Being a registered nurse offers you the opportunity to join the Nursing profession. This will significantly impact your responsibilities and how you do your work. Anyone with an RN BNS qualification earns quite a respectable salary, and there are plenty of online RN programs you can join to help you achieve this status.
However, a Certified Registered Nurse has to graduate from a nursing program and then take an NCLEX-RN exam. The associate nursing degree only serves as the minimum requirement, and some employers will choose only to hire nurses with a Bachelor’s degree.
Who is a Registered Nurse?
A Certified Registered Nurse has completed all of the educational requirements. This can either be an associate in a nursing degree or a bachelor’s degree, including all clinical nursing requirements and must have passed the NCLEX-RN exam to earn licensure in the state they practice.
Becoming an RN means that you can provide round-the-clock care to patients in hospitals, outpatient care centers, physician’s offices, and residential care facilities. This job includes recognizing the patient’s abnormalities, administering medication, and assessing the patients while maintaining communication with healthcare professionals.
After going through all the steps to becoming a nurse and earning a nursing degree, the RN BNS qualification allows you to advance and become a clinical nurse specialist, or a certified registered nurse or a nurse practitioner, or a nurse anesthetist.
Steps to Becoming a Nurse
Every RN BNS certification follows the same steps for licensure. The requirements will, however, vary, depending on the state. Here’s a look at the process;
Step One: Completing the prerequisites for the RN BNS
Whether pursuing a BSN or ADN degree, you must complete a liberal in math, science, and arts prerequisites. The common ones include physiology, basic anatomy, psychology, anatomy, and biology.
Step Two: Earning the Degree
A four-year RN BNS degree is an in-depth educational course that happens in multiple training in leadership and disciplines, including clinical nursing and interpersonal communication. A two-year ADN degree will help cover all of the nursing fundamentals that can fast-track your journey to becoming an RN.
Online RN programs can also help you become a Certified Registered Nurse.
Step Three: Passing the NCLEX Exam
After you graduate, you can apply for licensure after six weeks. Then, you can register for the NCLEX-RN exam, which is a computerized test that requires you to complete around 75 questions. It takes about six hours to complete.
Step Four: Finding Employment
Regardless of your path to education, it would be best if you always were proactive in searching for a job. This will mean activating all of your college networks and job resources before graduating. You should try and make an impression during the clinical rotation to find potential employers.
Step Five: Earning your Board Certification
A certified Registered Nurse who wishes to receive greater recognition in their career and become board certified will need to have at least two or more years in clinical experience with a specialty focus. They must pass the exam as well.