Operating Room Nurse Training

Nursing students often decide they want to take their nursing degree and go in a specific direction such as working in the operating room. This field of nursing can be a very lucrative one; however, it is also highly stressful and challenging. If you want to pursue working in surgery, you will need to get operating room nurse training in addition to your typical nursing degree.

The information herein should help you accomplish that and get ready to scrub for surgery.

Educational Requirements

The obvious first step to working in the operating room is to have your nursing degree. You will need to have a Bachelor of Science so that you can continue with your nursing education. If you only received a diploma in nursing or an Associate Degree you will have to complete the requirements for a BA before moving forward.

Although there are nurses who work in operating rooms that do not have a certificate or advanced education, it is becoming more and more common for hospitals to require advanced training. Operating room nurses, also known as perioperative nurses, can take courses that prepare them for working with surgeons. These courses include such classes as:

• Disinfectant and sterilization
• Operating room safety
• Surgical tools
• Communication skills
• Anesthesia assessment
• Skin preparation
• Introduction to perioperative nursing
• Perioperative assessment
• Surgical environment
• Aseptic techniques
• Operating room safety
• Scrubbing in
• Needles and sutures

Students in perioperative training also receive guidance and lectures pertaining to specialty surgeries and a complete overview of surgical procedures. Once the coursework has been completed nurses can take the certification exam.

Certification

Nurses who have worked as perioperative nurses for at least two years and can show at least 2400 hours of experience are eligible to sit for the CNOR (certified nurse of the operating room). This certification is not a requirement for working in a surgery suite but is becoming the norm and expected by many surgeons.

Certification allows nurses to fill any of the nursing positions in the operating room, such as:

• Operating room nurse
• Scrub nurse
• Circulator nurse
• Operating room director

Perioperative Duties

Working in the surgical unit alongside doctors and surgeons will expose you to many different tasks and procedures. Some will be interesting and others will simply be tasks required to get the procedure completed. As a perioperative nurse, you will be responsible for all of the activities in the operating room, including planning, coordinating, and directing the activities and daily schedule. An operating room nurse’s duties typically fall into three different categories, pre-operative duties, operative duties, and post-op duties.

• Pre-Op Tasks: During training for pre-op, nurses learn how to set up the surgical suite, prepare instruments, and communicate with the family, and more.
• Operative Tasks: During the surgery, the nurse prepares the patient for surgery, ensures the medications have been prepared, verifies tools and instruments are ready, and assists the surgeon as needed.
• Post-Op Tasks: Monitors the patient after surgery, communicates patient status to family.

Operating room nurses do much more than simply work in surgery. As a perioperative nurse, your training prepares you for working as a scrub nurse, an RN assistant, and as a circulating nurse. Many perioperative nurses go on to become nurse managers, educators, and more.

 Finding Training Courses

If you have decided that the operating room is where you would like to put your nursing skills to work then you need to locate a training program. There are several options available, including learning on the job and taking a course at the same time in order to have the hours and coursework required to take the exam.

Many community colleges and local universities offer perioperative training classes as do some hospitals and medical facilities. You can also find online training cures that will help you become familiar with the instruments, procedures, and protocols that are used in surgery.

Ultimately, choosing to add operating room nurse training to your education will expand your career options and give you much more flexibility in what part of the medical field you choose to work in. You can advance into a higher position and provide a valuable service to doctors and patients.

Ohio Nurse Aide Training

There is a shortage of nurse aides throughout the United States and Ohio is no different. The population is growing and the state is suffering from a shortage of certified nursing assistants or State Tested Nurse Aides as they are called in Ohio.

Nurse aide training courses are not hard to find in Ohio, but if you are considering this occupation and want information, continue reading and learn more.

 Training in Ohio

Nurse aide training in the state of Ohio is overseen the state health department. The Ohio Department of Health ensures that all CNA training programs have the required numbers of training hours, 75, of which 16 must be classroom hours and 16 must be clinical.  The department does not set guidelines on how long it takes to complete the program and so some nurse training programs in Ohio may be as short as two weeks. Ohio offers a program that allows graduates of the CNA program who pass the exam and go to work as a nurse aide to be reimbursed for their education costs. This is an incentive that has helped to pull many new CNAs into the profession and is designed to help the state with the shortage.

Ohio Licensing

In order to work as a certified nurse assistant in Ohio, graduates of the CNA programs must pass a two-part test. This test is both a written and hands-on skills test that is administered by D&S Diversified Technologies. If the exam is successfully completed, the graduate is presented a state license and can work in state facilities as a registered certified nurse aide. This state certification must be kept up to date every two years. The renewal is completed by presenting proof of employment as a CNA for at least eight hours during the two years prior to the recertification.

Where to Find CNA Certification

Ohio may have a nurse aid shortage but there are ample CNA training programs to choose from across the state. There is no reason that people in Ohio who want to become a nurse aid can’t find training. There are training programs in these places and more:

• Colleges
• Universities
• Nursing homes
• Hospitals
• Other healthcare facilities such as clinics

If this list doesn’t provide a good starting place, the Red Cross or any local medical facility such as a nursing home or hospital, should be able to provide more information on nurse aide training programs that they would consider quality. Job Fairs across the state also offer information on training opportunities.

Online Training

Ohio residents can also take advantage of online CNA training courses. These courses provide the classroom hours and work in conjunction with local medical facilities to provide the clinical hours that are needed. This combination of local training and online training is beneficial for people who have a difficult time with their schedule but want to become a nurse aide.  At the end of the online course, the student will still have to take the state exam for certification. Once this is passed, the student can start working in a medical facility and apply to have their tuition reimbursed.

Schools that Have CNA Training

There are many traditional schools in Ohio that offer nurse aide training. Some of the more notable schools and some that have more than one campus include:

• Brown Mackie College – offers a diploma program in medical assisting
• Fortis College – Medical assistant diploma and an associate of applied business in medical assisting
• National College – Medical assistant training program
• Sanford Brown College – Nurse aide training program
• Lincoln  College of Technology – Medical assistant training program
• Kaplan College – Medical assistant diploma and an associate’s program. This college also has an online presence.

