Preparing for High-Impact Roles Through Hands-On Professional Training
High-impact careers are almost always the byproduct of years of training and preparation. Certainly, this is never more true than in healthcare.
Doctors spend almost 17 years in school and training, from college to the moment that they are ready to work independently.
Nurses may take five to seven years, depending on the route they take. All of this learning and preparation is a core element of ensuring they are ready for the high-pressure environment that they will be entering.
In this article, we take a look at how hands-on training influences the journey into a nursing career.
We will look at what it takes to become a nurse, what your options are for expanding your responsibilities and redefining your role, and how you can potentially speed up the process to get your nursing certification quicker without sacrificing preparation.
Overview
All nurses have a college degree. Most will hold a BSN, though some may limit themselves to the Associates-level version of the credential, an ASN.
Associate certifications can be accomplished in two years, often at a community college, while a BSN generally takes four years.
The biggest difference between an ASN and BSN recipient is the scope of responsibilities. People with a BSN are generally able to do more and have more options in terms of career trajectory.
The process for a BSN recipient looks something like this: you begin college as a freshman, completing undergraduate requirements while also accomplishing about 30-40 credit hours of nurse-specific education.
Thirty to forty credit hours translates into approximately three full semesters of nursing education.
Additionally, BSN recipients are required to complete clinical rotations, generally consisting of one or two days per week at a hospital, observing and assisting as much as possible. Clinical rotations allow nurses to learn skills on the job while practicing elements of nursing in a lower-stakes environment.
Once the nursing student graduates, they must take the NCLEX, after which they will be able to work in a hospital environment.
Accelerated Pathways
There are also accelerated options for people who already have a college degree. ABSN programs, as they are often called, take about 12-18 months to complete.
The reason they are quicker is that they allow the nursing student to focus only on healthcare-specific course requirements.
As mentioned earlier, these classes can generally be completed in about three semesters when taken full-time. An ABSN is an intensive course of study that concentrates all of the requirements in a short period of time.
Degree holders also have a certification-only route option. In this case, they take nursing-specific classes at a timeline that makes sense to them. Instead of taking five classes at a time, they might take two.
This route can take two to three years to complete, but it is less strenuous.
Achieving Additional Certifications
Once a nurse has gone through the educational pipeline, they have the opportunity to increase their responsibilities through additional certifications or degrees.
For example, if you’re interested in forensic nursing, holistic nursing, school nursing, or many other career paths, there are certification options available to help you get there. These certifications are often highly dependent on hands-on training.
The process generally looks like this: you identify the specialization you are interested in, then begin applying for positions.
If a decision-maker takes an interest in your application, they may hire you conditionally under the requirement that you complete all steps to certification over a set period of time.
The primary responsibility is to complete the work under the supervision of someone who is already certified. The general requirement is a few hundred hours, though the actual number varies depending on the specialization.
This process reinforces the importance of hands-on experience. There may also be coursework and a certification exam at the end of the experience.
Graduate degrees are a bit different. They involve more classroom time in addition to clinical rotation requirements.
Through graduate degrees, nurses can occupy advanced practice positions. Nurse practitioner roles are the most common, though there are other options as well.
Many pursue these careers because advanced practice nurses can earn a six-figure salary within their first year and take on a higher level of responsibility.
Nurse practitioners are able to write prescriptions, diagnose patients, and develop treatment plans independently. Hands-on training remains a core requirement.
In their case, they go through similar clinical rotations as aspiring RNs, but in the context of advanced practice nursing.
The Importance of Hands-On Training
The importance of nurse practitioner clinical rotations is obvious to anyone who has ever been in the position of training for a high-pressure career that hands-on experience is critical.
Itâs not only about seeing a physical demonstration of concepts previously learned in booksâitâs also about feeling what itâs like to be on the job. This is a consideration that is far more important than many people realize.
Nursing has a high turnover rate because the work is far more challenging than can be expressed through academic study alone.
People know the work will be hard, but they often cannot fathom exactly how difficult it will be until they experience firsthand human tragedy as a regular part of their daily routine.
By participating in clinical rotations, students are able to better visualize what life will be like as a practicing nurse.
Additionally, they may develop important contacts they can rely on later for support, mentors who understand what they are going through and have been there themselves.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that clinical rotations and other forms of hands-on training, regardless of their worth, are an ingrained part of the process that is not going anywhere.
You can debate their merit if you want, but you will still need to complete them. Most nurses understand that hands-on training is a worthwhile, even if sometimes tedious, requirement.
Yes, it can delay or postpone your ability to advance your career. And yes, it can feel tedious if you are already working as a nurse in a hospital. But the ultimate experience is still positive: you learn valuable skills, develop potentially impactful relationships, and contribute positively to your healthcare community in the process.
