Anything You Need to Know About Associate Degree in Nursing

Anything You Need to Know About Associate Degree in Nursing

 

The different multiple entry points into becoming a registered nurse include the Associate in Nursing (which is also termed ADN), BS Nursing or BSN, diploma in nursing, and last is entering directly in graduate programs of nursing. Such options have made it confusing for the public especially to those who would like to pursue nursing as a profession. One of the options, Associate Degree in Nursing is the main focus of this discussion.

The programs for ADN started in 1952 when Mildred Montag, a nurse and also an educator from Columbia University took it as a subject of her dissertation. According to Montag’s study, the 2-year associate degree programs is possible, by cutting short the time needed to educate nursing students, because during that time, they are required to study for 3 years for them to obtain a diploma. During that time, there was a big shortage on nurses because the war has just ended.

About 60 percent of new-minted nurses in the US are from associate degree programs. The associate degree program helps students prepare for beginning a career in professional nursing practice. After completing an accredited program which takes two years, the graduates are qualified for the NCLEX which means National Council Licensure Exam.

Typical associate degree in nursing course takes seventy to eighty hours per semester. The curriculum includes nursing theory as well as varied clinical experiences which provide skills for care centered towards the patients in different situations. Opportunities for employment are in an intensive care units, private clinics and agencies for the community.

Listed here are some of the positive sides to associate degree in nursing:

• Lower cost of education compared to BSN
• It will take lesser time in finishing the course because it only takes 2 years.
• Services to isolated areas can be facilitated
• Local people are given the chance to work and gives them the chance to render service to their community
However, there are also drawbacks on associate degree in nursing and listed here are some of these:
• A number of applicants who are qualified are not shortlisted or they still need to wait because the class size of ADN is limited and many are applying to get in
• The co requisites in most programs are considered as prerequisites
• Students in some scenario are forced to re enroll in science and other subjects for a good standing so that they can equal other candidates in very competition-oriented process of admission into program.
• It happens that many students are not given the recognition they deserve, academically speaking for extra hours in the semester and their difficult work.
• They often get bedside nurse positions because they lack educational qualifications for management, education, and other roles.
Lastly,
• There are fewer opportunities available for advancement in the field they chose because many associate degree nurses fail to cope up with the stressful clinical environment as they age.

With this, consider the options before choosing your career path. It is also necessary to think twice and ponder on your options so that you maximize your time and resources for the fulfilling career you would like to achieve.

Nurse Certifications in the Emergency Department

Certifications in the ED

For those nurses who would like to experience challenges and surge of adrenaline, then applying for a position in the Emergency Department is recommended. Emergency Department or more commonly known as ED is one of the main component of a hospital. Here is where patients are rushed in for urgent situations such as accidents, stab wounds, gun shots, poisoning and the likes. In order to be an Emergency Department nurse, you are required to have several certifications and qualifications in hand. In this article, you will be able to know what certifications are usually wanted or needed for you to become an ED nurse.

These nurses are those who are front liners when it comes to initial patient care. They are very keen when it comes to assessment of the patient, flexible but follows basic nursing principles, sharp when it comes to categorizing the patients according to their conditions (ED triage nurses), acts quickly but accurately, and can handle a lot of pressure. They give primary care to preserve life such as initial pulmonary – cardiac support and first aids.

Nurses who want to apply in the ED often have the problem of thinking what they might be asked for. For you to become and ED RN, you must have BLS or Basic Life Support, ACLS or Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and a little of Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course or ENDPC certification. If you want a little extra boost in your vitae, you can also opt to acquire Trauma certifications such as TNCC or Trauma Nursing Core Course, and/ or TNS (Trauma Nurse Specialist – which is only recognized in Illinois) and CEN or Certified Emergency Nurse. You must, however keep in mind that most hospitals offer now additional pay or incentives for extra certifications, so you may as well take the minimum certificates required for you to become an ED. However, at some point, you may wonder if you should only be acquiring minimum certificates in order to become an ED nurse. If you feel like taking it a little further than you have to, don’t hesitate to do it because the better it will be for you. Nurses should try hard to continuously elevate their standards not only for the sake of passing the requirements but for their own professional growth as well. Many new ED nurses would like to acquire all the certifications needed for ED – this is a good thing, because they can be very flexible as an ED nurse in the future compared to those who have taken the minimum requirements. ACLS, BLS, Standard First Aid, Peds and Trauma certifications should be obligatory for Emergency Department nurses.

Because of a lot of required certificates, some nurses tend to overlook the CEN certification. However, this is not recommended. CEN or Certified Emergency Nurse is a national qualification which confirms that you have undergone basic training and learned the primary competencies as an ED RN. If you want to exceed expectations, you should invest in study materials and take the test needed for it.

Helpful Tips on Becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant

Helpful Tips on Becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant

Out of the approximately 1,162,124 lawyers in practice today, 25 percent of them deal with medical malpractice and similar personal injury lawsuits. For these, lawyers need the assistance of a legal nurse consultant. A legal nurse consultant is a registered or licensed nurse who uses his or her skills and knowledge as a healthcare provider for consultation purposes on medically relevant legal cases. LNCs assist lawyers in examining medical records and understanding medical terminologies, jargons and medical procedures to determine the best step for the legal case. The lawyer and the legal nurse consultant will work hand in hand for the betterment of the case.

Legal nurse consultants can practice their profession throughout in both rural and urban areas. Cases which LNCs deal with involve simple leg fracture caused by a car accident to high profile medical cases like medical malpractice and more.

The consultants have the choice of working independently from their homes for attorneys, either on a part-time or full time basis. Others render their service to give consultations to government agencies, insurance companies, and private corporations.

So what does a nurse need to possess or to know in order to become a legal nurse consultant?
A consultant must possess qualities such as dedication to their work as well as persistence. One should be capable of accurately interpreting the medical situations and be able to read the medical record properly.

To make things clear, listed here are some of the functions performed by the legal nurse consultant:

• They review the case for its merit
• Help the attorney-client by interpreting medical jargons and records while explaining the technical nursing terminologies, plans as well as treatment for diagnosed diseases.

• LNCs perform research on related literatures which are applicable the specific situations and present it as a simplified paper
• Legal nurse consultants are responsible for reviewing, analysis and summarization of depositions
• They prepare for the deposition and preparation for the trial
• LNCs also attend case trials as well as hearings in court
• They assist witnesses for the case

For those professionals who practice as legal nurse consultant only, there are no specified specialty areas and the cases which they will handle involve all field of medicine. They will accept and review all types of cases and if one feels not confident enough to handle a case, sub-contracting can be an option and not to refuse a case because of little or no clinical experience in the area in question.

There are trainings involved in becoming a legal nurse consultant and these areas are focused on nursing standards, clinical nursing and medicine which link medical law but the “Law” is not the domain of the legal nurse consultant and so, understanding only the essentials is necessary.
Here is a brief list of clients that benefit from the services of Legal Nurse Consultants:

• Attorneys
• Insurance companies for adjudicating claims
• The Healthcare facilities
• Government agencies and private corporations (consulted in risk identification and management, forming strategies for the development of corporate quality assurance, valuation and the minimizing of a company’s loss exposure)

The conclusion is, any registered nurse who would like to become a legal nurse consultant should train on how to become one and should persevere because this profession is not that easy. It takes a lot of hard work to become successful in this field and so with other endeavors.

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