These are just a sampling of the schools that have nurse training programs in Ohio. These schools and many others have more than one location in the state and thus are accessible to everybody. There is no reason an Ohioan can’t find nurse aide training.

The nurse aide shortage in Ohio has spurred the state to offer incentives for nurse aide training in the way of tuition reimbursement that will allow more people to take advantage of an education that moves them into a satisfying career.

Occupational Health Nurse Training

Employees know that their most important asset is their employees, without them, they will have nothing. This makes employee health and safety a vital concern and one that is often addressed by occupational health nurses. These professionals are nurses that observer worker’s in their daily routines and then provide their assessment of hazards and risks that are present and their solutions to the problems they find. Occupational health nurse training is another branch in the ever evolving world of nursing that can take you to new and different professional rewards.

Academic Background

Nurses who work in occupational health start with the same academic background that other nurses have. This simply means that the type of occupational health nurse position depends on how much education and nurse work is in the background. In addition to the nursing degree, there are training classes that provide specific training courses to prepare nurses to further their career and move into the occupational health field. These courses are offered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and should be considered a necessary stepping stone for moving into the field.

Training

The Occupational Safety and Health courses will train you to identify the various aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that is designed to ensure workplace safety. As the work nurse, you will be required to recognize situations and activities in the workplace that can be dangerous or have long-term health effects that are detrimental.

During these training courses you will learn things such as:

• How to identify hazards in the workplace and how those hazards have an impact on employee health.
• Understand hygiene principals in the industrial world and how those principals relate to engineering and administrative controls.
• Understand the use of personal protective equipment and identify areas in the workplace that need this equipment.
• Understand and have an in-depth knowledge of toxicology and epidemiology

The training that is received in these classes prepares the nurse to become an occupational health nurse.

Licensing

Licensing requirements vary from state to state, but, just as all registered nurses have to be licensed, so do occupational health nurses. After identifying the academic and work requirements that are needed to work with employers and employees you should find out what licensing requirements are for your state and make sure you adhere to them.

Understanding the Tasks

Occupational health nurse training will allow you to take your nursing skills and use them to bring about changes in the workplace to make it safer. You will learn to recognize symptoms of occupational exposure that is causing health problems as well as learning hazard abatement and control processes. Some of the industries that your occupational health training can be used in include:

• Meat packing – handling meat poses a health risk to both the workers and the consumer and so the presence of an occupational health nurse to help identify risks involved.
• Construction – the construction industry has many risky situations that might not be identified unless someone with health training is on the scene.

These are just two examples of putting occupational health nurse training to use, the healthcare profession, manufacturing plants and many other jobs require the presence of a health care agent.

 Daily Activities

Once a registered nurse has the occupational health nurse training completed and they understand the tasks they will be completing, they are ready to move on to the day-to-day aspects involved in working with employers and employees, such as:

• Tracking employee’s medical history from an occupational standpoint.
• Providing pre-employment physicals and interpreting labs
• Assessing medical complaints from employees
• Observing and providing assessment of worker activities and the work environment
• Receiving medical reports from physicians and interpreting those for both employers and employees
• Monitoring worker’s health response to risky situations such as exposure to various toxins
• Managing illness and injury in the workplace and documenting these for record keeping and assessment for prevention of future illness or injury.

These daily activities will vary from one day to another and as an occupational nurse you may be faced with many different tasks.

Occupational nurse training takes the nursing degree a step further and removes you from the medical facility and into the role of liaison between the work environment and the worker who will help keep everyone safe and healthy.

Nurse Triage Training

One of the most stressful and hectic jobs in the medical field would have to be the   emergency room. At any given minute, medical personnel are called on to respond to everything from a runny nose to a gunshot wound to car wrecks and more. Normally, the frontline of the ER is a registered nurse. The nurse assesses the emergencies that come in and basically directs the flow of patients. Nurse triage training is designed to help nurses master the art of assessing patients in an emergency situation.

Education

There isn’t exactly a formal degree in nurse triage; however, there is a certificate that can be applied for and an exam that can be taken after a 2000 hours working in a triage position and having been through one of the many learning classes that can be found online or as an employee offered class in many hospitals.

The very first thing that must be in place is the registered nursing degree. This can be an Associate Degree or a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing. Once the exam has been taken and successfully passed, the nurse can apply to work the emergency room in triage and also ask about taking the nurse triage training class, if one is offered. Some states require this training in order to work in an emergency room and others do not, it is up to the nursing student to find out if there are requirements.

Duties

While most people immediately think of an emergency room when they think of triage nurses, the training that makes up this field of nursing prepares medical personnel to direct medical efforts in a variety of scenarios, such as battlefields in war, major catastrophes, accidents and other disasters where there are wounded and injured people who need medical help. The triage nurse can step into this chaos and make it somewhat more orderly by directing physicians to the most critical patients first and offering medical help to those that can be helped with minor assistance.

This explanation of triage nursing applies to any area where there are many sick people, including the emergency room. The triage nurse assesses patients in the ER to determine what level of care they need. Training involves learning to recognize critical emergencies and offer treatment, such as a person in cardiac arrest. During the assessment phase, the triage nurse will take vital signs, ask questions and get a medical history, if the patient is able to provide this information. Obvious conditions that require immediate attention are moved ahead and directly to a doctor’s care.

This sorting of patients’ illnesses can be highly stressful and put nurses directly in the line of fire of a patient’s wrath. Everyone who is sick thinks they are the sickest person in the room. An emergency room waiting area can be a melting pot of tempers ready to boil over as patients wait to be seen. This fact alone makes it very important for nurses who want to work in triage to have the proper training so that they can learn how to diffuse these types of situations.

