Associate or Bachelor Degree for Nursing Students how to Choose
It is always a good idea for a potential nursing student to get acquainted with all that is educationally available during her last year or so of high school. They will in this way be able to make up their mind as to which approach to nursing will be best for them. They may have to step in gradually by volunteering as a helper during their high school years. Working as an aid to would be helpful in their decision making. Actually, what probably happens most would be nurses, especially if money is tight, selects which ever school is nearest and which is affordable..
Incorporating a nursing education in a four year university setting is always an excellent choice but then again, it could be a waste of time and a waste of money. What most do is go for the Associate degree which is a two year program and work while ideciding whether to further their education. Nursing is hard work and it does not much matter which course one follows, the work is often grueling and the study is deep and it is intensive and hard.
Summers are for work and most students work as nurse assistants during their summer vacations and possibly take a class or two to further enhance their education. A great many students fall by the wayside after the first six months and this has always been the case. Back in the days of the the three year diploma programs life as a student was pretty intensive. There were less choices and, of course the bill was practically nothing, mostly under a thousand dollars at the most. Affordability was a selling point then.
Don't think the nurses didn't earn their education however. The summer vacation was only for two weeks and the rest of the time it was full time work and no classes. The hospitals usually depended on the students to take care of the patients. Bedside nursing was what what they did best. RN's were scarce. They were the bosses and were, in most cases, responsible for passing out medicine. The third year was a time when the students prepared themselves for this role, often filling in for RN's on weekends and during vacation time.
.The overall situation changed many years ago when hospitals had to meet certain qualifications if they were to continue their schools of nursing. Only the best schools remained since the others had depended on the work of the students and could not afford to change their ways of doing business. Times changes everything and nursing is no exception. Would we have it any other way?
The reasoning behind all the difference in nursing education is readily understood. Each student after they have worked with their patients for a time will have their likes and dislikes. Some will have no desire to do more than do bedside nursing and will gladly leave the paperwork and the role of nursing education to those who are inclined toward teaching and nursing. So it is with industrial nursing, a nurse may be more suited to this type of work.
Scarcely is there any workplace that does not, in some way have needs and places for nurses. Many of these, however are unknown to the beginning student. Therefore, I recommend a two year program and then while getting acclimated to the life of a busy nurse, decide whether to specialize.
