What is the Study of Nursing?
Nursing is a profession concerned with taking care of ill or injured persons and providing preventive health care. Nurses work in various settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health departments, businesses, public schools, and also mental health centers.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, duties performed by nurses include providing patient care, assessment of patients, developing nursing care plans, and educating patients about their conditions.
What is the Job of Nursing?
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The setting where a nurse works determine the specific tasks assigned to him or her. Nurses working in medical-surgical hospitals care for sick and injured patients. They perform tasks such as giving medications, taking vital signs, including temperatures, pulse, and blood pressure. They also administer medications, including intravenous medicines.
Additionally, nurses must document the care they give and the patient’s response in their medical records. Those working in hospitals may specialize in specific areas of care, such as pediatric nursing, where they work primarily with children, gerontology, a field that focuses on older adults, and psychiatry.
How Do You Become a Nurse?
Qualifications for working in the field include earning a degree or diploma and passing a state examination that leads to a license. The pathway to becoming a nurse can vary. A one-year program leading to a diploma helps one meet the qualifications to become an LPN. Those desiring to earn the RN credential can take one of three routes.
There is the associate degree, which takes two years to complete at a junior college or community college. Other hospital-based programs offer training and a diploma. These programs are generally 2-3 years long. A bachelor’s degree is a four-year degree from a college or university.
Is a Nursing Degree Hard?
It is also possible to achieve education through an online nursing degree program. Earning an online nursing degree allows a candidate the convenience of working toward the credential at home, work, or where ever he or she can access a computer.
As with the other programs, the person who decides to study online will need to arrange for the clinical practicum. The clinical component is required in addition to other courses. The courses include English, biology, chemistry, nutrition, medical terminology, pharmacology, and courses that focus specifically on the field.
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