Telephone Triage

Telephone triage is a relatively new but expanding area of nursing. Many doctor’s offices and HMOs are adding telephone triage to their office to help with patients who call and think they have an emergency. The nurse will assess their condition over the phone and make a determination as to whether or not they should come straight in to the office, go to the nearest hospital or if they can avoid the doctor altogether.

Telephone triage nurses typically have a much longer background in nursing, about 5 years. This is because they are assessing patients without being able to see them. The nurse must know which questions to ask and the questions that should follow those based on the patient’s answers. Telephone triage will continue to grow as the funding for healthcare becomes less and people try to avoid office visits when they can.

Nurse triage training prepares nurses to handle an assortment of scenarios and to sort patients based on their assessment of the medical condition presented. While this is a stressful and fast-paced nursing job, many people find they thrive on the ever-changing work day where nothing is the same.

Nurse Assistant Training in Michigan

Nurse assistant training programs in Michigan offer many options for people who are interested in become a certified nursing assistant. These assistants are a vital part of the healthcare community which makes the training they receive very important. In many states, there is one CNA program that is followed throughout the state and then the graduate learns various nuances based on the field of health care they choose to work in; however, in Michigan, there are specific CNA courses to choose from depending on the area of healthcare that is chosen.

Where to Find Training

In Michigan there are two main colleges that offer CNA training, Lansing Community College and Henry Ford Community College. Lansing is one of Michigan’s largest colleges based on enrollment. They offer CNA courses that are less than one-year in length and are part of their rapid entry selection of classes. Henry Ford Community College also offers CNA courses that will have students prepared to enter the workforce as a nurse assistant in a short time frame.

Specialized Nurse Assistant Training

Unlike many other nurse training programs, there are specialized nurse training programs in Michigan that have students ready to enter a particular area and lend their skills to the nurses without having to be completely trained on all of the specialties of that field. The areas of nurse assistant training that can be selected include:

• Acute Care Nurse Training: This nurse aide training program is designed to prepare graduates to enter work in an urgent care facility, an acute care facility, or emergency room as a patient tech or nursing assistant. Students can choose an 8-week daytime or a 16-week evening program where they will have course work that includes laboratory work, clinical experience and lectures. Some of the skills the nurse assistant will learn to perform include: (a) Glucose blood testing, (b) Taking vital signs and recording them properly, (c) How to observer patients for emotional and physical changes and (d) Routine tasks such as transporting, feeding, bathing.

At the end of this training program for acute care nursing, students can take the state examination that allows them to become certified nurse assistants in the state of Michigan.

• Long Term Care Nurse Training: Long-term nurse care training prepares students to work with patients on a long-term basis such as in a nursing home or rehabilitation center. Working with patients for long periods of time requires more training in some areas, such as feeding, bathing, and transporting them from one place to another. The long term nurse assistant training is longer than the acute care nurse training.  This course is a 3-week, 94 hour course with labs, clinical work and lectures. Students learn topics such as: (a) Interpersonal skills and communication, (b) Infection control, (c) Residents rights and respecting those rights and (d) Basic nurse assistant skills such as vitals, blood glucose and more.

The long term nurse assistant course is more in depth and prepares the student to take the nurse assistant exam and become certified once they pass.

• Acute & Long Term Nurse Aide Training: As the name implied, this program combines all of the education of the long term nurse aid with the education of the acute nurse aid and allows graduates to work in long term health care facilities, home health care or acute care facilities after graduation and successful completion of the state exam.
• Nurse Aide Training Certificate: This certificate, offered by the Henry Ford Community College, is an 11-week program that is very in-depth. It includes 90 hours of lectures and theory, 128 hours of lab work and 52 hours of clinical work. This nursing assistant class provides basic nursing skills to students that prepare them to work as a nursing assistant in any medical facility after completion of the course and taking the exam for their certification.

These four options show the varying degrees that the nursing assistant training programs in Michigan offer. Students can choose the minimal course or the more in-depth one and be prepared to work in any field.

Nurse assistant training in Michigan offers more options than many other states’ programs. Students can choose the type of program they want and move into that area of work upon graduation and passing the state certification exam.

Nurse Aide Training Programs

Nurse aide training programs, also known as CNA programs are an ideal way to determine if the nursing field is right for you. The programs are quick, typically between 4 and 16 weeks, depending on how many hours per day the classes are and the facility administering them. Afterwards, graduates can take the CNA exam and start working in various medical fields. Many future nurses started their education with the CNA program so they could get in the field and work while continuing their nursing education.

Where to Find Nurse Aide Training Programs

CNA programs can be found in a variety of places. Training to assist nurses can be completed online; however, if an online class is the route taken, the student should make sure that the Board of Nursing in their state recognizes the online program. Other venues that offer training for nursing assistants include:

• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Community Colleges
• Vocational Training Centers
• Red Cross

Medical facilities like nursing homes and hospitals are two of the most common places to take to get an education and become a CNA. This is considered by many nurses to be the best way to get the training because of the intense hands-on, real-life training involved.

Pre-Requisites for CNA Programs

Every state has different requirements that potential students must meet in order to enter the program and take the CNA exam. The most common pre-requisites to attend nurse’s aide programs are a high school diploma or GED. Community colleges and vocational centers may have other requirements which should be identified before committing to the program.

CNA Skills

Many people don’t realize that the nursing assistant is as much the right hand of the nurse as the nurse is the right hand of the doctor. Nurses are often given the credit for doing many of the things that their CNA does for them. The education the CNA receives during their training includes many practices that most people associate with a nurse. Some of the skills that the nursing aide student will learn include:

• How to properly take vital signs;
• How to bath patients properly and discreetly;
• How to change a hospital bed with a patient in it;
• How to use equipment such as lifts, bed scales and wheelchairs;
• CPR;
• How to assist patients in various levels of decline with meals and daily life activities;
• How to properly use gait belts to help patients with walking.

