It’s very important to underline that sometimes geriatric nurses deliver in-home treatment to patients who require regular medical assistance but can care for themselves predominantly on their own. Geriatric nurses can find job in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and community health centers.

Typical responsibilities of a geriatric nurse are the following:

• Assisting physicians during exams and procedures
• Establishing a patient care plan and setting health goals
• Performing patient medical tests in-home or in a medical office
• Administering medications to patients based on a care plan
• Teaching family members about a patient’s condition and how to promote self-care skills

Geriatric Nurse Care

If you plan to work as a geriatric nurse or geriatric nursing assistant in future, then you should consider that a geriatric nursing career includes not only numerous rewards, but a number of challenges. No matter what the superior care they provide, geriatric nurses will endure patient deaths. Besides they will probably encounter patients with diminishing mental capacities who lose their ability to make independent decisions about their health.

As a rule, geriatric nurses are registered nurses (RN) who have completed specialized training or certification in geriatric care or an advanced gerontological nursing degree.You can start your geriatric nursing career with a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Besides nursing schools offer Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees and post-master’s programs for clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) looking to focus their career on gerontological care. MSN degrees take 2 years to complete.

Certification for Geriatric Nurse

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers 3categories of certification for geriatric nurses. There is 1 for RNs and 2 for advanced practice nurses (APNs). If you want to qualify for certification, then you should hold a current, active RN license, have graduated from an accredited nursing school program and meet specific experience criteria:

• Gerontological Nurse Specialist—requires 2 years of practice as an RN, 2,000 hours of practice and 30 hours of continuing education in gerontological nursing in the last 3years.
• Clinical Nurse Specialist in Gerontological Nursing—your CNS in gerontology program must include 500 hours of faculty-supervised clinical practice and course work in advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology.
• Gerontological Nurse Practitioner— your gerontological NP program must include 500 hours of faculty-supervised clinical practice and course work in: advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology.

In addition, training across the life span in health promotion, disease prevention, differential diagnosis and disease management is required.

All requirements for neonatal nurses are established by the institution which uses a list of practice skills to assess nurses’ abilities in using medications, math calculations, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intravenous lines, and other knowledge needed for direct patient care.

Neonatal nurses are required to possess the following skills:

• good interpersonal skills
• an interest in new-born babies
• an empathetic understanding for the parents and other family members
• a good understanding of the physiological and psychological needs of the new-born
• an ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team.
• the competence to work in a highly technical area

Continuing education requirements are mandated by the state or a certifying body. The state board of nursing sets the number of hours required during a 2-3 year period (depending on the time of renewal) to maintain the RN license. As a staff or an advanced practice nurse, an individual may hold national certification. This is an additional exam that demonstrates specialized knowledge in neonatal nursing.

Neonatal Intensive Care

Neonatal nurses work in neonatal intensive care units and take care of acutely ill neonates and premature infants. Besides, neonatal nurses work in mother-baby or newborn nurseries and take care of healthy newborns.

Entry level requirements for neonatal nurses vary. Some hospital or medical centers may require 1 year of adult health or medical surgical nursing while other units hire RNs after graduation from an accredited school or college of nursing who have passed a state board of nursing (NCLEX) exam for licensure. The type and length of nursing experience also varies from one institution to another, but many require no previous experience. It depends on whether positions are plentiful and if a scarcity of qualified nurses exists in that particular area of the country.

Usually it takes 2 or 4 years of university or college education to be prepared as an RN. It depends on whether students attend a bachelor’s- or associate-degree program. Neonatal nursing programs are part of continuing professional development. They contain a range of modules, which specialize in different aspects of neonatal nursing. After graduating, students have to take the state licensing exam to become an RN.

When an individual graduates and has obtained some experience as an RN in a neonatal intensive care unit (the National Association of Neonatal Nurses recommends 2 years), he/she might want to consider going to graduate school to become a neonatal nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist.

Nursing degree programs in Arizona State University

At Arizona State University (also known as ASU, or Arizona State) is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with a workforce of 68,064 students in 2009. ASU is spread over four campuses in metropolitan Phoenix. ASU was founded in 1885 as the Normal School in Tempe, Arizona for the territory in Tempe, Arizona. In 1945, the school came under the control of the board of governors in Arizona and was renamed Arizona State College.

In 1958, a measure of statewide vote of the school renamed Arizona State University. From its original campus in Tempe, ASU expanded in 1984, establishing the West campus in northwest Phoenix, followed by the addition of 1996 Polytechnic campus in east Mesa and the addition 2006 on the campus of downtown Phoenix. All four campuses are accredited as one institution by the Higher Learning Commission. In the 2008-2009 school year, 15,610 students graduated from ASU.In 2009, 156 National Merit scholars chose to attend ASU, many of which are part of Barrett Honors College. According to the Carnegie classification of institutions of higher education, ASU is classified as a research university.

