Get your feet wet before you start your Nursing education

Are you looking into nursing career? Who is not? Nursing is the hottest career right now with respect job outlook and salary potential. In 2014 there were 2.75 million nurses were working and we will need 439, 000 more nurses by 2024, the job outlook is 16%, much faster than average. In 2015, median pay of nurses are $67,000 per year or $32 per hour. (Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Is nursing the right career for me?

Isn’t it a million dollar question? Everything look great with job outlook and salary. You don’t have to work too hard landing a job when you earn RN (Registered Nurse) credential. Education requirement for nursing is at 2 years for ADN (Associate’s) and 4 years for BSN (Bachelor’s). Coursework is demanding as well as challenging. You need time, financial and emotional commitment to get admitted into a nursing school as well as to graduate from one. After you complete your education when you start working, what if you realized that nursing is not for you. You don’t possess the patience, compassion and empathy for nursing career. Alas, you can’t get your time and money back that you already spent to become a nurse. That’s why it’s always important to get your hands dirty and feet wet before you start your desired career.

 I am listing two options for you which require much less time and effort to get started. Benefit is twofold. First, you can get the taste of nursing career by working with registered nurses and the patients side by side. That way you will learn first if nursing career is a good fit for you in the long term.

Secondly, many good hospitals, long term care nursing homes or skilled nursing homes has great tuition reimbursement for employees who wants to advance their career in nursing. This option will save you a boatload of money towards your tuition and fees.

Here are the two options for you:

1.     Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)

Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) provide basic nursing care. They work under the direction of registered nurses and doctors. The median annual wage for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses was $43,170 ($20.76 per hour) in May 2015.

LPNs and LVNs must complete an approved educational program. These programs award a certificate or diploma and typically take about 1 year to complete, but may take longer. They are commonly found in technical schools and community colleges, although some programs may be available in high schools or hospitals.

Practical nursing programs combine classroom learning in subjects such as nursing, biology, and pharmacology. All programs also include supervised clinical experience.

Contact state boards of nursing for lists of approved programs.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

After completing a state-approved educational program, prospective LPNs and LVNs can take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN). In all states, they must pass the exam to get a license and work as an LPN or LVN. For more information on the NCLEX-PN examination and a list of state boards of nursing, visit the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

2.     Nursing Assistants (CNA)

Nursing assistants provide basic care and help with activities of daily living. They typically do the following:

·        Clean and bathe patients or residents

·        Help patients use the toilet and dress

·        Turn, reposition, and transfer patients between beds and wheelchairs

·        Listen to and record patients’ health concerns and report that information to nurses

·        Measure patients’ vital signs, such as blood pressure and temperature

·        Serve meals and help patients eat

·        In May 2015, the median annual wages for nursing assistants in the top industries in which they worked were as follows: 

Government	$31,130
Hospitals; state, local, and private	27,820
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	24,700
Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly	24,200
Home health care services	23,620

Education and Training

Nursing assistants must complete a state-approved education program in which they learn the basic principles of nursing and complete supervised clinical work. These programs are found in high schools, community colleges, vocational and technical schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

In addition, nursing assistants typically complete a brief period of on-the-job training to learn about their specific employer’s policies and procedures.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

After completing a state-approved education program, nursing assistants take a competency exam. Passing this exam allows them to use state-specific titles. In some states, a nursing assistant or aide is called a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), but titles vary from state to state.

Nursing assistants who have passed the competency exam are placed on a state registry. Nursing assistants must be on the state registry to work in a nursing home.

(Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook). 

NURSES WITH FOREIGN DEGREE:

How can you become a Registered Nurse (RN) in USA?

Great news! Your education in your country is not a waste of time, in fact, USA values your education in your native country.  There is a two-step process for obtaining a registered nurse license here in the United States. Please make sure you understand that work permit is united states is a different process which is managed by USCIS https://www.uscis.gov/file-online . In this post, I explained how you can evaluate your foreign nursing degree and meet individual state requirement to become a registered nurse.