These are just some of the skills that the CNA students learn. It is easy to see that most of the education is hands-on. There is some classroom work to explain why and how to do these things, but for the most part, training is live, which makes the hospital or nursing home an ideal place for a CAN program.

CNA Courses

In addition to learning the skills listed herein, you will also learn many aspects of healthcare that form the basis of your future education in addition to being useful and necessary for the CNA training. These courses include nutrition, anatomy, physiology, and infection control. These may sound daunting and in depth; however, the nurse’s aide does not go into the same depth that the registered nurse. They only learn the basics.

Short Time Frame

Programs for nurse’s aides can vary greatly. However, the CNA program should be 75 hours. This can be a short 4 weeks or stretched out over as many as 16 weeks. As explained before, most of the work is hands on. This work will be supervised by a nursing instructor who will guide you through the different tasks and skills needed to be successful. The short time frame of the CNA program makes it possible for students to be on the hospital floor working while they continue their education to become a registered nurse.

CNAs are a nurse’s eyes and ears. They often spend more actual time with patients and therefore can report any needs the patient may have to the nurse. Training to become a CNA is a short program that can be done in as little as a month if desired. This short time for the training allows the nurse’s aide to start putting the training to work and continue their path to becoming a registered nurse.  

Licensed Vocational Nurse Training

Many people don’t know or understand that there are differences between and LVN or licensed vocational nurse and an RN or registered nurse. In fact, if you are the patient, unless you look at their badges for the credentials you may never know. There is a however a difference although what that exact difference is varies from state to state. Regardless of the slight differences, LVN nursing training can be highly beneficial to the student who wants to pursue a lifelong career in nursing and yet wants to get started nursing quickly.

Some Differences

It is helpful to understand some of the differences between the levels of nursing in order to decide if the LVN track is right for you. Typically, a licensed vocational nurse is not allowed to push IV drugs, this simply means they cannot inject medications into IVs. They are also not usually legally allowed to do patient assessments. Additionally, in many states they are not allowed to work in acute units such as the ICU. These are the major differences that can be found in the two levels of nursing, except of course for the pay difference.

Education

Licensed vocational nurse training can start as early as high school and is also offered in some vocational schools. These courses can be found in technical schools, junior colleges and even offered at times by hospitals. There are also online LVN classes; however, these are usually in conjunction with nearby medical facilities that will monitor testing and provide clinical experience.

The classes and clinical work can take between 9 and 18 months to complete. Once the classes are complete, the LVN or LPN as they are known in some states (licensed practical nurse) can take the NCLEX-PN examination to become licensed.

The student who goes through LVN classes and becomes licensed has more education and skills than the CNA but not as much as the RNLVN courses typically include:

• Nursing Fundamental
• Anatomy
• Physiology
• Modern Health Issues
• Nutrition and Diet
• Growth and Development
• Intro to Pharmacology
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Medical-Surgical Nursing
• Maternal Child Health
• Biology, chemistry, algebra and other core classes

These are a sampling of the classes that are part of the curriculum for LVNs. Registered nurses have much more theory or lecture work than LVNs do and are set to move up in their career while the LVN would need to continue their education to progress.

LVN Duties

Completing an LVN program and becoming certified prepares the nurse to work in a variety of medical settings. These nurses work with doctors and registered nurses to provide care and treatment to people in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. Some of the duties that the licensed vocational nurse will perform include:

• Monitoring patients and recording changes, reporting any  changes to the RN in charge;
• Supervising nurse aids in their duties
• Collect samples such as urine and blood for lab tests
• Take and record vitals on a routine schedule
• Change and monitor catheters
• Change wound dressings
• Massage and give alcohol rubs as needed
• Give injections and oversee oral medications

There are many other duties that you may do as a licensed vocational nurse under the supervision and direction of the on-duty registered nurse.

 Future Endeavors

Earning your degree as a licensed vocational nurse can give you a wonderful, rewarding career in and of itself or it can be a stepping stone to moving on to a degree that allows you to become a registered nurse and beyond, if desired. There are many programs and tracks to take the LVN to the RN without having to start all over again with some of the classes. This is because many of the classes in the LVN program are part of the RN program. This means that the nurse with an LVN license can go back to school and be able to advance themselves into higher positions.

 If you walk the halls of your local hospital you will find many nurses who have been practicing for many years as an LVN and you will also find many RNs who will tell you that they are just as educated and good at their jobs as many registered nurses. Licensed vocational nurse training can prepare you to be one of the many nurses whose life has been devoted to helping others.

Legal Nurse Consultant Training

Medical malpractice is big business in the United States. It is estimated that there are at least a quarter million lawyers that specialize in malpractice cases. This has made the need for legal nurse consultants increase dramatically.

If you are entering nursing school and want to specialize or are a registered nurse who would like to make a change, you should read on to find out how to obtain legal nurse consultant training.

What Legal Nurse Consultants Do

Legal nurse consultant training prepares nurses to work in both the legal community with lawyers or in the medical community assisting with litigation and helping with issues that could become litigious. These nurses may often be called on to testify in court during medical cases. This is when the legal aspect of their training and education becomes obviously important. It brings the education required to be a nurse together with some legal training to create a profession that the courts can call upon to help discern the medical truth in many cases.

Training

The legal nursing consultant is a fairly new field of nursing. The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants was founded in 1989 to help provide resources and information for people who are looking for programs to help them get involved in consulting as a nurse in the legal field.

The first and major prerequisite for this training is that the person already be a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree. The courses of training to be a legal nurse consultant combine paralegal type training with theory and ethics in litigation. The classes can be completed in a short period of time, some in as little as 4 weekend or 42 hours of instruction.

Nurses who wish to expand their role and enter the legal consultant field can find training courses both online and at traditional universities. As this field of nursing has progressed and become more requested, the training programs have become more standardized and certificates in legal nurse consultants are now offered.

