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Most of us have enough experience interacting with professional nurses to know that good nursing requires a combination of patience, technical know-how, compassion and hard work.
It’s a career that draws in some of the best and brightest people of all walks of life, and is a popular professional choice for both young students looking to get a start on their careers and more mature adults looking for a reliable career choice.
Nursing can be a challenging, yet fulfilling, job but there are a few things to consider before starting on a path toward professional nursing.
The very first thing potential nurses should do is to honestly ask themselves if they’re suited for the job. Nursing requires some practical requisite skills, like the capacity to readily recall information, problem solving, critical thinking, time management, physical endurance and the ability to listen and communicate.
Even more importantly, nursing does require a certain temperament – successful nurses will not only have a sense of compassion, but they can’t be squeamish when it comes to blood and other bodily fluids.
“If you’re not into helping people, nursing is not for you. Because that is what the core of the profession is about,” says Jerry Macdonald, a working registered nurse and the president of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
“You need to be someone who is willing to put your hands on people and to get up close and personal with them, because at some point in their career every nurse is going to be doing something that the average citizen is probably going to balk at.”
Once candidates figure out if they have what it takes to be a nurse, the next step is to decide what kind of nursing they’d like to pursue. There are three types of professional nurses in Alberta: licensed professional nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs) and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs), as well as nurse practitioners.
The differences lie in the level of education necessary, as well as the duties performed on the job: LPNs take a twoyear diploma program and generally provide direct care to stable patient populations; RNs and RPNs need a university bachelor’s degree in nursing and most commonly work in hospital settings; and nurse practitioners require a masters degree in nursing and have additional responsibilities and privileges such as ordering prescriptions and diagnostic tests.
Students should know what kind of nurse they’d like to be before applying to post-secondary nursing programs, to be sure they’re applying to the right courses and schools.
That said, registered nurses are by far the most common type of medical professional in Alberta’s health-care system and are what most people think of when they hear the word “nurse” – yet many people still aren’t sure exactly what a registered nurse does.
Macdonald recommends potential nursing students watch registered nurses in action to get a feel for the job, either by volunteering though Alberta Health Services or taking a job as a health care aide. Many people are surprised to learn registered nurses can do anything from administering vaccinations to working in the occupational health and safety departments of big corporations.
“Certainly the majority of RNs work in a hospital setting, but there are many who work in settings outside of the hospital,” Macdonald says.
“When people go to public health to get their baby checked or get a flu shot, they’re going to see a registered nurse. If people are being cared for in their home, be they seniors or people recovering from complex surgery, there will be a registered nurse involved.”
CARNA provides a list of approved nursing education programs on its website – students need to complete a program at one of the approved universities to take the registered nurse registration examination and then pass that examination in order to legally practise as a registered nurse. The approved nursing degree is offered through Alberta’s major universities, but students in smaller communities can often take the necessary courses through affiliated colleges such as Keyano College in Fort McMurray or Red Deer College.
For more information on how to become a registered nurse or a nurse practitioner, visit the CARNA website at www. nurses.ab.ca. For information on becoming a licensed practical nurse, consult the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta website at www.clpna.com.