MSN and BSN degree in University of Arizona

The University of Arizona (also known as DU, U of A, or Arizona) is a land grant and space grant institution for public higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States . The University of Arizona was the first university in the State of Arizona, founded in 1885 (twenty-seven years before the territory in Arizona and Chicago). The University of Arizona has the only medical school in Arizona that grants MD. In fall 2007, total enrollment is 36,733 students. The University of Arizona is governed by the Arizona Board of Governors.

The mission of the University of Arizona is “To discover, educate, serve and inspire.” Arizona is an elected member of the Association of American Universities (an organization of institutions in North America leading research) and is the sole representative of the State of Arizona in this group.It has been recognized as a public ivy. The University of Arizona has been approved by the Arizona Territory thief thirteenth Legislature in 1885. The city of Tucson had hoped to receive credit for the psychiatric hospital in the territory, which has made a $ 100,000 grant instead of $ 25,000

Nursing degree in Grand Canyon College

Nursing degree in Cochise Community College

Nursing courses in Pima Community College

Pima Community College (PCC) is a two-year institution of higher education in Pima County, Arizona, serving the Tucson metropolitan area. Community College District consists of six campuses, four education centers and adult education centers in several learning. It provides a traditional education and online for more than 144 programs. The college also offers training for workers, non-credit personal interest classes and post-baccalaureate certificates.

PCC is one of the largest multi-campus community college, the United States, with the rank and ranging from tenth to fourth place. In 1966, voters in Pima County has approved the establishment of a junior college district, and the first classes were held in 1969 at a temporary campus in an aircraft hanger at the airport in Tucson, Tucson Medical Center , Villa Maria, and Marana.The college was originally named Pima College, but the name was changed to Pima Community College in 1972 to better reflect the mission of the College. The campus of Pima College was originally located on the site which is now the West campus. Before the open campus, classes were taught at various locations around Tucson. From 1971 to today, the

Today many nurses still choose to work in the field of medical-surgical nursing.

Medical-surgical nursing has greatly evolved from an starting, entry-level position to an adult, prestigious health specialty. It is no longer underviewed as stepping-stone but is the backbone and solid rock the of every institution. It is the largest group of practicing professionals.

Medical-surgical nurses generally care for adult patients in many settings, for example, such as:

• ambulatory care units
• inpatient care unit
• HMOs
• clinics
• home health care
• urgent care centers
• long-term care
• surgical centers
• skilled nursing homes
• and universities, just to name a few.

As technology evolves, so does nursing. Medical-surgical nurses are everyday on the front lines. They are on the cutting edge of what is exciting and new in nursing. The work is challenging, but rewarding. It is one of the most demanding specialties of all the nursing specialties. Who but special nurses can manage as many as five-seven patients, plus the ones they have admitted and discharged throughout the day? They must juggle their assignment so they can do assessments, administer care, treatments, medications and documentation. Medical-surgical nurses are so resilient they come back the next day to start all over again! Nurses know that the biggest reward is to see someone healed because of their efforts.

Medical-Surgical Nurses Skills

Medical-surgical nurses have a vast set of skills: they have excellent assessment, technical, organizational, and prioritization skills, are knowledgeable in all aspects of adult health, can teach patients, families, peers, and other health professionals.

Military nurses can provide all aspects of traditional nursing care and practice in both war- and peace-time settings using various branches of the military service. Classifications include active duty, civilian employment, reserves, and employers which include the U.S. government an also contract agencies for civilian employment.

It’s important duty for military nurse to understand that in the military nursing profession military comes first and nursing comes only second. With that said, the military provides an ideal environment for nurses to continue their education in their specialty and/or in leadership training. Unlike traditional warfare, current warfare offers a different nursing situation. There are fewer gunshot wounds and other typical military injuries and more land-mine injuries, injuries from car accidents and blast injuries. The majority of wounds tend to be to the extremities because of the use of body armor that covers the thoracic region with Kevlar and ceramic plates. Expect to work with shock trauma units and closely with other branches of the military while in the field.

Although individuals can enter the army and choose nursing, it helps to have a nursing diploma or certification already under the belt. For instance, RNs go into the Army through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) or by direct commission after graduating from college. Usually, their first mission is not medical, as military aspects predominate. Instead, leadership training is instilled from the beginning, as military nurses have the opportunity to earn rank.

When not on the front line or in the field, many military nurses are sent to school to upgrade their degrees at college campuses or through online courses. Additionally, nurses in the military could be assigned to research or teaching units to help other military nurses along.

The person who wants to become a professional nurse, in all cases, must acquire some education and later tests. Even the CNA(nursing assistant) today must obtain hands-on and classroom education and also seek certification through testing that involves questions with multiple choices and assessment(hands-on and supervised).

