April Days as a School Nurse

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Celebrating Nurse Week in 2017

nurses should be honored for their contributions to society

Help Honor a Nurse

The general public can help honor nurses during Nurses Week or on Nurses Day and help raise awareness of the nursing profession by:

writing letters to the editor of local newspapers asking everyone to do something to thank a nurse
encouraging local government officials to take out an ad in a local newspaper to honor nurses or to issue a Proclamation for Nurses Day or Nurses Week
local merchants can honor nurses by offering discounts for their goods or services for Nurses Day or during Nurses Week
establish a local scholarship fund for new nurses and nurses continuing their education

Honoring nurses and raising awareness of the nursing profession will help to encourage young people to explore a career in nursing. There is a tremendous shortage of nurses worldwide which is expected to reach crisis levels in the next decade as the population ages and grows.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Nursing Degrees to Meet Job Growth Demands

The advanced degree training by nurse practitioners means that graduates are prepared to take on specialized care of patients in a variety of health care settings. Careers as nurse practitioners join other popular health care careers such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and health care administration.

According to the Canadian Nurses Association, this is an excellent time to enter nursing in order to meet a shortage. The aging population, dwindling number of physicians and increasing variety of nursing settings means that nurse practitioners will be in demand for years to come.

How Does a Nurse Practitioner Differ From Other Trained Nurses?

Nurse Practitioners Use Specialized Nursing Education

For example, nurse practitioners are found applying specialized nursing skills in acute care settings, such as emergency wards or intensive care units. Others work in family practice, diagnosing primary care concerns such as throat and ear infections.

Other nurse practitioners can perform minor surgeries, often in a family practice or ambulatory clinic, while still others work to provide health promotion and prevention services.

In Canada, the completion of a nursing degree is the entry towards becoming a nurse practitioner. Graduates can then work towards becoming a nurse practitioner by taking additional classes and passing the official nursing practitioner examination.

The Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination ensures that registered nurses who apply for registration as nurse practitioners within their jurisdiction meet an acceptable level of competence before they begin to practice.

Nursing Degree Programs First Step in Specialized Nursing Career

In addition, the Ontario Healthcare Primary Nurse Practitioner Program offers a certificate, continuing education and courses. The program is a consortium of nine Ontario universities that offer nursing degree programs.

Through this program, students take courses over one year to learn advanced skills in these areas:

Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners
Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnosis
Therapeutics in Primary Health Care

An Integrative Practicum

Nurse practitioner programs continue growing across Canada as the demand for graduates with these advanced nursing skills increases. Students interested in the field of nursing would be well-served to consider pursuing this specialized nursing training in addition to obtaining a nursing degree.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Alaska RN Schools & License Guidelines

Individuals without an official nursing background who are interested in becoming an Alaska Registered Nurse must first graduate from a state-approved RN Alaska program.

All states in the U.S. approve and regulate their own registered nurse (RN) prelicensure academic training programs, the majority of which are either associate-level or bachelor's programs in nursing.

The Alaska Board of Nursing is the organization responsible for approving those AK RN schools found across the state.

This article shows interested nursing students where they can find state-approved Alaska RN programs, and also explains the state's licensing requirements.

RN Alaska License Guidelines

The following requirements must be fulfilled for individuals who have never earned an approved nursing degree before being allowed to work as an Alaska Registered Nurse:

Finish an AK RN program that has been state-approved
Pass the national licensing examination (called the NCLEX-RN)
Complete a criminal history review

Registered nurses in other states who hold a valid license, and who have not been charged with any ethical infractions, can apply to have their license transferred to Alaska. For information on how to obtain an application, contact the board at 907-269-8438.

Alaska Registered Nurse School Curricula

Alaska schools that house nursing programs are able to build their own unique nursing curricula. However, in order to be state-approved, RN Alaska programs must minimally offer the following:

Two years of full-time learning
A theoretical, academic learning component
A clinical training component

In the academic portion of nursing programs, students learn numerous important areas of study in the classroom, including:

Psychology
Microbiology
Medical ethics
Pharmacology
Social sciences
General nursing practice
Medical and surgical nursing
Mental health issues

In the clinical, hands-on training portion of AK RN programs, students are supervised as they work with patients of all ages. This work, which is often performed in local hospitals, gives students the opportunity to practice those nursing skills acquired in the classroom.

Finding AK RN Schools

The Board of Nursing approves a handful of programs across the state, including an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program available from the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

For a complete list of approved nursing schools in the state, contact the board at 907-269-8438.

Benefits of RN Alaska Training

Those who are able to both graduate from an approved nursing program and pass the national licensing exam are able to seek work as an Alaska Registered Nurse.

According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, RN jobs are expected to rise in demand over the next ten years as the nation's population ages, making an investment in nurse training a wise move.