Top 5 Tips an Requirements to become a Registered Nurse
As some of you may already know, there is a short of male nurses or well nurses in general in today’s job market. Now knowing that there is a shortage of nurses means that there is going to be a lot of positions open for nursing. So, here is the top 5 tips and education requirements you’ll need to know to become a nurse.
Education
It should already be known that in order to become a nurse, you are going to need to meet some education requirements. Such as it is required to at least have an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. Also there are some BSN programs that set the minimum required GPA at 3.0, while some ADN have a set GPA of 2.0-2.75. “ An aspiring RN can earn a bachelor’s degree in four years at a college or university. If you are already an RN, you can enroll in a RN, to BSN which is geared specifically towards RN’s.” So that pretty much sums up the education requirements.
Prerequisites
An associate’s degree in nursing or a nursing diploma is required to practice as a registered nurse, but entry to a program is based on a few things. A few of these things are Minimum SAT or ACT exam scores, GPA range between 2.0 and 3.5 based on the school, 3 years of science, 3 years of math, 4 years of english and 2 years of foreign language are generally required. “If you're applying to a 4-year college or university to earn a BSN, you will usually declare nursing as your major once you've completed prerequisite classes at the college or university.” (Here’s what you’ll study in a RN program).
What You Will Do
For any career it is good to know what you will do for that certain job, so here is the things that will generally be done as a Registered Nurse. Provide hands on care to patients, administering medication, managing intravenous lines, observing and monitoring patients, maintaining records and communicating with doctors are just a few of the duties you will perform. Beyond the physical support and care they provide, registered nurses may provide emotional support to patient’s and patient’s family members.
“RNs perform a wide variety of job duties during their shifts, caring for and educating patients about their conditions, as well as establishing trust and building rapport with patients and their families.” But what you should ultimately realize from this is patient’s families can go home, the nurse has to go on and finish their shift. Well that pretty much sums up the basic duties of a registered nurse.
Experience
As you should know, most jobs that require some college will require you to have some experience in that specific job field, there are a couple of things you may need to know along the lines of experience when it comes to nursing. It is a good idea to get at least 3 - 5 years of patient care experience some programs may require more but it is completely based on the program. Most competitive programs require you to have at least 100 - 400 hours of job shadowing which is a lot if you really thinks about it.
“The specialty that a nurse works in should be beneficial to their long term goals. For example, if a nurse’s primary career goal is to be a travel nurse, then working as a float nurse would help to support their overall goal.” So basically, don’t just stop with being a registered nurse, get as many certifications as possible so you can possibly one day work in a unique field of nursing.
Tuition Cost
As for any career, it is a good idea to figure out the amount of money it will take to go through college enough to achieve a certain career. The cost of tuition varies from one school to another and also depends on if you are an in-state or out-of-state student. But some typical tuition costs for nursing are, In-State Cost Per Credit Hour - $72 to $82, Out-of-State Cost Per Credit Hour - $154 to $216, Average Tuition Per Semester (full-time in-state students) - $864 to $1,019, Average Tuition Per Semester (full-time out-of-state students) - $2,627 to $3,168.
“The best way to calculate your tuition costs for an RN program is to multiply your school's cost per credit times the number of credits necessary to complete your program. As stated above, this varies from one school to another. The reason for this is because some schools require more credit hours than others, and some facilities charge more per credit hour than others.” Using this you can figure out the average cost of your tuition based off what credit hours you are going for. This concludes the Cost of Tuition part of this article.
Works Cited
"5 Career Success Tips for Registered Nurses." 2015 NurseJournalorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Getting into a Nursing Program." Nursing License Requirements. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Here's What You'll Study in a Registered Nurse (RN) Degree Program."RN Degrees. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"How to Become a Registered Nurse - Steps to Become a Nurse."Jacksonville University School of Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"RN Tuition & Fees." Tuition & Fees of an RN Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.
Education
It should already be known that in order to become a nurse, you are going to need to meet some education requirements. Such as it is required to at least have an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. Also there are some BSN programs that set the minimum required GPA at 3.0, while some ADN have a set GPA of 2.0-2.75. “ An aspiring RN can earn a bachelor’s degree in four years at a college or university. If you are already an RN, you can enroll in a RN, to BSN which is geared specifically towards RN’s.” So that pretty much sums up the education requirements.
Prerequisites
An associate’s degree in nursing or a nursing diploma is required to practice as a registered nurse, but entry to a program is based on a few things. A few of these things are Minimum SAT or ACT exam scores, GPA range between 2.0 and 3.5 based on the school, 3 years of science, 3 years of math, 4 years of english and 2 years of foreign language are generally required. “If you're applying to a 4-year college or university to earn a BSN, you will usually declare nursing as your major once you've completed prerequisite classes at the college or university.” (Here’s what you’ll study in a RN program).
What You Will Do
For any career it is good to know what you will do for that certain job, so here is the things that will generally be done as a Registered Nurse. Provide hands on care to patients, administering medication, managing intravenous lines, observing and monitoring patients, maintaining records and communicating with doctors are just a few of the duties you will perform. Beyond the physical support and care they provide, registered nurses may provide emotional support to patient’s and patient’s family members.
“RNs perform a wide variety of job duties during their shifts, caring for and educating patients about their conditions, as well as establishing trust and building rapport with patients and their families.” But what you should ultimately realize from this is patient’s families can go home, the nurse has to go on and finish their shift. Well that pretty much sums up the basic duties of a registered nurse.
Experience
As you should know, most jobs that require some college will require you to have some experience in that specific job field, there are a couple of things you may need to know along the lines of experience when it comes to nursing. It is a good idea to get at least 3 - 5 years of patient care experience some programs may require more but it is completely based on the program. Most competitive programs require you to have at least 100 - 400 hours of job shadowing which is a lot if you really thinks about it.
“The specialty that a nurse works in should be beneficial to their long term goals. For example, if a nurse’s primary career goal is to be a travel nurse, then working as a float nurse would help to support their overall goal.” So basically, don’t just stop with being a registered nurse, get as many certifications as possible so you can possibly one day work in a unique field of nursing.
Tuition Cost
As for any career, it is a good idea to figure out the amount of money it will take to go through college enough to achieve a certain career. The cost of tuition varies from one school to another and also depends on if you are an in-state or out-of-state student. But some typical tuition costs for nursing are, In-State Cost Per Credit Hour - $72 to $82, Out-of-State Cost Per Credit Hour - $154 to $216, Average Tuition Per Semester (full-time in-state students) - $864 to $1,019, Average Tuition Per Semester (full-time out-of-state students) - $2,627 to $3,168.
“The best way to calculate your tuition costs for an RN program is to multiply your school's cost per credit times the number of credits necessary to complete your program. As stated above, this varies from one school to another. The reason for this is because some schools require more credit hours than others, and some facilities charge more per credit hour than others.” Using this you can figure out the average cost of your tuition based off what credit hours you are going for. This concludes the Cost of Tuition part of this article.
Works Cited
"5 Career Success Tips for Registered Nurses." 2015 NurseJournalorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Getting into a Nursing Program." Nursing License Requirements. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Here's What You'll Study in a Registered Nurse (RN) Degree Program."RN Degrees. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"How to Become a Registered Nurse - Steps to Become a Nurse."Jacksonville University School of Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"RN Tuition & Fees." Tuition & Fees of an RN Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.