a 2-year Nursing program at a Community College or a 4-year Nursing program at a 4-year school. Your chances are best when you have a strong GPA & most of the prerequisites under your belt. It’s best to find out what the specific prerequisites are of the school you wish to attend. You may need to take an entrance examination & you can prepare for this. NCLEX is usually used. You don’t need an RN after going to a 4-year college or university. You can get an RN after attending a Community College.

4.Once you get into the Nursing program, try to get some Nursing Aide or Orderly experience at a hospital or nursing home. Some hospitals will hire you as an Aide after you’ve gotten a Semester of Nursing completed.

5.Once you graduate from the Nursing program, you get to be trained as a Nurse with a document called Interim Permitee (IP) until you pass your Nursing Boards exam. At this point you have to be trained full-time to get used to the functions of the job. It is best not to start off as a flex-time or per-diem in you first year – there’s too much to learn & it is easy to forget things if you do not practice it regularly.

6.Once you get your RN, you can apply for any schedule you want. Again, one-year of full-time practice in your first year after school helps you get your skills in place. If you work 7a to 3p or day shift, you work the toughest shift. All the tests are done, all the physicians are around, and all of the families are around. The other shifts, swing shift (3p to 11p) & graveyard shift (11p to 7a), deal less with administrators, managers, but get more pay due to shift differentials – usually 10 to 15% more than day shift staff.

7.If you go the Community College route & get your AS or AA versus your Bachelors degree, you may not get managerial positions as easily down the road. So, you don’t necessarily have to get your Bachelors to be an RN, unless you want other doors open for you later on (Master’s degree, Supervisor positions, Clinical Nurse Specialist positions). Getting an AS or AA is a little bit cheaper if you remain in an RN position & don't puruse a Bachelor's. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Well, honestly, nursing is flexible but the kind of straight shifts of 7-3 or 8-4 are rare and hard to get unless you have many years of nursing experience and seniority in your facility. At least, it's hard in a hospital or clinic. You might have an easier time finding hours that work for you in a nursing home or home health. The flexibility in nursing comes from being able to work part-time, but those part time jobs are still full 8 hour shifts which almost always run around 7-3 or 8-4 for day shifts, 3-11 or 4-12am for evening shifts, or 11pm-7am for night shifts. Some places do 12 hour shifts as well. With nursing, job listings are usually very clear about the expectations on shifts (day, eve, night), how many hours you work, and whether you work weekends or not. So if a job description doesn't match your needs, don't apply. But I think you will have a hard time finding a job where you can be home everyday at 3 or 4, especially as a new graduate.

Answer 3

AS in nursing actually takes 3 years because you do pre-requisites during the first year. You might as well go fo a BS Nursing, which takes 4 years. Although, you can become a REgistered Nurse with ASN, a majority of states are noe requiring BSN for RN registration. Also, with ASN, climbing up the ladder into nurse management/executive jobs are limited.

I would suggest you go for the BSN. Also, after graduating, you must sit for and pass the NCLEX-RN exam in order to be licensed as a Registered Nurse, otherwise, it would be illegal for you to practice as a RN.

The beauty of nursing is the flexibility of schedules. Some hospitals have 8-hour shifts, others have 10-hour or 12-hour shifts. You could decide if you want to do only day shift or evening shift or night shift only.

There are also nurses who work only weekend shifts, which are either 12 hour day or 12-hour night shifts. However, nurses who are willing to give up their precious weekends and are usually paid for 40 hours, as differential by a majority of hospitals.

Yes, nurses can also choose to work part-time weekdays only, though majority of hospitals mandate 20 hours minimum per week to be part-time.

Answer 4

Through the community college you get an associates in science degree and your RN training. After taking your state boards, you are licensed to practice nursing. As for scheduling-in hospital settings different places have different scheduling of hours. You will be required to work some weekends and holidays. If you choose a doctors office the hours are more set and are off weekends. While working as an RN, you can continue taking courses to get a Bachelors Degree if you are more interested in administrative duties rather than bedside care. I worked for 20 years as an RN with an Associates Degree and turned down promotions to supervisory roles because I preferred bedside nursing care.

Answer 5

Nurses do not get to schedule their own hours, overnight work is pretty normal. Flexable not for the nurse, the hospital gets to flex your hours as much as they want.

But good nurses rock and we need more of then just like good teachers.