Coursework for Legal Consultants

The areas covered when training to be legal nurse consultant vary somewhat from one program to another; however, the basics are the same. You can expect learn some of the following fundamentals:

• History of legal nursing consultants
• Law Breakdown: The 2 major systems, the 3 types of law and the 4 sources of law
• Tort Law
• International Law
• Liability concerns for the medical field
• Identification of legal documents pertaining to evidence
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Litigation Damages
• Ethics

This listing of topics is simply a sampling of what is covered in these programs. The idea here is to show how the medical and legal professions are meshed in this one program.

 Using Legal Nurse Consultant Training

Legal nurse consultant training allows nurses to use their medical knowledge and education in a variety of ways. This relatively new field opens many doors to nurses outside of the medical world. Some of the areas that are currently utilizing nurse consultants include:

• Medical Malpractice Law Firms
• Insurance Companies
• Doctors and other Healthcare Providers
• Government Agencies that handle medical issues
• Risk Management Assessment in various areas

There will probably be more areas that this training  will be used in the future as this field is explored by more legal arenas.

Are You a Candidate for Legal Nurse Consultant Training

It is a good idea to carefully consider the various aspects of the legal nurse consultant   before applying for and taking the course. The career is much different than nursing in the hospital or a physician’s office. Some of the aspects that should be taken into consideration include:

• Preparation: Legal nurse consultants often spend a large amount of time reading evidentiary documents such as health records and reports in order to be able to prepare their own report.
• Communication: Testifying in a courtroom is not for the timid person. Taking the stand for one side of a case means being able to be cross-examined by the opposing side.
• Objectivity: Nurses are naturally caring, sympathetic people. Legal nurse consultants have to be objective and look at the evidence, not the person.

These are three areas that should be taken into account when deciding on attending a nurse consultant class, if each one can be answered honestly and the desire to entered remains, then legal nurse consulting could be a good career change.

Legal nurse consulting training has created more professional career options for people who want to enter the nursing field but don’t want to work in a hospital. It has also opened up an avenue for nurses who are ready for a career change.

Funding for Nurse Training

It’s hard enough to make a decision on what school you want to attend and what you want to purse during your college years and then you have to start finding the money to go to school. If you are one of the lucky ones, your parents have your college education shored up in a savings; however, if you are in the majority of students, you have to find other options for paying for college.

You can find the funding for nursing training in many different places if you know where to look. The following information should prove helpful in finding the many different tuition options available.

First Things First

Before you can start searching for tuition to pay for nursing school, you have to decide where you are going to get your training. This information not only determines how much money is needed, it is typically information that is required when applying for funds. There are several options, including:

• Community College: These schools typically offer an Associate Degree or can be the used to take the first courses in a Bachelor’s Degree before transferring to a larger university or college.
• Universities: These are usually selected for students who want to get a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing and to continue beyond the BS.
• Diplomas: Hospitals and medical facilities sometimes have programs that allow people to get a diploma in nursing.

Each of these options has different costs, with the diploma being the least expensive and the BS being the most expensive. Once you have made this decision, you can start your hunt for college money to get your nursing career started.

Financial Aid

The first step any prospective student should take to find available money to pay for nursing school is to turn toward the Federal government. The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is an application packet that is available on the web. It is rather lengthy; however, it creates a complete financial picture and returns a FAFSA score which is used to determine your need for financial aid. The Federal Pell Grant uses this number and is most likely the first funding you will receive since it is typically the easiest to get. The amount of the Pell Grant varies and you may need to continue looking for other tuition money.

The FAFSA application process will also give you a list of options that are available to you based on your score, such as Federal Student Loans. These loans have very low interest rates and are based on need rather than credit scores. Once you have explored these options you can look for grants.

Grants

The need for nurses has helped create many options for paying for nursing school, such as grants being offered by different medical venues, such as hospitals. Oftentimes, hospitals or medical facilities will provide grants for nursing school if the student is willing to commit to work in their facility for a certain amount of time. These types of arrangements help hospitals that are in need of nurses attract more employees.

Work Study

Hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other medical facilities may offer work-study arrangements. These arrangements allow employees that want to go to nursing school to do so while they are employed by the facility and at the facility’s expense. These types of arrangements are similar to grants in that the student is required to work for the facility for a set amount of time after graduation or they have to pay the tuition money back.

It isn’t difficult to find funding for nursing training if you take the time to look at all the options available. Nurses are in high demand and the money is out there to get you through school and on your way.

To obtain a nursing school scholarship one must demonstrate excellent academic merits. Since scholarships do not require repayment they are especially competitive and difficult to secure. Scholarships are available from both private and public organizations and the amount of the scholarship can vary greatly. Scholarships should be not be relied upon to fulfill all financial obligations of a nursing program. It is best to apply for several different scholarships and whichever ones you secure will become a nice bonus.

Many students opt to receive student loans to cover the program costs and additional living expenses. Many student loan programs exist and they are relatively easy to secure since they require full repayment plus interest. Student loans are more lenient than other types of debt such as credit card interest or car loans. Many student loans can be deferred for several years after graduation which offers the recipient more flexibility in their repayment schedule.

For nurses who wish to continue working while attending school there are various work-study programs available. The benefit of these arrangements is that the student will graduate with less debt. The consequence of a work-study program is that it will take the student a longer amount of time to complete their degree since they are working simultaneously.

Free Nurse Aide Training

If you want to become a CNA but don’t have the necessary funds to take the course you might be interested in finding free nurse aide training. This training will allow you to start a career path to a satisfying profession that not only provides inner satisfaction but also helps people. So, how do you go about finding free nurse aid training? That depends on your current employment and your desire to find the free money that is out there.

