Nursing Degree

The Better Alternative for Finishing a Nursing Degree: Go Online

There is a shortage of nurses in the United States these days and that is what’s driving people to take courses in line with health care or nursing. The University of Phoenix Online Nursing Programs are great opportunities for those who are considering pursuing their careers in the health care industry, or shifting from another field – without having to leave their current work.

There are several reasons why there is a shortage of nurses. The major ones include: aging population in the US, the aging population of nurses, and the shift from doctors to skilled nurses in terms of delivery of health care services.

What this points to is that there’s high demand and more opportunities for nurses to advance if they have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree or something higher. Those who want to advance their careers and increase their salaries should complete their degrees. The problem for some is that their work schedule and budget do not allow them to go to the traditional schools.

 

That is where schools like the University of Phoenix (UoP) come in. This school started its online course offerings in 1989. The early Internet-based curricula offered by the UoP didn’t really get a lot of appreciation or consideration. Those days, the traditional campus degrees were the accepted means to complete a degree.

But soon as people realized how inconvenient it is to go from work to school mode every day, the online educational realm started to take shape to accommodate the growing niche market. Soon, people are enrolling and finishing their degrees without even sacrificing their time for their work during the day.

Psychiatric Nursing Practice

Psychiatric Nursing Practice

John Hopkins was the first school of nursing to include a course in psychiatric nursing in its curriculum. The first psychiatric nursing practice was primarily custodial and focused on nutrition, hygiene and activity.

The role of psychiatric nurses expanded as physical therapies for the treatment of mental disorders were developed. Treatments such as insulin shock therapy, psychosurgery and electroconvulsive therapy required nurses to use their medical-surgical skills more extensively.

Psychiatric nursing practice’s areas of concern pertaining to actual or potential mental health problems are some of the following – problems related to emotions such as anxiety, anger, loneliness and grief and behaviors and mental states that indicate that the client is a danger to self or others.

To sum it all, a psychiatric-mental health nurse collects client health data, analyzes the data, develops a plan of care that prescribes interventions to attain outcomes and implements them in the plan of care. Other responsibilities involve counseling interventions to assist clients in improving or regaining their coping abilities, fosters mental health and preventing mental illness and disability.

Psychiatric nurses as therapists are particularly suited to working with those with severe mental illness in the context of daily activities, focusing on the here and now to meet each person’s psychosocial needs. In time, psychiatric nursing practice was institutionalized and added to nursing curricula. Standards of care of clients were developed and practiced.

When legal problems arise, these professional standards are used to determine safe and acceptable practice and to assess the quality of care.

How to Become a Great Nurse Educator

Students can easily identify their “best” and “worst” teachers. They have learned to identify the differences between effective and ineffective teaching. To be effective involves knowledge of educational theory and research, a willingness to learn new roles and teaching methods, and the ability to reflect on one’s own performance.

The teacher who enjoys nursing, shows genuine interest in patients and displays confidence in one’s professional abilities is rated high. Students need to know that they can trust the clinical expertise of the teacher and skills are being demonstrated correctly. A great nurse educator who portrays excellent clinical skills and judgment becomes a positive role model for learners.

Many educators with well-developed interpersonal skills find that good relationships with students evolve almost automatically. The relationship is not unlike the one nurses develop with patients, where professional boundaries must be drawn. With experience, you will learn how to balance the professional role with personal concern for students’ welfare.

Respect, honest communication and openness between a great nurse educator and students create a relaxed atmosphere in which they are able to see you as a role model. Teaching subject matter in a stimulating way and inspiring learner interest hinge on one’s teaching style, personality, personal interest in the subject and use of a variety of teaching strategies.

At the beginning of a teaching/learning relationship, expectations should be clearly expressed. Complaints of unfairness may be minimized if student evaluation is based on known criteria and if those criteria are pertinent to the learning objectives.