Answer 6

In all States and the District of Columbia, students must graduate from an approved nursing program and pass a national licensing examination, known as the NCLEX-RN, in order to obtain a nursing license. Nurses may be licensed in more than one State, either by examination or by the endorsement of a license issued by another State. Currently 18 States participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact Agreement, which allows nurses to practice in member States without recertifying. All States require periodic renewal of licenses, which may involve continuing education.

There are three major educational paths to registered nursing: A bachelor�s of science degree in nursing (BSN), an associate degree in nursing (ADN), and a diploma. BSN programs, offered by colleges and universities, take about 4 years to complete. In 2004, 674 nursing programs offered degrees at the bachelor�s level. ADN programs, offered by community and junior colleges, take about 2 to 3 years to complete. About 846 RN programs in 2004 granted associate degrees. Diploma programs, administered in hospitals, last about 3 years. Only 69 programs offered diplomas in 2004. Generally, licensed graduates of any of the three types of educational programs qualify for entry-level positions as staff nurses.

Many RNs with an ADN or diploma later enter bachelor�s programs to prepare for a broader scope of nursing practice. Often, they can find a staff nurse position and then take advantage of tuition reimbursement benefits to work toward a BSN by completing an RN-to-BSN program. In 2004, there were 600 RN-to-BSN programs in the United States. Accelerated master�s degree programs in nursing also are available. These programs combine 1 year of an accelerated BSN program with 2 years of graduate study. In 2004, there were 137 RN-to-MSN programs.

Accelerated BSN programs also are available for individuals who have a bachelor�s or higher degree in another field and who are interested in moving into nursing. In 2004, more than 165 of these programs were available. Accelerated BSN programs last 12 to 18 months and provide the fastest route to a BSN for individuals who already hold a degree.

Individuals considering nursing should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of enrolling in a BSN program, because, if they do, their advancement opportunities usually are broader. In fact, some career paths are open only to nurses with a bachelor�s or master�s degree. A bachelor�s degree often is necessary for administrative positions and is a prerequisite for admission to graduate nursing programs in research, consulting, and teaching, and all four advanced practice nursing specialties—clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners. Individuals who complete a bachelor�s receive more training in areas such as communication, leadership, and critical thinking, all of which are becoming more important as nursing care becomes more complex. Additionally, bachelor�s degree programs offer more clinical experience in nonhospital settings. In 2004, 417 nursing schools offered master�s degrees, 93 offered doctoral degrees, and 46 offered accelerated BSN-to-doctoral programs.

All four advanced practice nursing specialties require at least a master�s degree. Most programs last about 2 years and require a BSN degree and some programs require at least 1 to 2 years of clinical experience as an RN for admission. In 2004, there were 329 master�s and post-master�s programs offered for nurse practitioners, 218 master�s and post-master�s programs for clinical nurse specialists, 92 programs for nurse anesthetists, and 45 programs for nurse midwives. Upon completion of a program, most advanced practice nurses become nationally certified in their area of specialty. In some States, certification in a specialty is required in order to practice that specialty.

All nursing education programs include classroom instruction and supervised clinical experience in hospitals and other health care facilities. Students take courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology and other behavioral sciences, and nursing. Coursework also includes the liberal arts for ADN and BSN students.

Supervised clinical experience is provided in hospital departments such as pediatrics, psychiatry, maternity, and surgery. A growing number of programs include clinical experience in nursing care facilities, public health departments, home health agencies, and ambulatory clinics.

Nurses should be caring, sympathetic, responsible, and detail oriented. They must be able to direct or supervise others, correctly assess patients� conditions, and determine when consultation is required. They need emotional stability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses.

Some RNs start their careers as licensed practical nurses or nursing aides, and then go back to school to receive their RN degree. Most RNs begin as staff nurses, and with experience and good performance often are promoted to more responsible positions. In management, nurses can advance to assistant head nurse or head nurse and, from there, to assistant director, director, and vice president. Increasingly, management-level nursing positions require a graduate or an advanced degree in nursing or health services administration. They also require leadership, negotiation skills, and good judgment.

Some nurses move into the business side of health care. Their nursing expertise and experience on a health care team equip them to manage ambulatory, acute, home-based, and chronic care. Employers—including hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and managed care organizations, among others—need RNs for health planning and development, marketing, consulting, policy development, and quality assurance. Other nurses work as college and university faculty or conduct research.