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How to Become a Nurse?

A nurse is qualified medical personnel, who belong in the same multi-disciplinary team with doctors and other healthcare professionals, working to deliver clinical treatment and care for patients in various medical settings.

What Do Nurses Do?

There are different nursing specialities; therefore, nurses do a lot of things, depending on their speciality. However, here are some general responsibilities of nurses, notwithstanding the rest specialities:

Assessing the condition of their patients
Recording the medical data and relevant behaviour of patients
Working and communicating efficiently with other members of the healthcare team
Effectively using and maintaining medical equipment
Helping to formulate treatment plans for patients.
Educating patients and their families on the patient’s condition and post-hospital care.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Become a Nurse?

To become a practising registered nurse (RN), you need at least;

An associate degree (ASN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN),
You need to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses.
It would help if you had additional education, and you also have to pass speciality certification examinations for Higher-level degrees, such as a Master of Science in Nursing.

How Many Years Does It Take to Become a Nurse?

It takes at least 2-3 years of coursework associated and an associate degree in nursing to become a practising nurse. It takes up to 3 – 4 years of coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree and 2-5 years to get a master’s degree, depending on if you run a part-time or full-time program.

Steps to Becoming a Nurse

If you have decided that you want to become a nurse, here are the steps to get you well on your way to becoming one:

Get a degree, and you need a formal education if you want to become a registered practising nurse (RN). Almost all the nursing field positions require a bachelor’s degree, except for a very few exceptions that can be earned by candidates with associate degrees. Some jobs require advanced degrees.

Nursing has a lot of degree programs, and you must choose the one that’s right for you, as this is a determining factor in what kind of nurse you end up becoming. Here are some of the popular nursing degree programs:

Associate Degree in Nursing

This degree program helps people to develop a solid foundational knowledge of nursing. They are taught the right attitude and the skills necessary for nursing practice. An associate degree only requires two to three years of coursework.

Obtain a License

As we have mentioned before, for your career, you need to earn your nursing license by passing a national nursing licensure examination (NCLEX). You will not be able to practice nursing without the correct credentials.

Licensing requirements depend on things such as; state, nursing speciality, and occupation. Most administrative branches of nursing programs will assist you in obtaining the correct licensure. However, ensure you are clear on which examination you should be taking too.

Obtain Employment

The next step to take after you’re properly educated and licensed is finding a job. Location and specific areas of nursing are significant determinants when you are finding employment. For instance, long-term care facilities are predicted to become more popular as the population increases.

There will be an increasing demand for RNs in those long-term care establishments. Also, there are always new opportunities in places with established medical communities.

Take, for instance, New York City and Philadelphia. These two cities and their surrounding suburbs boast exceptional hospitals and successful universities that offer top-notch nursing degree programs.

Choose a Specialty

You can choose any nursing speciality after graduation from a nursing program and pass the NCLEX. However, it is not necessary to select a speciality.

There are some nursing positions associated with different specialities that may require specific certifications or more advanced degrees. Here are some popular nursing specialities:

Pursue Additional Training

This is not necessary if you don’t have specific career goals in mind, although it is a great option. Like every other profession, you need further schooling to get goodies like; senior-level employment opportunities, higher pay, and greater responsibility.

Amit Kumar

FreeEducator.com blog is managed by Amit Kumar. He and his team come from the Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. At FreeEducator, we strive to create the best admission platform so that international students can go to the best universities - regardless of financial circumstances. By applying with us, international students get unlimited support and unbiased advice to secure the best college offers overseas.