Career and School Info for RNs (Registered Nurses)

What Do Registered Nurses Do?

Registered nurses (RNs) fill 2.5 million jobs nationally, making it the largest occupation in US health care. They provide direct care to patients, and supervise the care provided by licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and other staff. RNs are responsible for making many decisions about a patient's care, including developing or following a documented plan of care.

How to Choose the Best Nursing School

What makes for a top nursing program? Of course that answer will be different for each student -- but factors that all students should consider in choosing their "best" school and RN program include:

• Accreditation - Is the program accredited by either the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)? Accreditation helps ensure the quality of a program and is usually required for graduates to qualify for licensing exams and to later pursue graduate degrees.
• Clinical practice - Consider how a school's clinical experiences relate to specific career goals. For reference, the University of Washington (nursing school ranked #1 by U.S. News and World Report) offers clinical rotations in hospitals, mental health, inpatient and outpatient, public health agencies, public schools and community agencies. The New York University College of Nursing is associated with 100 healthcare agencies which allows students to receive a variety of hands-on training. Clinical training is vital, the required clinical hours should be substantial. For example, the highly ranked University of Washington program includes 890 clinical hours and the accelerated BSN program provided by Duke University (nursing school Ranked #7 by U.S. News and World Report) includes 700 clinical hours.
• Graduate success - Compare board exam pass rates to see how many recent graduates obtained their license upon and how many students dropped out before completing a program. For reference, the highly rated University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing has a 95 percent BSN Licensure (NCLEX) first time pass rate.
• Career path - Careful evaluation of career objectives is recommended before choosing an educational program, as some career paths for registered nurses including administrative or advanced specialties that require a bachelor's or master's degree in nursing. Be sure that any credits earned in a candidate program can be applied to further studies in other schools that may of interest.
• Research - Does the school receive a large amount of research dollars? It's an indication of the quality of the nursing school. For example, the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing (ranked #7 by U.S. News and World Report) is #5 in receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) research dollars.
• Honors program - Does the school have an honors program? They're provided by some of the top nursing schools including the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. The programs provide special opportunities for high-achieving students.
• Staff members - Check the backgrounds of the staff members. For example at the University of Pittsburgh, 76 percent of the full-time faculty are doctorally prepared and 24 percent are Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing.
• School and class size - Some students learn better in smaller classes, with more interpersonal interaction with faculty and fellow students. Larger schools may offer more amenities, and may be less expensive with more options for financial aid.
• Tuition and financial assistance - The cost to attend different programs can vary widely, as can the kinds of financial assistance available. What program-specific scholarships, grants, or loans are available to help defray costs?

Responsibilities

A registered nurse's duties can include:

• documenting medical history and symptoms
• providing medication (checking for proper doses and potential interactions) and other forms of treatment
• running diagnostic tests and interpreting the results
• operating medical machinery
• inserting and removing IVs
• protecting patients' privacy
• consulting with physicians
• educating loved ones who will assist in patient care

Where do Nurses Work?

In hospitals, registered nurses may have the choice to work in a variety of departments, including:

• patient care units including pediatrics and nurseries
• operating rooms and obstetrics delivery rooms
• intensive care units, trauma units and emergency rooms
• radiology departments and laboratories
• psychiatric units and drug treatment centers
• occupational and physical therapy departments
• patient advocacy or educational programs

Only approximately 60% of registered nurses work in hospitals, however. They may also work in doctor's offices, patients' homes, or remotely (over the Internet or phone) where they do not provide hands-on care. They may serve as educators, manage health information or assist with legal and criminal investigations.

Degrees and Schools

To get their RN credential, most registered nurses attend an accredited two- or three-year associate's degree program at a vocational school or community college. Programs are readily available, and versatile to meet the diverse needs of students. Other RNs may attend a four-year college to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (BSN), or pursue a diploma through a hospital program. To advance their career, RNs may choose to get certified in specialty areas, such as critical care, oncology or rehabilitation. RNs might also advance themselves through higher level degrees through programs such RN to BSN degrees or RN to MSN degrees.

What's Required?

To be accepted into nursing educational programs, in addition to taking SATs and other tests, a pre-admission test called the National League for Nursing (NLN) Pre-admission Exam is required by some schools. In order to be licensed to practice, graduating registered nursing students must take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Online Classes and Programs

Because of the required clinical experience during school, RN educational programs are not suited for 100% online delivery. Most are all on-campus programs while some may mix online and clinical components. To help compensate for required onsite training, schools frequently offer flexible schedules including night and weekend classes.

Nurses are expected to keep their knowledge about medical advancements up-to-date by completing a certain number of continued-education CME credits annually (some states require this). Online courses to meet these requirements are plentiful, and may coordinate clinical components with local medical facilities.

Online programs are available for existing licensed practical nurses (LPNs) that are seeking to gain a degree that is required to become an RN. These online LPN to RN programs enable working LPNs to earn an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or BSN almost entirely online from a convenient location such as their home.

Online RN educational programs are also available for career advancement – for example, earning a Master's of Science in Nursing (MSN) that helps a nurse specialize in a specific area. Two examples of online programs that are gaining strong interest for RNs include RN to BSN degree and RN to MSN degree. The availability of these online programs and courses has experienced major growth rates – there are now many such programs – due to their convenience for time-limited, on-the-job professionals and for those far away from a school campus. For programs requiring some clinical time, these periods are usually completed at a medical facility affiliated with the online school that is as close as possible to the student.

Coursework

Both classroom instruction and clinical experience are core to nursing programs. Required courses typically include:

• anatomy
• physiology
• microbiology
• chemistry
• nutrition
• behavioral sciences such as psychology
• nursing

Supervised clinical experience may be offered through:

• hospital departments
• nursing care facilities
• public health departments
• home health agencies
• ambulatory clinics

Scholarships

In addition to BrainTrack's Nursing Scholarship, sources to be aware of include: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Nurses Association, Association of Preoperative Registered Nurses Foundation, Emergency Nurses Association, National Student Nurses Association, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Oncology Nursing Society Foundation and the Tylenol Future Care Scholarships.

• Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses
• Nursing Aides And Attendants
• (All Careers)

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BrainTrack's information on colleges and careers is drawn from many sources, including government databases, BrainTrack's own research, and results from original data analysis algorithms.