How Does Education Help You In Your Nursing Career?

The right education is critical to becoming a nurse. Nursing is a notable profession that impacts many people for good as they face injuries, diseases, and other physical issues for which they need medical help.

You might be tempted to think that you can’t be a nurse since you have already attained a bachelor’s degree in another field, but the good news is that you can still achieve your dream of being a nurse. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates new nursing positions will open at a rate of over 200,000 opportunities per year for the next decade.

This is a rapidly-growing medical field that offers work stability and versatile work environments.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing

To meet the critical need of adding more nurses to various medical facilities, Rockhurst University offers an accelerated program where you can become a nurse in a shorter time than normal by using previous credits earned in another bachelor’s degree.

If you are wondering how to become an RN with a bachelor’s degree, you can use many of the previously earned credits to fulfill the prerequisites. Once you meet the basic requirements, you can start work on a nursing degree and complete it in sixteen months or less.

This is a wonderful bridge to a new career in a medical setting where you can interact with patients and provide skilled care.

Using your new nursing degree

Once you have completed the foundational nursing courses, you can choose the nursing environment you prefer. You might want to utilize some of the skills from your previous career with your new nursing position as you provide evidence-based care for your patients.

Nurses as lifelong learners

Nursing is a profession in which you are continuing your education throughout your career. As a burn care nurse, you treat patients who have been burned by fire, oil, chemicals, or electricity. When the patients are in the burn unit of the hospital, you give them medications prescribed by the doctors and care for their wounds. Part of your ongoing learning is to learn new treatments for burn victims to help them recover more quickly and go on to live productive lives.

Another aspect of burn care nursing is to monitor the psychological state of your patients. Sustaining severe burns comes with trauma that can cause as much pain as these physical wounds, so trauma recovery can be a big part of providing exceptional care for burn patients. This is why nurses have extended training in areas other than their specific units – so they can help the families of their patients deal with how life might be different once a patient goes home.

Nurses and cultural competence

Nurses are also trained to interact with people of all backgrounds and cultures. This can be a crucial skill to nurture since you are dealing daily with people who are frightened in the hospital and have trouble understanding what is happening to them.

Injured people and those who have chronic diseases can require careful communication so that they can understand the scope of their problems. One way to provide the best patient care is to ask them questions to see if they comprehend what you are explaining so you can make adjustments accordingly.

Nurses and forming patient relationships

Family care nurses are accustomed to interacting with children and their families. If the idea of developing ongoing relationships with patients is what makes you excited, then the family care nurse can be the right role for you.

Many times, you are the first person to see patients in a family care practice as you check their vital signs and discuss concerns with them. You will document the information a patient shares with you so the doctor or nurse practitioner can be prepared when they enter for the visit.

Learning specific approaches to speaking and interacting with your patients can help you develop trust that encourages them to be honest with you. This bond can be a critical part of providing care for them and helping them locate resources they need, such as food assistance and specialized medical care.

Family care nurses can ensure patients are referred to specialists as needed, administer shots and vaccinations, assess lab results, and a host of other responsibilities. There is never a dull day as a family care nurse as you attend to patients of all ages.

Nursing specialties

Choosing a nursing specialty can be enhanced by earning certifications that expand your education and knowledge of specific areas of nursing. Once you become a nurse, you can seek to become more skilled in nursing areas of particular interest.

An example is geriatric nursing. As people age, they have unique physical and mental challenges that require a caring person to help. This can lead you to seek certification in caring for geriatric patients. You collaborate with other medical professionals and your doctor to provide high-quality care to older people.

Transitioning from geriatric nursing to home health can be a continuation of care for elderly people. As you visit them in their homes, you address any physical issues, change surgical dressings, and ensure they have the medications they need. Geriatric nurses and home health nurses also teach patients how to handle simple life tasks as they get older. Many elderly patients forget to take their medications, so you can help them set up a pill box with the daytime and nighttime doses.

Your nursing degree can be the foundation for a lifelong opportunity to finetune your skills and approaches to best care for your patients. This is a profession in which you will be continually expanding your knowledge as new information becomes available.

Medical environments are always changing as new technologies and advanced treatments are discovered, so you can take advantage of learning innovative nursing ideas and approaches. Combined with the backbone of your nursing education, new ideas and experiences will let you expand your horizons in various medical settings.