Requirements For Nursing – Exactly What You Need
Prerequisites For Nursing
When it comes to the prerequisites for nursing they all lead towards the final nursing requirement, which is having your nursing license, which is done by applyling for licensure through your state. Now the road to attaining your nursing licenses can differ from other aspiring nurses, but when it all comes down to it, below are the prerequisites for nursing that you will most likely have to attain to gain nursing employment:
- A high school diploma or GED – Although some states allow one to take certain knowledge evaluations that can allow one to bypass this requirement, which are tests to make sure one is able to learn in a nursing degree course environment. Taking certain courses like chemistry, biology, anatomy & physiology in high school will better prepare one for college classes, which is why this prerequisite for nursing is most always required.
- Accredited Degree – An accredited nursing degree can be attained from a myraid of colleges accross the United states, which some of these accredited degrees can include; Associates of Science in Nursing (ASN), Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN), Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN), RN to BSN, accelerated nursing programs, Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) and more, which the level attained will all depend on what your career goals are. When it comes to prerequisites for nursing, an accredited degree will give one the most up to date knowledge, as accredited nursing programs are reviewed and granted accreditation by organizations designated by the US Department of Education, which only the best schools can attain accreditation, which in turn will show employers that one is both dedicated and highly qualified when one goes to apply for a nursing position. Now it should be known that not all states required an that you get your degree from an accredited nursing school in order to take the nursing competency evaluation, but one should always do their best to attain a degree from an accredited program, because when it comes to the prerequistes for nursing degrees for higher degrees, the major prerequisite for admission is that you got a degree from an accredited institution. When searching for accredited nursing programs, there are two main accrediting agencies that you should look for, those being the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). When it comes to the minimum prerequisites for nursing employment, a minimum on an accociates degree is required.
- NCLEX – Passing National Council Licensure EXam (NCLEX) is the major prerequisite needed for nursing and your ticket to nursing employment. Each state provides the NCLEX to aspiring nurses, which the test consists of anywhere from 85 to 205 questions and is an adaptive test, taken on a computer, where the more one answers questions correctly, the harder they get as well as vice versa. One will either pass when they have attained enough points, or end if one doesn’t meet the certain minimum requirements. Each state has different rules, but one is generally aloud to take the NCLEX up to 6 times, which they can do 3 times in one year, which if they fail all three times then they must attain education from a nursing program that is approved by ones state board of nursing, which after the program is completed an passed the individual will be aloud to take the NLCEX up to 3 more times. Once one has completed the exam, they will receive their test results in the mail within a week to at most 4 weeks. As far as prerequisites for nursing degrees required for NCLEX test taking go, a minimum of an associates degree is demanded.
Now this is the most taken route, but is should be known that there are other avenues that one can take to that will suffice the requirements for nursing employment, which include doing a hospital diploma program which takes around 2 to 3 years to complete as well as doing your training through a vocational school.
Now these are the general prerequisites for becoming a nurse, which all needed to be attainined in order to work as a nurse. But being that different degrees offer different admission requirements, the prerequisites for nursing degrees range, which in order to make sure that you attain the right admission prerequisites for nursing school, you will want to either contact your school or visit the nursing program website through the school your are wishing to do your training through.