Employer Assistance

If you are currently employed in the healthcare field in any aspect, you may have the perfect opportunity to find assistance with the tuition for nurse’s aide programs. Many hospitals, convalescent facilities and some doctor’s offices will offer to pay for the CNA program if the employee has shown the aptitude to be a healthcare assistant and also agrees to work at the facility for a pre-arranged amount of time. Basically, you agree to work as a nursing assistant after you earn your degree for a few years and in return you get your CNA education free. This is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

If you aren’t already employed by a health care provider, don’t give up hope. Often, hospitals and nursing homes for the elderly find that they are in dire need of nursing assistants and so they will offer CNA classes and certification for new hires. You can usually find these opportunities in the classified ads; however, you shouldn’t be apprehensive about calling local hospitals and speaking with the employment office. These people may be able to tell you if and when they are going to be offering a CNA class and how you go about applying for the class.

State or Federal Funding

There are many state and federal programs that can be utilized to pay for CNA training. There are grants that will allow you to get into the CNA program and fulfill your dream of becoming a nursing assistant. You can apply for these programs on the Internet. Some of them may be based on need and others may be loans that you pay back after you complete your education. The Pell grant is one of the easiest grants to apply for and receive through the government. As a grant, it does not have to be repaid and can make a difference in being able to go to a CNE program and having to wait. Some of the places to look include:

• State Lottery Money – Many states have lotteries today that are being used to fund education.
• FAFSA:  FAFSA is the federal application for government funding. This one application will help with finding funding in various areas of the government. All students should complete the FAFSA in order to find out what they are eligible to receive.

Every state has different programs and funding options available and when combined with Federal possibilities are excellent options for finding free money.

Scholarships and Awards

You shouldn’t overlook the possibility of scholarships and award money to help finance nurse’s aide training. Many people overlook these opportunities because they think only students going to college can get them. However, there are nursing associations and nurse’s aide associations that could have scholarship money available to potential CNA students. Sometimes you can find essay contests that are used to determine who the scholarship money to and in other cases you may find that the awards are based on applications and interviews. Researching this topic on the Internet will provide more information on these types of awards.

Student Aid Office

Before you give up on your search for free money to help you get your CNA certificate you should contact the local CNA program and ask for an appointment with the financial aid office.  These are the people who know how to get funding for classes and can put you in touch with the right people and programs that can help with your tuition. Don’t give up just because you have trouble finding funding on your own, reach out for the resources that are available.

It is possible to find free nurse aide training if you put your mind to doing so and don’t give up on the task. In the end, you will be rewarded with the beginning steps of a rewarding career.

Forensic Nurse Training

As a newly graduated nurse you may not have any specific career goals, you may simply be anxious to get started with your nursing and worry about goals later on down the road. On the other hand, you may know that you want to specialize in a particular field. If that field is forensic nursing you need to have forensic nurse training.

What is Forensic Nursing

Forensic nursing is a new and constantly evolving field of nursing. Nursing graduates who choose to go into this area of nursing can work in a variety of areas including:

• Sexual Assault Examiners
• Domestic Violence
• Expert Witness
• Child or Elder Abuse Investigations Perform death investigations
• Conduct crime scene investigations
• Work with children in schools as a counselor
• Work in prisons with criminals

Many people mistakenly think that forensic nurses deal only with death and dead bodies. However, these nurses work with people to help them through some of the hardest times of their life.

The Forensic Field

Forensic nursing is a combination of criminal law and nursing. It takes the medical background of a nurse and uses that in conjunction with techniques learned from the judicial side of the training to create a field that is used to assist in judicial type situations that have a medical aspect as well.

There are sub-fields within the forensic nursing field that can be selected. This allows nursing students who choose to pursue forensic nurse training to narrow down their training to specific areas of forensic nursing from autopsies to crime scene investigations and more. Deciding which area of forensic nursing to pursue is an important part of making sure that the correct forensic training is obtained.  Two of the main sub-fields are explained in more detail below.

• Forensic Nurse Investigator: After forensic nurse training is complete, the forensic nurse investigator can move into areas such as working in the coroner’s office or working directly with police to investigate criminal scenes. The forensic nurse is called on to collect samples from crime scenes that can be used as evidence, collect blood and tissue for use in the investigation. These nurses may be asked to help with the treatment and investigation of the victims of crimes, such as abuse victims, rape victims, and survivors of many different crimes. Nurses who choose this area will work in a fast paced, high-stressed field that can be very rewarding.

Forensic nurses who work as investigative nurses have to be prepared to work anytime, day or night. Crime scenes don’t wait for the 9-5 shift, they have to be processed as quickly as possible. The nurse investigator has to be able to respond to this pressure, stay organized and focused, keep excellent records and be meticulous when looking for details surrounding crimes, as does anyone who work in criminal investigations and the forensics field.

• Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner: This area of forensic nursing is an important one that requires sympathy and precise attention to detail. Collecting a rape kit from someone who has been assaulted is not pleasant for the victim; it is almost like being violated again. However, may nurses who go into this field say they do so to provide a helping hand to victims of assault in an effort to catch the perpetrator. Nurses who choose this field may also be required to be on call.

These sub fields of forensic nursing are just two of the many areas that academic training and clinical work can prepare nursing students to enter.

Training for Forensic Nursing

The first obvious part of training for a forensic nursing career is the nursing degree. This can take as little as two years or up to three or four depending on the type of degree that is obtained. Once the nursing degree is complete, there are forensic training programs that are offered in both traditional college settings and in online colleges. These programs can take two year or more to complete, depending on what type of degree is offered. Once the forensic training classes are complete, the nurse will be able to provide medical expertise in judicial and criminal situations.

Forensic nurse training provides the judicial world with highly trained medical personnel who can assist with many different crime scene investigations as well as help criminal assault victims get through the medical investigation. Forensic nurses help to put the pieces of the puzzle together so the crimes can be solved and lives can be restored to normal. Like any other nursing career, this offers great satisfaction and makes the job rewarding for many people.