Certifications and education are very significant to regulate the quality of neonatal or geriatric nursing profession and not least important to keep patients safe from nurses who are not skilled enough in the nursing practice. The licensed nurse practitioner (LPN) often become a representation of the first steps on the nursing career ladder. The LPN traditionally requires an one-year studying course from a junior college or vocational school as well as usual testing for certification.

Finally, the nurse or nursing student can go on to earn a master’s or doctoral degree and serve as an APN (advanced practical nurse), CNS (clinical nurse specialist) or as a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) among other nursing specialties.

These nurses either focus on a specific illness, , disease procedure or health care setting, or they can become skilled in a wide range of health care issues, much like a general practitioner physician. Nurses who obtain a graduate degree or higher often work autonomously, in tangent with a physician, or in administrative positions in various health care environments.

The role of the nurse has changed drastically over the past century, and today nurses can find great satisfaction in the choice of roles of increased responsibilities and in health care settings. On the other hand, it’s true that many nurses are often overworked, because of the nursing shortage which is a problem among an aging nurse population. It usually takes approximately two to six years to get viable nursing skills, said nursing shortage can keep forefront demand for nurses for the next decade or maybe longer. After that, it is prognosticated that nursing salaries will increase as rapidly as the demand for nursing skills.

The profession of nurse has a huge appeal to those people who want to help other – sick and traumatized. But it needs to be stated that the nursing means much more— through nursing specialties, person can hone in on an large and important area of concentration that can help many future generations through precise hands-on research, education and observation. These nursing specialties and also their sub-specialties are, probably, more varied than specialities in any other profession.

So, to easily say that you want to be a nurse is surely a very broad statement. The one and only profession that can come close to the wide-ranging perception of “nurse”  is the surgical- medical nurse who provide cares mostly for adult patients, usually before and after surgical procedures. The surgical nurse has, in a sense, represented the foundation of nursing profession, as this area is the hospital practice where new graduates can receive fundamental experience. But, the medical-surgical nurse recently has become a specialty which focuses on holistic care, and that even though nurses who’ve entered the nursing field starting with this specialty have become professionals on one of almost one hundred other focused nurse specialties.

Most Common Nurse Specialties

Among other specialities, these are most common and widely demanded.

• Cardiac nursing, which includes many sub-specialty areas that relate to patients with heart problems.
• Dialysis nursing – provide extensive care for patients who suffer from renal failure or chronic kidney conditions.
• Emergency nurses care for patients in the critical or emergency phase of an illness or trauma, but they are not limited to working in a hospital’s emergency room.
• Forensic nursing is a relatively new field that combines the health care profession with the judicial system.

Also -

• Hospital Nursing
• IV Therapy Nursing
• Medical-Surgical Nursing
• Military Nursing
• Neonatal Nursing
• Neurosurgical Nursing
• Geriatric Nursing
• OB Nursing
• Oncology Nursing

and many others.

Forensic nursing is a career that has countless rewarding benefits but it is also a profession that is a guaranteed ‘in demand’ opportunity no matter where you may go in life. Efficient forensic nurses are always in demand, since they can help a great deal to detectives in their work. The more expertise a nurse has in the knowing of evidence that should be collected, the more efficient the investigations of the crimes will be. Being a forensic nurse, you do good to other people, by helping those suffered in the crimes and speeding up the process of catching the perpetrators.

What Does Forensic Nursing Involves?

Forensic nursing is a profession that combines health care and judicial evidence. If you want to engage in this profession you should be prepared to fulfill the following practices:

• the investigation and treatment of victims of sexual assault,
• the investigation of elder, child and spousal violence,
• the investigation of unexplained or accidental death, physical attacks and trauma,
• treating violent offenders at psychiatric facilities,
• the investigation of perpetrators of these crimes,
• serving as legal nurse consultants or attorneys,
• testifying in trials of their jurisdictions.

Forensic Nurse

The employers of forensic nursing specialists include acute healthcare facilities, correctional institutions, coroner’s offices, medical examiners offices, county prosecutors, psychiatric facilities and insurance companies.

What Do I Need To Enter Forensic Nursing?

A good news is that masters or PhD nursing degree is not required to do forensic nursing. Nevertheless, you can receive the degree, both online or at some of the campus based nursing schools. Various courses in forensic nursing are available for you to do. Forensic pediatric and geriatric nurses should take special certification courses. As for forensic psychiatric nurses, they are required to have a MS with counseling certification.

Forensic nursing is a complicated and responsible profession that requires that you act quickly and thoroughly collect evidence that can be used in a court. With a continuous increase in crime rates, forensic nursing career is quickly becoming a regular part of the American judicial system. There are about 7,500 nurses who recurrently work as forensic nurses. This profession is recognized by the American Nurses Association.

Other forensic specialties

• Forensic psychologist
• Forensic social work practitioner