Registered nurses, most often referred to as RNs, are the backbone of any healthcare facility. Becoming an RN not only offers many different job opportunities within the health care industry, it means job stability. There is a nursing shortage throughout the United States for two major reasons:
- Older nurses (baby boomers) are retiring together, and the population is increasing, demanding more healthcare;
- Graduating classes of nurses are around 30-50 people, out of those 30-50 people only around 10 are expected to stay registered nurses due to the high demands of the job. Nursing is one of the most rewarding careers, but some people can find it emotionally draining.
Earning your RN degree can be done by attending classes in person, or by an accredited online program. RN programs that you attend in person are either day or night classes. You will be expected to attend clinical classes at a medical facility no matter if you take classes online, or in person. Your clinicals will be held at the hospital that your program chooses to use; you will unfortunately get no choice in this. So when you look into programs, you should check to see where they hold clinicals. You need to know how far you are required to travel, and if this is an acceptable journey for you to make.
Here are some suggestions on how to get your RN degree:
- Select the right RN program for your specific needs. You can earn your eligibility to take the RN licensure test and become an RN in several ways. There are three typical ways to do this. Some colleges will offer a diploma, or certification instead of an associate’s degree. This is generally just a few classes short of an RN. An associate degree is a full two-year degree, and a bachelor’s degree takes at least four years to complete. Each one of these programs will prepare you for the examination you will take to become a RN called the NCLEX. However, it can be very hard to find a diploma program as most colleges only offer associate’s or bachelor’s degrees.
- Comply with the admission requirements. Every nursing program has requirements for you to be considered for admission into the program. These are generally completing a set number of general education courses, which will vary from program to program. You must be CPR certified, and some programs even require you to be trained and registered as a nurse’s aide. (Community colleges generally offer this training course.) You will also be required to pass blood and alcohol screenings, be current on vaccinations, as well as be able to pass a background check. A lot of nursing programs will also require you to take a pre-entrance exam, and this will be used to compare you against other applicants in the program.
- File your application in your school’s RN program even before graduation. Earning a high GPA as well as SAT/ACT scores will be able to give you a heads up on getting into a nursing program. Being accepted into a nursing program is highly competitive, and as many as 2-300 people can apply for as little as 50 spots. This means you need to make sure your grades are excellent. The application process starts around eight or more months before the program will begin. This means even if you have two semesters of course work left you should still put in your application for entrance into the program. Most programs will allow you to continue coursework up until the start date of the nursing program. It is very important to apply to as many programs as you can, to increase your chances of success in getting accepted into one. If you do not get accepted into a program on the first try, keep applying because it may take up to two-three years to get accepted.
- Study hard. While in nursing school you are given a lot of information to absorb within a short amount of time. It is often referred to as one of the hardest course loads to take. You must study hard for each and every test, and maintain at or above a 2.5 GPA in order to remain in the program. This means you cannot score below a C in any class. While you don’t have to make straight As in nursing school, you should always try to achieve the best grade possible.
- Don’t miss any classes. Strict attendance is required of any RN program. This means if you are sick, giving birth, or anything short of having emergency surgery, you will be required to attend class on time every single day. Most programs will allow time off for deaths of immediate family members (usually two-four days), and two-four sick days per semester that do not roll over to the next semester. But the course work is so intense and demanding that it is preferred that you do not miss any days. Also, being tardy is looked down upon, and some teachers will lock you out of class, counting you as absent. If you have too many tardies, these will total up to a missed day, and if you miss more than the allowed number of days, you will be expelled from the program.
- Take your NCLEX. After you have completed and graduated from your RN program, you will be required you take the NCLEX. Your NCLEX date will be given to you before or shortly after graduation, as it is set up through your school. This is a VERY hard examination that is designed to make you feel like you have failed miserably. Some states have “Graduate Nurse” programs that will allow you to work until you pass your NCLEX or, up to 12 weeks after graduation from your nursing program. Of course you will not make the standard RN salary until you have your licensure, and if you fail you will be immediately released from your job.
For each year that passes on either the anniversary of the date you have taken your NCLEX exam or birthday, you will need to renew your licensure. This will require you to have continuing education units (CEUs). Most places of employment will provide these for free, and you can choose from many different “courses” to study. These of course will have to be taken on your own time, and not on company time. It is a good idea to take CEUs throughout the year as most states require around 32 “credits” which can take a couple of days to complete, or a few hours here and there split up throughout the year.
Seeking employment after you have graduated can be a complicated task. Some states as stated above have “Graduate Nurse” programs, but you must apply for these before you have even graduated from nursing school as they go quickly. Sometimes you will not immediately get the specific area of nursing you want to work in due to your lack of experience. Generally, working in med-surge for one-two years will give you enough experience as a nurse to apply for any position you want. The average RN's salary is anywhere from $49-65,000 annually.