Dialysis Nurse Training

If you want to make a difference in someone’s life, nursing is the ideal career choice and choosing to specialize your nursing can be what makes a difference in someone’s life. Dialysis nurse training prepares nurses to work in dialysis clinics with patients who have kidney failure. This type of nursing is in high demand today and can be more financially rewarding than other nursing areas which is why many nurse are adding dialysis training to their resume.

What Dialysis Nurses Do

A dialysis nurse works in either dialysis units in hospitals or in dialysis clinics where they are the kidney patient’s most direct contact on a regular basis. These nurses perform a range of duties from planning patient care to planning patient diets. Some of the tasks nurses are taught during their time in the dialysis unit include:

• Starting the dialysis machine and monitoring it during the process;
• Planning and implementing care;
• Evaluating and reporting progress to patient’s doctor;
• Supervising diet and exercise routine.

In addition to the tasks, dialysis nurses are often the frontline of communication between dialysis patients and their doctor. As the nurse, you see the patient on a more frequent basis and have the opportunity to notice changes in their health that the doctor needs to know in order to make more informed decisions about their treatment.

Steps to Complete Dialysis Nurse Training

In order to qualify for dialysis nurse training you will need to be not just a registered nurse, but one with an associate degree or a Bachelor’s Degree. You cannot be a dialysis nurse with a diploma only. Once you have your registration you can apply to work in a dialysis clinic and learn the field.

Unlike some specialized nursing fields, there is a certification process for becoming a dialysis nurse. Many dialysis clinics offer their own specialized training which will provide the necessary educational hours required to sit for the Certified Dialysis Nursing Exam which is 15 educational hours.

In addition to the educational hours that are needed, there are 2,000 hours of work with renal patients that must have been completed within the past two years of applying for the exam.

Once the prerequisites have been met, the nurse can take the certification exam and if they pass become a Certified Dialysis Nurse which qualifies them for higher paying job in the nursing field.

In addition to the class work and clinical work involved in dialysis training, you should take into account the challenging stress dialysis work entails. Renal patients are not always the easiest patients to deal with, they are holding on to hopes of a kidney transplant in order to live and may be angry, sad, despondent and more. The dialysis nurse needs to be strong-willed and yet sympathetic at the same time. You have to be able to care for them no matter what they may say or do. If you can do this, you will make an ideal nurse in a renal clinic.

Types of Dialysis Nurses

Once you have your dialysis   training behind you and are certified, you can focus on gaining experience and perhaps moving up in this specialized area. This is one of the most difficult nursing positions aside from the ICU. Some dialysis nurses are content with working in the clinic while others want to continue to grow. Dialysis nurses have many options, including:

• Permanent Dialysis Nurse: This nurse stays at one facility for many years. This offers job security and the opportunity to know the patients as they are often on dialysis for a long time before a transplant occurs.
• Traveling Dialysis Nurse: This nurse goes from one facility or hospital dialysis clinic to another for short periods. The traveling dialysis nurse learns many techniques from visiting many different clinics.
• Acute Dialysis Nurses: These nurses deal with patients whose kidneys have completely stopped working. This nurse is under much more stress and has to be extremely alert to every detail of the procedure.

Each of these dialysis nurses is important to the field and to keeping renal patients as healthy as possible while waiting on a better option. Dialysis nurses are an integral part of the kidney patient’s healthcare.

The kidneys perform a vital function in the human body, the removal of waste that could cause toxic poisoning and ultimately death. When the kidneys start to fail dialysis is the only way to cleanse the body. The machine and procedure use in this are taught during dialysis nurse training which allows nurses to progress to a higher level of nursing. Dialysis nurses help save lives every day.

RN Continuing Education Courses

Nursing is a continuously changing field that requires nurses to renew their skills and update their knowledge with regard to advances in both practice and technology. Many states also require nurses to enroll in continuing education coursework in order to renew their license. Different states will usually have different continuing education requirements related to license renewal.

What Entails Continuing Education?

Contact Hours:  A contact hour may be defined as 50 continuous clock minutes of participation in approved continuing education coursework or related activities (e.g. advanced clinical training to transition into a new specialty area).

Continuing Education Units:  One continuing education unit (CEU) equals 10 contact hours. Most nurse continuing education coursework is measured in CEUs the nurse’s progress in meeting state board regulations. As an example, three classes that total 30 contact hours provide the equivalent of 3 CEUs.

Advantages of RN Continuing Education Courses

While nurse continuing education coursework is necessary in many states in order to renew nursing licenses, there are several additional advantages to participating in such classes. For example, a master’s degree can lead to career advancement and higher salaries (and master’s level coursework does count toward the continuing education requirements).

Beyond career advancement, continuing education will allow you to remain knowledgeable with regard to new developments in the healthcare field and keep current with technological advances. For example, the specialties of nurse informatics, critical care nursing, and intensive care nursing are continuously undergoing advances in practice and technology and it benefits you to remain aware of these changes so you may provide quality care.

State-board Approved Nursing Continuing Education Coursework

Most State Boards of Nursing will accept a wide range of coursework and training activities to fulfill continuing education requirements as long as these are related to the nursing profession. However, because specific requirements do vary it is best to contact your State Board to determine specific criteria. You may find contact information for your State board by visiting the Web site of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (ncnbn.org/board). State boards will also typically permit nurses to take coursework in related fields provided you can show how these classes relate to your specialty area. Check with your State Board before enrolling in any of this coursework.

In general, the continuing education requirement may not be satisfied by any courses or activities that are directly related to your nursing job description. This means that you cannot fulfill continuing education requirements by providing direct patient care, participating in in-serve training or workshops, participating in the formulation of policy and procedures directly related to your role, or attending department meetings.

Registered nurses will not need to submit proof of continuing education credits unless they are being audited by their state board or renewing their nursing license. Check with your state board to determine the renewal period. Although you do not need to submit proof of continuing education coursework except under special circumstances, it is wise to keep accurate records of all CEUs completed during the past two years.

