A nurse is a licensed professional who deals with the patients on a day to day basis. You will be the one to see to the needs of the patient as well as perform basic clinical tasks like drawing blood, getting samples and administrating medications. These are not simple tasks and it takes a licensed professional to be able to do all these. This is the reason why you must undergo nurse training before you can become a licensed nurse.
Theoretical Training
There are two types of nurse training and the first one is theoretical training. Theoretical training consists basically of classroom lectures. A qualified professor or clinical instructor will give you lectures on subject areas related to nursing. The educators of nursing training are mostly licensed nurses as well as other professionals in the field of medicine. Through the theoretical part of the nurse training, you will be able to learn everything that is written in your textbooks. It entails a lot of memorization of medical as well as nursing terms.
Practical Training
The next type of nurse training is practical training where you will now be given the chance to put into practice what you have learned from your classroom instruction. For you practical training, you will be assigned to assist and observe in a hospital setting. This will give you a clear picture of what a nurse really does. You will be able to observe how a licensed nurse performs his duties effectively.
Specialized Training
Nurse training usually takes four years to complete and after that you qualify for a licensure exam. But aside from being a general practice nurse, there are also other fields of nursing that you can specialize in. To do that, you need to further your studies by taking specialized nurse training. Examples of specialized nursing fields are pediatric nursing, mental health nursing and post-operation nursing care.
Higher Education
The education of a nurse does not stop once you become a licensed nurse. After passing the licensure exam, you can still further your education by taking a more advanced nurse training for a higher degree. After completing your Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree, you can aim for a higher degree which is the Master of Science in Nursing or what is commonly called as Master's degree. Next to that is the Doctorate in Nursing degree which is the highest educational attainment for all professions.