Several mentally stimulating academic paths can result in a nursing diploma or degree. These pathways include the diploma in nursing, associate degree in nursing (ADN), bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), and the direct-entry master of science in nursing (MSN). This piece will explore the associate degree in nursing. Nurses Announcements Archive Article
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Registered nurses (RN), of which more than 3 million exist in the United States, are multifunctional professionals who have completed an approved nursing program and attained state licensure to care for patient populations across all stages of the life span. Some of the RN's duties and responsibilities include assessment, development of the plan of care, collaboration, patient advocacy, health promotion, disease prevention, psychosocial support, client and family education, documentation, evaluation, performance of procedural hands-on skills, and reinforcement of spiritual needs.
Persons in the US who want to become RNs have up to four intellectually stimulating educational paths from which they shall select. Pre-nursing students may apply to for admission to diploma programs, associate degree nursing (ADN) programs, baccalaureate degree (BSN) programs, or entry-level graduate (MSN) degree programs. Persons who successfully complete any of the four types of prelicensure nursing degree programs will need to pass the same national test, called the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), to receive licensing to legally practice as an RN.
This piece will focus on the associate degree in nursing (ADN), which is the the most popular mode of entry into a nursing career in the US at the time of this writing. In fact, more than half of all newly graduated RNs produced by US schools of nursing every year possess various types of associate degrees in nursing. The associate degree in nursing (ADN) is very similar to the associate of science degree in nursing (ASN) and the associate of applied science degree in nursing (AAS) because the nursing courses and clinical practicum requirements are nearly identical. The defining difference between the three types of associate degree holders is the fact that nurses who possess AAS degrees may need to take more general education courses to to fulfill the core curriculum requirements for attainment of a baccalaureate degree in nursing at many schools.
In general, students who have earned the ADN have an adequate level of readiness to engage in safe nursing practice at the minimally competent level. Most associate degree nursing programs require an average of 72 semester credit hours prior to completion. Moreover, some of these credits might need to be earned as prerequisite courses prior to initiating the application process. Typical prerequisite courses that might need to be completed prior to applying to the school of nursing may include anatomy, physiology, English composition, Microbiology, speech, psychology, and lifespan growth and development. Some ADN programs enroll students once per year, whereas other schools admit a cohort twice yearly.
The nursing coursework is comprised of a conflation of theory and hands-on clinical practicum to sufficiently educate and train generalist nurses for entry level employment in all types of healthcare settings. The curriculum normally consists of subjects such as:
Associate degree nursing programs were first created in the 1950s and are typically offered at community colleges, vocational schools, state universities and technical colleges. Numerous ADN programs have formed articulation agreements with an array of colleges and universities to facilitate smooth transfer of credits and enable enrollment in baccalaureate nursing degree completion programs.
Anyone with an ADN can find jobs in the following areas...
RESOURCES
VickyRN. (2009, July 30). Entry Into RN Practice (Part1): Associate Degree Nursing (ADN). Retrieved April 19, 2014, from https://allnurses.com/entry-RN-practice-part-associate-t290863/