Online or distance education is a convenient way to get your nursing degree and discount landau scrubs, especially if you’re tied to other obligations such as work and family. If you are planning to get a nursing degree (or advanced degree), however, you have to make a thorough self-assessment to determine if you have the discipline to succeed and finish it. Online education is not for everyone, needless to say. It requires a lot of discipline and independence. It also suits some personalities and learning styles more than others. Once you’ve determined that distance learning is for you, the next step critical step is choosing the right online school or provider. You have to be very careful about choosing a distance education provider especially because the internet is a hotbed of scams and people out to get your money. Because healthcare online programs are abundant, scams and mediocrities are also abundant. Below are some guidelines to help you choose a reliable provider.

Accreditation

When searching for an online program, the first thing you want to check is accreditation. Not just because it says in the website that it is “accredited” that you should already trust the program. It should be accredited by a legitimate and recognized accrediting organization. The program’s or school’s accrediting agency should appear in the database of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. There are a lot of fake agencies proliferating in the internet and if you earn a degree with one of these schools with fake accreditation your credentials will be no good for a job placement.

Licensing

The healthcare sector is strictly regulated by national and state licensing boards. If you wish to pursue an online nursing or advanced degree with a certain provider, check that the programs offered by the provider meet industry standards, particularly in the state where you are planning to work. Research your state’s licensing requirements for registered nurses and check that the provider produced a high rate of “graduates” who passed the licensing examinations and became registered nurses. Only buy an education that will translate to a career transition.

Field experience

Check that the online program offers clinical on-the-field instruction on top of the online, didactic instruction. Learning nursing and other clinical specialties require hands-on experience and are as crucial, if not more so, than textbook instruction. There are many core curriculum courses in nursing that can be learned online through studying lessons but courses that have clinical requirements should be taught and experienced on the field. Be very skeptical about an online school that does not require field experience. Most probably, this online school does not meet the state licensing requirements.

Payment scheme

Watch out for online schools or distance programs that require you to pay the whole amount of your tuition up front in lump sum. Distance schools are susceptible to high dropout rates and these schools are aware of this fact. Some of these dubious schools take advantage of this knowledge and get students to pay for the whole tuition fee and then refuse a refund when after one course the student realizes that the program is not for him or her.

By: Brent McNutt

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Brent McNutt enjoys talking about discount landau scrubs and discount urbane scrubs as well as networking with healthcare professionals online.

Nurses are respected and valued members of the medical community. They play a critical role in the health care field. Although the medical field is made up of many types of nurses, they are all exciting and rewarding careers. The following list outlines many types of nursing careers:

- Registered Nurse (RN): Registered Nurses work in almost all areas of the health care profession. They perform many tasks that include: administering treatments such as medications, performing certain medical procedures, monitoring vital signs, advising and supporting patients, educating patients about medical conditions, and keep families up-to-date on a patient’s status. Registered Nurses can specialize in certain medical areas.

- Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA): Certified Nurse Assistants are also known as nurses’ aides, patient care technicians, home health aides, and home health assistants. CNAs are employed in a number of health care fields. They work in hospitals, nursing homes, private homes, and adult living homes. CNAs perform a number of duties that include: monitoring health such as recording a patients temperature, pulse, and respiration, helping patients eat, bathe, and dress, helping patients walk, keeping patients rooms in order, providing nutritious meals, answering patients’ call bells, and making beds. They may also help patients to exam rooms and even assist with simple procedures. CNAs report to a Registered Nurse.

- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN): Although Licensed Practical Nurses have less training than Registered Nurses, they are employed in all areas of health care. They work in hospitals, nursing homes, and medical clinics. LPNs perform such duties as monitoring a patient’s overall condition, giving injections, recording vital signs, and applying dressings. They will also assist patients with personal hygiene and report any treatment reactions.

- Critical Care Nurse: A Critical Care Nurse works with seriously injured and ill patients in the hospital. This type of nurse works in the ICU (intensive care unit) or CCU (critical care unit). Their job is to care for patients who are being treated for serious and life-threatening illnesses.

- Travel Nurse: A Travel Nurse is a nurse that travels to different areas and provides short term support when there is a nurse shortage. They will fill in when a full time nurse goes on maternity leave, during peak work times, if a nurse has a long term illness, or if a nurse is on an extended vacation. There assignments are short term but they are highly paid. An assignment usually runs for about 13 weeks. Travel Nurses often work in hospitals and medical clinics. Employers will provide many benefits such as free housing and health insurance.

- Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN): Theses nurses perform the same job function as licensed practical nurses. LVNs provide certain medical services such as giving enemas, treating bedsores, bandaging wounds, and recording vitals. They also assist patients with bathing and dressing.