RN Continuing Education Courses

Nursing Continuing Education Coursework can include a variety of classes, from emergency nursing, home health nursing, pediatrics, psychiatric/mental health nursing, gerontology, nurse informatics, etc. Options include taking a refresher course in your area of specialty to participation in a master’s or post-masters program.

Options for RN Continuing Education Courses

Nurse Continuing Education Coursework is offered in diverse formats such as seminars, workshops, conferences, or classes offered by nursing schools. Continuing education coursework may be completed within traditional campus-based programs or via distance learning programs. Online study offers a convenient option for working nurses who are juggling multiple responsibilities to meet continuing education requirements. Online courses may involved only a few hours per week if taking one or two classes, or one to two years if enrolled n a master’s or post-master’s program.

Regardless of the format in which you take continuing education credits you want to ensure that the credits are approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) an arm of the American Nurses Association. In most cases, courses approved by the ANCC will be accepted by your state board.

RNs Continuing Education Courses for Advanced Practice Nurses

Registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN), associate’s degree in nursing (ADN/ASN), or diploma in nursing may pursue a master’s degree within a traditional classroom program or via distance learning. A master’s degree will permit nurses to assume the role of Advanced Practice Nurse (APRN). Advanced practice nurses include nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), nurse midwife (NCM), and nurse anesthetist (CRNA). Most master degree programs may be completed in eighteen to twenty four months of full time study or three to four years of pat time study. Coursework taken as part of the master’s program will fulfill continuing education requirements. Typical master’s coursework includes;

• Clinical pharmacology
• Advanced clinical practice in patient care
• Holistic nursing
• Nursing theory and practice
• Health care policy and planning
• Health economics
• Nursing Leadership and Administration
• Health assessment and treatment planning
• Patient care management
• Medical ethics
• Patient  and family education in preventative care and disease management

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Is Nursing Right For Me?

Even with the looming news of a countrywide nurse shortage and the projection of a good paying and stable job for new nurses, the question would be, “is nursing just for everyone?” The “rush for gold”, the dreams of landing the most promising career and joining the cushioned class of workers could be leading you something that you have never figured-out quite well what it all entails. In this guideline, we will give you the full picture of what becoming a nurse entails and whether it is the right career for you. Basically, it’s just answering some of these questions that will help you know whether you are up-to a nursing career.

Nursing-What is Nursing?

Well, this could be the first question you should be asking yourself if you are thinking of becoming a nurse. Nursing entails working under the supervision of a physician most of the time giving basic care to patients. Depending on the level of education you will have, you will do tasks that range from bathing patients, administering drugs, simple diagnosis and healthcare managerial jobs.  What a nurse does precisely depend on polices governing the work scope of nurses in the state they are working in and their level of training. In this regard, a licensed practical nurse (LPN) would have to do more bedside care than a registered nurse who has earned an associate or bachelors degree. Similarly, some states allow LPNs to administer drugs while in other states it is prohibited.

What Does the Typical Life of a Nurse Look Like?

To be quite frank, nurses do not enjoy as much freedom like other careers. Usually, nurses work on 12-hours shifts that can be either day or nights. However, there are no rigid rules of when a nurse can be on duty as they can be called upon anytime. It is always good to be prepared for emergency situations that could mean you going back to work even after completing your normal shift or having to extend shifts for long beyond your stipulated hours.

Activities in a typical day include but not limited to having hospital rounds with the physician, supervising junior staff like the nursing assistants and practical nurses, administering all types of therapy, counseling among others. Other nurses may be in managerial positions and this would involve some kind of administrative work while other still do not see doors of hospital and instead work with communities.

Rush for Money versus Calling/Passion?

As much the nursing career sounds a lucrative one, one must distinguish an illusion versus clarity.  It is easier for people who are passionate about caring for the sick than those seeking returns. Think of nursing as a messy career that will involve you having to do some unpleasant tasks like bathing patients. If such a question would be difficult to answer, it could be wise if you decided to start at the very basic level like a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) before committing too much time only to relent later. If you start as a CNA and cannot handle it, then quite frankly it would not be any easier up there even as a Registered Nurse (RN)

Seek Advice-Shadow a Nurse

Maybe this is the best way to know whether nursing is the path you should follow. Having someone to look at and walk in their shoes gives you a correct insight about their career. You will certainly hear their compliments and complains alike about their career. Seek unbiased advice from nurses who have been there for a long time. Shadowing a nurse therefore helps you evaluate whether you would like to be in the position they are in. If you  get pissed-off too often along the way, you may consider changing your career as nursing requires a passionate, patient and caring person.

Self Assessment/Personality

You may have all the future outlooks, salary ranges, various options of becoming a nurse, but at the end of it all, you will spend more than half of your life in your career than on anything else. You must self assess yourself and your decisions must overrule those of any other person. If you understood all of the above situations, ask yourself whether you will want to commit yourself for a lifetime. 

It doesn’t matter what your parents, spouse, friends or those around you are thinking about you. At the end of the day, the career will not involve them one bit. The bottom line is-Do not take a career to impress anyone. It is your career and will form most your other life. Never get into a career that you would dread waking-up the next day to do the same thing, it won’t just work.  

Grades, Prior Experience And Qualifications

Nursing is one of the few programs where students are given strict admission requirements. In almost all universities and colleges, registered nurse programs are not open to any person who feels like applying. Selective and competitive admissions are usually observed in many nursing programs. It would be better if you kept your GPA scores high to be on the safe side during selection processes.

Some prior related work experience may be used to give students more points in an admission ranking system. If you have no experience, you may lose a chance to get into the nursing profession. On the other hand, no students can be allowed to take licensure as a nurse if they have un-cleared felonies, are involved in drugs or have some limiting medical conditions like TB, hepatitis etc.

Making the Decision

Careful evaluation of each of the above situations may help you conclude whether the nursing career is for you. If you obviously do not fit, do not force your way, do not get a career just for the sake of it.