What Type of Nursing Classes Should You Take?

Sep 22
08:24

2010

jamaicawillson

jamaicawillson

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Are you interesting in working as a nurse, or nurse assistant? Is the caring for the sick and unable close to your heart? Are you a nurturing kind of person? Do you have the patience it takes to care and help a sick person? If the answer for these questions is positive, a nursing career may be the career of your choice.

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Are you interesting in working as a nurse,What Type of Nursing Classes Should You Take? Articles or nurse assistant? Is the caring for the sick and unable close to your heart? Are you a nurturing kind of person? Do you have the patience it takes to care and help a sick person? If the answer for these questions is positive, a nursing career may be the career of your choice.

If you have started looking for nursing programs, you have probably realized what a big choice of nursing classes, programs and degrees are offered. You may have become confused about what is the best choice for you.

If you want to take a short course and start working immediately, you should probably look into taking a certified nurse assistance (CNA) class. CNA classes are short: They range from only a few weeks if you take them full time, and up to 3-4 months if you take a part time course. The prerequisites are low: you don't even need to have a high-school diploma in order to enter. You can often start working as a nursing aid even before having the certification, but if you want to widen your options and get a better salary you should take a CNA class first.

CNA classes are offered by universities and colleges, but also by many hospitals, nursing facilities, the Red Cross and charity organizations. Some of these places offer these classes for free; In others you may start working as a nurse assistant while taking the course.

While a CNA class is short and accessible, the certificate it gives is not an actual nursing diploma. In order to become an actual nurse, you must take a longer course. The next level program would be an LPN (also called LVN) program. An LPN is a licensed practical nurse (or licensed vocational nurse). With this license you may work as an actual nurse in hospital or other health care facilities. LPN programs will typically take 2 years to complete, and are offered by many colleges and universities.

The most popular license for nurses is a registered nurse (RN) license. A registered nurse can have also a managing position, and can perform many more nursing tasks than a regular LPN. In order to become a registered nurse you have to first acquire an academic degree - either ASN (associate nurse) or BSN (bachelor degree in nursing), and then go for the RN license. This option of course demands more studies, but gives you many more options of work and a better salary. It also gives you a good basis if you decide to continue your studies to a master's degree, or have a higher nursing license as a nurse practitioner (an NP).

So what is the best choice for you? That is something only you can decide. You may prefer to take a longer course first and go straight for a higher position, or you may decide to start with a shorter program to check if this career suits you, or because you want to start working right away and are not a student type of person. Good luck in whatever choice you make!