The Dreaded Nurse Research Paper – Pointers for Success

The Dreaded Research Paper – Pointers for SuccessIf you have finished a graduate school program, then you would also have experienced doing the boon of all graduate students – the much hated research paper assignment. The moment the deadline is given, it will eventually sink in to you that you have so many things to do yet so little time. You then realize that you cannot help but procrastinate. Is there any possible way to break the spell?

There are different research paper styles depending on the graduate program you are in. Initially, one needs to have the “shell” of your paper ready depending on what approach your program entails. Nursing programs usually entail its students to use the APA style of research papers. In order to start you need to set up the first page (title page), the second page (abstract page), and third page (level one heading) and the reference page.

Do not get overexcited after you have the “shells”. Keep in mind that the “shells” are not yet the whole content of your research paper. You can check out page 306 of the 5th edition of the APA manual. You can use it as a sample guide.

The APA formatting and style guide is a really superb source of form. It already has a background framework of the title page and abstract. You can look up the sample reference page located at the APA Sample Reference Page.

When you have finished creating the “shell” for you research paper, you can already say that you have actually started the wheels of your research paper rolling.

For the abstract, research papers usually have three portion. However, here is a formula that is commonly used by many:

The paper uses the compare and contrast method and is separated into three portions: The first fraction examines the object of comparison, the second fraction reviews (can be related to literature significant to the objects being compared) and the final fraction which pictures out the differences and similarities using different perspectives. Inferences and implications for the research and practice are conferred in the paper as well. Please remember that information websites such as Wikipedia is not a scholarly supply of your information. You have to

To study about other intellectual references, you can use dogpile.com metasearch engine or Google Scholar. Look for journal articles using CINAHL. Please keep in mind that Wikipedia and other information websites like it are not a scholarly source of information. You need to differentiate scholarly from non-scholarly sources by researching about legitimate sources of scholarly information. Wikipedia may be an easy source of information, but not all of it are accurate as people can actually tamper with the information being posted which has a tendency for bias and prejudice.

Professors from graduate school usually prefer primary sources instead of secondary and tertiary levels. In order for you to pinpoint primary sources, you may look for secondary sources and search for the reference list of your secondary source. You can try to see whole sections of particular books at Google Books Search. You can use it anytime free of charge. Another resource of information is Questia. You must, however pay for its services at $100/ year, but you will realize that it is all worth it.

The next thing you would do is to start the a rough outline of your paper. A little patience is needed here; don’t be too fastidious in this process as constant proofreading will smoothen the section. The important thing now is to get the ball rolling and start the process.

Everything You Need to Know About the Certified Nurse Educator Examination

Everything You Need to Know About the Certified Nurse Educator Examination

The National League for Nursing created the Certified Nurse Educator Examination as a specialty certification in 2005. It is a credentialing tool for nurses who are have masters and doctoral degree nurse educators. About 1600 currently possess this coveted credential, the rate of passers for the exam is 85%.

Here are the eligibility criteria for initial certification which should be met at the time of application:

For option A, all three of these criteria must be met:

• The person must be an active registered nurse as of the moment in the United States

• One should have either a master’s or doctoral nursing degree majoring or emphasizing education for nurses and 9 or more credit hours of graduate level education subjects

• One should also have a two year or more of full-time employment as an academic faculty in schools and this must be within the past five years for eligibility to take the exam.

For option B, these criteria should be met as well:
• Licensure (One should be an active nurse, registered and with a license eligible in the United States)
• Education (A master’s or if possible, doctorate in nursing with a major which emphasizes a role different from nursing education is necessary)
• Experience of 4 years or more employed full time (this is determined by the institution where the person works) in the academic faculty role within the past five years.

The CNE exam does not involve computer-adaptive test like the NCLEX rather, it is a standard multiple-choice assessment in electronic format which is entirely computer-based. The test consists of 150 multiple choice questions and has a time limit of 3 hours. The exam costs about $375 for NLN member and $475 for those who are nonmembers. These examination cost can be reimbursed by some colleges and universities.

As for the result of the exam, the computer displays individual test scores (whether the examinee passed or not) as soon as candidates are finished with the certification exam so there is no fretful waiting for results.

Months before the exam, one should be able to start refreshing and reviewing for the certification test. There are many primer and reviewer booklets and guides that can be purchased in bookstores or other shops in the internet. The National League or Nurses also recommended reviewing of the following materials:

• The test blue print which will help one to understand how each content area is weighted, and to review the percentage of questions that pertain to each area.
• The recommended reference list which gives the references specific to each of the content areas.
• The Sample questions on the candidate handbook

Reviewing for the Certified Nurse Educator Exam is essential and self-assessment examination booklets are invaluable tools in preparing for the CNE examination. Likewise, reviewing the helpful handbooks used during master’s coursework and other nursing textbooks should also be helpful in preparing for the exam.

There are many benefits of CNE certification for the nurse educator and most important among these is becoming highly qualified and competitive in very tight job market.

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.

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