How Your Nursing Training Plays a Role in Your Work Environment

There is more than one educational path to becoming a nurse. The path you take will dictate what type of nurse you will become and therefore what work environments you are qualified to work in. To use an example of this, a person who takes nursing courses in university and graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing is qualified to work as a resident nurse as soon as she passes the state licensure examination or the NCLEX.

A resident nurse (or registered nurse, RN) who is just out of university will be expected to report to a resident nurse preceptor. The nurse preceptor will act as an at work teacher for the nursing graduate. This person will hand out assignments to the resident nurse. She will also educate the new nurse about what is required to be done in assessing a patient’s needs and then formulating a plan to help the person get better.

As a resident nurse you will be exposed to many different patients and be able to learn new skills as you go along. Once you have worked in this capacity for a number of years you may decide that you are ready for new challenges and new opportunities in the nursing field. What is wonderful about nursing is that there are always new mountains to climb!

You may decide to return to an institute of higher learning in order to obtain a higher degree. This degree would enable you to become a resident nurse preceptor yourself or be in charge of the wing of a hospital or clinic. Many opportunities would open up to you once you become more highly educated. If you enjoy research then you could seek work as a researcher for a lab or private company. If you like to teach others then you could apply for work as an instructor in a nursing school. The nursing world is practically at your feet the higher you aspire to get education wise.

If the thought of studying for four years at a university does not appeal to you then you can attend a community college or a junior college where you can graduate with an associate’s degree in nursing or a hospital diploma. Upon graduation with either of these you will be qualified to find work as either a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or a licensed vocational nurse. In this capacity you will work under the guidance and watchful eye of a registered nurse (RN) and this is who you will report to.

Licensed practical nurses are the nurses you see in hospitals going from room to room checking on patients and taking their blood pressure and temperatures. LPNs also may collect urine samples and blood samples from the patients in their care.


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