What do I have to do to become a Registered Nurse?

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If you have decided that nursing is your dream career, then you must start working towards your goal. The three main steps that you have to pursue in order to be a registered nurse are: complete a nursing program, get enough clinical experience and, finally, obtain licensure. We’ll explore these requirements right away. Before, you should know that, as a registered nurse, you will work in various healthcare facilities and your main duties will be educating and treating patients and offer them support on different health topics including nutrition, illness, exercise, recovery and injuries. The most common responsibilities are maintaining the medical records up to date, observing the patients and administering the treatments. Now, let’s see what you need to become a registered nurse.

Meet the Education Requirements

Before becoming a professional registered nurse, you need to enroll in a bachelor degree, associate degree or diploma program. The last two programs will last maximum 3 years and the bachelor’s degree program in nursing takes 4 years to complete. Throughout these programs, you will gain both classroom and clinical experience. Thus, you will be offered trainings in clinical settings in order to get a glimpse of what this profession implies. AllNursingSchools.com states that the main course topics studied in a nursing program are nursing theory and practice, anatomy, psychology, microbiology, nutrition and chemistry. The bachelor’s degree might also include classes such as informatics and nursing management and leadership.

Get the Clinical Experience

Every registered nurse will need clinical experience to show that they can work directly with the patients. The nursing programs will include this clinical work in their curriculum and you will have to complete these hours in order to graduate. The nursing students train in a wide array of clinical settings including hospitals and health center; they will be supervised by experienced nurses. During the training, they will observe the different nursing procedures, learn how to work with specialized equipment, and how to deal with different types of situations and patients. If you choose to follow a bachelor’s degree program, you will have to complete more hours of clinical work as compared to the students who follow diploma or associate degree programs.

Obtain the License

The final step in becoming a registered nurse is earning the license that will allow you to legally practice nursing. Before getting licensed, you will need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, which is the National Council Licensure Examination specialized for those who want to become registered nurses. You can take the computer-adaptive exam only after you have completed your chosen nursing program. Other licensure requirements or jurisdictional testing might be required depending on the state you want to work in. For example, some states require health screenings or background checks, so verify these requests before applying for a license.

So, these are the main three steps that you need to follow in order to be a registered nurse. Once you have obtained this status, you can also complete continuing education in order to maintain the nursing license active. At the same time, a master’s degree in nursing is available for those who want to have management positions.