Shouldn’t You Consider Becoming a Nurse Today?
Date: February 12, 2024
It seems there’s talk about nurses every time you turn on the radio or TV. These discussions cover nursing roles, nurse pay, and healthcare worker shortages. So then, what is the nurse’s role? According to the International Council of Nurses, “Nursing, as an integral part of the healthcare system, encompasses the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and care of physically ill, mentally ill, and disabled people of all ages, in all healthcare and other community settings. Within this broad spectrum of healthcare, the phenomena of particular concern to nurses are individual, family, and group responses to actual or potential health problems. (ANA, 1980, P.9)”1
It may surprise you that there are several different types of nurses. There are teaching nurses, nurses who have more direct patient care than others, nurses who run whole departments, and nurses who resemble the roles of physicians.
Licensed Vocational Nurses, or LVNs, are the foundation of the nursing profession. Essentially, LVNs (also known as licensed practical nurses outside California) provide basic nursing care. While at the top of the nursing vocation are nurse doctors. For ease, we’ve broken the nursing levels down:
Overview of Nursing Levels
(Level One)—Licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), as prepared by certificate-, diploma- or associate-level programs. By and large, a VN associate program usually takes one or two years to complete.
(Level Two)—Registered nurses (RNs) as prepared by associate- or bachelor-level programs. Associate-level RN programs generally take two years to complete, whereas bachelor-level programs often take four years to finish.
(Level Three)—Clinical nurse specialists (CNS), aka advanced practice, registered nurses (APRNs) as prepared by certificate-, master’s-, doctoral-, or post-graduate-level CNS programs.2
(Level Four)—Nurse practitioners (NPs) as prepared by masters or doctoral programs or other specialized training.3
A quality nursing program prepares an individual with a medical nurse’s knowledge regardless of one’s educational course. Moreover, courses allow them to practice techniques and perform an overview of procedures. Such programs also provide licensing preparation. While some programs attract specialized nurses, others are designed to make nursing leaders. When selecting a nursing course, one should choose a program based on the outcomes one wishes to achieve. They should consider their personality strengths and the type of work they want to enter.
Working in the Field
After finishing a nursing program, nurse graduates must test and certify to earn licensure. Those wishing to work in the field must adhere to state mandates. Such mandates involve renewing their licenses periodically and/or staying current date with continuing education units (CEUs).
Nursing Programs
Many nursing programs feature flexible class schedules. This is significant for individuals because they can attend courses around work timetables. Also, depending on one’s specific education level and route, there are accelerated programs that consider one’s background and offer the quickest route to the following nursing level. I.e., LVN to RN. These are called bridge programs.
Shouldn’t You Become a Nurse Today?
Whatever type of nurse you choose to become, the first step is applying to a nursing school. Gurnick Academy offers nursing degrees at various levels. From vocational nursing to master’s degree-level nursing training, we’ve got you covered. Offering traditional, online, and accelerated programs, we’ve got a plan to help. From entry-level to advanced, we have a whole array of options.
Talk with one of our experts to see which nursing program is right for you. Check out our school of nursing programs here.~
By Cindy R. Chamberlin.
Citations:
1 International Council of Nurses. “Nursing Definitions.” ICN—International Council of Nurses, 2002. (Accessed December 31, 2023.)
2 Sean Reed. “What Is a CNS?|NACNS: National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.” Nacns.org, National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2022. (Accessed December 3, 2023.)
3 “What’s a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?” American Association of Nurse Practitioners, AANP. (Accessed December 3, 2023.)