- Public Health Nurse (PHN): These nurses are registered nurses who have specialized in community health. They often go to community centers, homes, and schools where they assist individuals and families with health concerns. They work with community organizers regarding health related issues. They also perform the same duties as registered nurses.

- Nurse Practitioner: A Nurse Practitioner is a registered nurse who has specialized training and education which allows them to carry out many tasks normally performed by a doctor. Such tasks include diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries. Some states allow practical nurses to write prescriptions.

These are just a few of the more popular areas of nursing. Nurses are on the front lines of health care and are usually the first people patients meet when faced with a health issue. Nurses provide valuable support for patients and their families making them an indispensable part of the health care community.

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As more people are searching for ways to be and stay healthy, there has been a growing interest in holistic treatment methods within the healthcare industry. Especially with conditions such as various cancers or where patients need long-term care. Though the actual results and the benefits are often debated by medical professionals, most admit that when a patient is in a good place emotionally, it only enhances their treatment. Thus, the popularity of holistic treatments is growing and there is an increasing demand for holistic medical professionals. This is especially true in the nursing profession as nurses usually have more interaction with patients.

Holistic nursing is broadly defined as using nursing knowledge and practices in conjunction with other psychological, spiritual, social, interpersonal, and biological skills to treat the whole patient as in mind, body, and spirit (in contrast to traditional nursing which only focuses on treating the medical condition). To some degree, all nurses can be seen as holistic practitioners due to the nature of the profession. All nurses give comfort and help their patients understand what is happening to them. However, there are distinct differences between holistic and traditional nursing.

Though both traditional and holistic nurses are required to be licensed by their state nursing board, holistic nurses usually have (and in some cases are required to have) additional training. This training is geared toward the techniques that promote psychological, spiritual, and mental health. The training of Holistic nursing promotes wellness through means other than exercise, medicine, and nutrition. They also promote stress free and a calming atmosphere, working through emotional issues and setbacks, and finding inner peace. In addition, like other nursing specialties there are certifications for holistic nursing.

Traditional nursing is often limited in the methods that can be used in order to treat a patient. Typically, there are policies and procedures that guide the actions, responses and behavior of a traditional nurse. To be more specific, aside from medical treatment, comfort, advice, and kindness there is little else that a traditional nurse can do to treat their patients. On the other hand, a Holistic nurse is encouraged to use creativity in their methods of treating patients. A holistic nurse is free to use treatment methods that include but are not limited music therapy, calming techniques, guided imagery, art and animal assisted therapy, an anxiety reduction, as well as a host of other techniques to treat their patients. These techniques fall within one of a few categories or modalities of holistic nursing. Holistic nurses can become specialized in one of the modalities or use a mixture to treat patients. The most common modalities are manipulative and body-based practices such as massage therapy, mind-body medicine like yoga, biologically based practices that include herbal therapy, and energy medicine such as magnetic therapy.

Aside from the methods and ideology, the other major distinction in traditional nursing and holistic nursing is the types of patients that they treat. Traditional nurses treat all types of patients with various backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, social status, and medical conditions. They treat infants to the elderly with everything from a common cold to cancer. Although holistic nurses are trained to treat every type of patient, they usually treat patients with severe medical conditions. These types of conditions include, but are not limited to severe burns, terminal patients, cancer patients, or those who need long term care. It is typically these patients who will be under the care of a nurse long enough for the nurse to be able to focus on the whole person and not the just the medical condition. Yet, with the increase in popularity of holistic nursing, the type of patient that they treat is increasing.

Since there is a difference in the type of patient that is treated by traditional nurses and holistic nurses, there is a difference in where they are most commonly found. Traditional nurses are found at every type of healthcare facility and they are typically able to get a job at any type of healthcare firm or organization. However, while holistic nurses can work at hospitals, the majority of holistic nurses are usually found at the more specialized healthcare facilities and firms that cater to their particular type of patient.

The holistic approach has been noted as effective for some patients and many more are attempting to incorporate a holistic approach to their medical treatment. Like traditional nursing, holistic nursing is a booming career path today. In addition, more and more nursing programs are offering holistic components in classes and providing the training regimen and exam preparation for holistic nursing certifications. Right now, it is still much easier to obtain a job as a traditional nurse, but there are resources for holistic nurses. The American Holistic Nurse Association is a great resource for anyone considering holistic nursing as a specialty.

Sandy Darson is a freelance writer who writes about the nursing profession. Mr. Thomas often writes about specific items used in nursing such as nursing uniforms.