Step 1- Finding your state requirement

Find out first if your state, where you want to work as a registered nurse, requires your foreign degree to be evaluated by Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). Many states do require CGFNS evaluation and passing their test. If that is the case, send your foreign diploma to  Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) for evaluation of your education in your home country (e.g. India, Russia, China, Philippines etc.); As I mentioned, English language proficiency testing. You may need to take English Language proficiency exam and a predictor exam, an indicator of the nurse's ability to pass the U.S. national licensure exam (NCLEX). Here is their website: http://www.cgfns.org/

Things to look for:

When you are planning to apply for NCLEX exam you need look for three things. It varies from State to state. Depending on your situation, you may need to relocate. Here are three things:

Is Social Security number required or not?

Is English language proficiency required?

Is CGFNS evaluation of foreign diploma required or not?

I have researched and found a great website that can be helpful; here is the link: https://brilliantnurse.com/  This website has information in each state’ requirement which can be very resourceful.

Step 2 - Additional State Requirement

Step 2 is to find out your state requirement. Each state has different requirement that you need to fulfill in order to work in that particular state.  

E.g.  in New York State, you are required to complete NYSED approved infection control course work and child abuse reporting coursework, and pass the NCLEX - RN exam https://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.htm . (Source: http://www.op.nysed.gov/ ).

California state has much stricter guidelines for international diploma holders. Even though Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) examination passing is not required for RN license, California nursing board require your official transcripts of bachelor of nursing degree evaluated by CGFNS (www.CGFNS.org). Candidate also need social security number to apply for eligibility. If the state has doubt on English proficiency, they might ask you to take TOEFL to test your English language proficiency. (http://www.ets.org/toefl ). When you receive a letter of eligibility, then you can take the NCLEX - RN exam https://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.htm . (Source: http://www.op.nysed.gov/ ).

Comparison of Nursing School: Alaska

Alaska is a great opportunity for Registered Nurses. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov), there are 5780 registered nurses in the state of Alaska. RN is one of the highest numbers employed out of all other professionals in healthcare industry as a whole. Here is a comparison to understand the demand of RN compare to other popular professions in healthcare setting in Alaska; currently, there are 500 Physical Therapist, 480 pharmacist, 540 dental hygienist, 580 LPN, 640 Medical health and record technicians, 1750 nursing assistants and 1440 medical assistant compare to 5780 RNs. Undoubtedly, RN has more opportunities and growing exponentially with time.

RN in Alaska are also paid one of the highest in the nation, in fact, it is the fourth top paying state for RN in the nation. Current median hourly wage is $41.12 and annual mean wage is $85, 740. Below is the chart for top 5 states;

State	Employment per thousand jobs	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage
California	16.75	$47.31	$98,400
Hawaii	17.39	$42.42	$88,230
Massachusetts	24.05	$41.23	$85,770
Alaska	17.79	$41.22	$85,740
Oregon	18.44	$39.87	$82,940

If you are planning to enroll to pursue RN program in Alaska it is critical for you to choose the right school, the school which is approved by board of nursing, accredited by ACEN, good passing rate in NCLEX and above all an affordable school. Here are few links for you to find the right school for you. However, if you need one on one advice, you can always write to me for help navigating these links which will direct you to the right school convenient to your location.

There are only two schools listed under nursing board, Alaska. University of Alaska Anchorage, school of nursing should be the number one choice since it has both board approved and accredited by ACEN. The other school Charter College only offers Associate degree in RN which is not widely desirable for employers, most of them looking for BSN. And also, they are not yet accredited by ACEN. Here is the link of ACEN page.

http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programsearch.asp

And here is the link for Alaska Board of Nursing page.

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardofNursing/ApplicantInformation/Education.aspx

Instate tuition for University of Alaska Anchorage is $5494 for one academic year (2014-2015) compare to $19, 532 for Charter College.