What Are The Different Nursing Qualifications?
There is some confusion over the different nursing professions and the qualifications required to obtain jobs at the various grades. Hopefully this article will provide some clarification on this issue.
Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
Certified nurse assistants (CNAs) have various job titles including nurses aides, patient care technicians, home help aides and orderlies.
The length of training needed to qualify as a CNA depends on the program that you attend, but is usually a 6 week to 12 week course. The minimum qualification to get on a CNA course is usually a high school diploma. CNA certificate programs are available at local community colleges and at some medical facilities.
Once qualified a CNA will work under the direct supervision of a Registerd Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).
The main responsibilities of a CNA are to provide basic care to patients including patient hygiene, lifting and movement of patients, meal time assistance and monitoring of patient vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature etc.
CNA’s can work in hospitals, nursing homes and with home care. Typical starting salaries are in the range of $23-30k per annum.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
LPNs are sometimes referred to as Licensed Vocational Nurses (LPNs). They work mainly on patient care covering tasks such as taking patient measures (e.g. blood pressure, temperature etc), administering injections, providing medication and attending to patient dressings and wound management.
To qualify you need to attend an accredited LPN program (check out this article: how to become an LPN) and will need to pass the NCLEX exam in your state. As well as attending or studying through one of the lpn schools online you will usually have to complete some practical work at a health care facility.
Coursework covers biology, chemistry, anatomy, psychology, emergency medical technology, first aid, physical education, foods and nutrition, child growth and development, in addition to supervised clinical practice in patient care.
Registered Nurses (RNs)
There are a number of alternative pathways to becoming an RN.
The first way is to attend a diploma school, however this qualification route is much less common these days as the number of schools offering courses has significantly decreased.
The most practical qualification route is to train for an Associate Degree. This route usually takes between 2 to 3 years and will include some vocational training. The benefit of taking the associate degree route is that upon completion of the course you will be sufficiently qualified to take up a first level position at a hospital. It is common practice for the hospital to provide support for you to further your studies up to the degree level BSN – Bachelor of Science In Nursing.
The third option is to opt for the full time BSN degree course which will take up to 4 years to complete.
Following completion of studies all nurses are required to take the National Licensing Examination (NCLEX-RN) within the state that they intend to work.
Here is a video about the difference between an RN and BSN qualification.
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