CKQ Examines College Majors: Nursing

Each newsletter will provide readers with insight into a specific major that might pique your interest. This segment is all about introducing students to majors (and possibly careers) they may have never considered before. This time around, we will provide information on the Nursing major (some material provided by Collegeboard.org).

I’m not going to lie. This is about my least favorite major in the world. No, not because I don’t love and appreciate the work nurses do – far from it – but because it is so challenging to gain access to the nursing major itself (and the field). You can gain entry to a RN (Registered Nurse) program directly through freshman admission (though those programs are less common than the other routes and more difficult to get into), through admission to a four-year pre-nursing or pre-health program (this is the most speculative route because there is no guarantee if being admitted to the actual nursing program), or by starting at a community college, completing the preliminary coursework and entrance exam there, and then joining either a health science college or university or a traditional four-year school for the last two years of training. See? It is confusing!

Furthermore, between very small, mandated class sizes (usually between eight and ten students per instructor), there’s almost always a shortage of spaces. Then, when you take into account that most nursing instructors are paid less than what they would make working as a nurse, you can see why there would be a shortage of qualified trainers. It really is one of the few fields of study with these problems and that accounts for the difficulty in admission, even when demand for the job remains quite high (especially now).

Let’s get back to the nursing major. Students in this field are frontline healthcare providers. RN’s design, manage, and coordinate care for individuals, families, groups, communities, and even larger populations. Students learn to attend to the sick and injured; how to rehabilitate, counsel, and educate patients; and how to work as part of a health care team in many different settings.

You might like this major if you also like: caregiving; volunteer work; making a difference in people’s lives; science, autonomy and independence; a fast pace work environment; working in groups; and challenges.

You might consider this major if you are good at: active listening; caring/nurturing; critical reading/thinking; leadership; math; organizing; problem solving; teamwork … or have initiative; patience; verbal skills.

Typical courses in this major include: Psychology, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Nutrition, Fundamentals of Nursing Practice, Pharmacology, Physical Assessment; Nursing Leadership, Sociology, Mental Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Adult, Pediatric and Geriatric Care, Maternal/child and Neonatal care, Medical and Surgical Care, and Home Health Care.

What the study of this major is like: Believe it or not, the major is a blend of physical science, life science, and humanities courses. Much of the first two years will be spent on general education within the humanities segment. Once in the formal nursing program, students apply their liberal arts and sciences knowledge to learn the principles of nursing theory. You evaluate research to determine its benefit to nursing practice; examine nurse-client relationships and the organization of health care delivery; study ethical and practical issues related to terminal illness and death; and examine ways of promoting health services and illness care to culturally diverse communities.

Specialization does not take place at the undergraduate level; graduates are generalists, able to assume roles in acute care, long-term care, and community-based facilities. After completing the RN degree, you must pass the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) in order to work in the field.

The intensity and rigor of the subject matter and clinical practice requirements are frequently the biggest hurdles for incoming students to adjust to. Students frequently work independent of one another and need to be responsible and accountable and are expected to master a vast amount of specialized and often technical knowledge and theory.

One of the keys to success in nursing is time management and commitment to long hours of both course work and clinical practice. Clinical practice frequently involves 16 hours a week of work in a variety of health care settings, on top of all classwork and study time. You also need to prepare for the NCLEX exam during this time as well, so there’s much that is juggled in a young nurse’s schedule!

There are a number of nursing degrees available. For the student who begins in community college, there’s the ADN, or Associate’s Degree in Nursing. The Bachelor of Science degree (BSN) is a four-year degree that prepares nurses to work in the full range of health care systems and settings, including hospitals; critical care, long-term care, rehabilitation, outpatient care, public health, community health and mental health facilities; private homes; and neighborhood clinics. The degree also prepares students for graduate work. The BSN programs also features more in-depth nursing courses, including theory, research, pharmacology, pathophysiology, physical assessment, and nutrition. Nurses in the BSN program receive training in specific areas such as community and public health nursing, medical-surgical nursing, maternal-child nursing, pediatric nursing, mental health nursing, and nursing leadership and management.

Other majors that might interest you if you like nursing include: Human Services, Communication Disorders, Psychology, Licensed Practical Nursing, Physical Therapy, Music Therapy, Gerontology, Food and Nutrition, Human Development and Family Studies, American Sign Language, and Emergency Medical Technology (EMT).

For those interested in nursing but wish to have a more ‘doctorly’ approach, want more of the biological and physical science training, and less focus on specific nursing tasks, I would also encourage you to look into a bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, or Allied Health, and then pursue a graduate degree as a Physician’s Assistant (PA). Both fields are growing, pay well, and require a love of science and people.

As I explained at the beginning of this article, you really need to do your research to understand which colleges/universities offer what entry point to the nursing field. This is critical. I also strongly recommend as much practice training and discussion with medical professionals as possible before selecting the major. Not only will it help you understand if this is what you wish to do for a career, but if it is, these experiences will definitely make you a better candidate.

For more information on this field, please visit:

http://www.aacn.nche.edu http://www.nsna.org http://www.ana.org