3 Add-On Courses for Nurses for Professional Growth
The healthcare sector is rapidly transforming. With so many advanced technological innovations it’s important that healthcare professionals regularly update their skills. This also means the nurses have to be regularly equipped with advanced knowledge, and competencies to meet the requirements of a highly skilled workforce.
They need to regularly be trained with advanced soft skills and technical skills to make sure they are ready to face the challenges of the future.
For this, they need to pursue advanced certification courses based on their career path. This can include attending conferences, additional degrees, publishing research papers, getting involved in commit meetings, clubs, and more.
As nurses have a diverse role in every dimension of patient care, they need to be very precise and trustworthy in their abilities. The nursing sector is projected to grow by 9% every year yet there is a lot of shortage of well-skilled nurses in the industry. Therefore, proper planning and goal setting is required when considering professional development.
Now that we are aware, how much professional learning is important in the nursing field, let’s take a look at some of the most important courses for nurses for professional growth. You can also explore courses at CPD institute if you’re feeling lost at the moment and don’t know how to upskill yourself. They have a list of options for you to pick from.
1. Undergraduate (bachelor’s) level
Almost every university offers an undergraduate course in nursing. To get qualified for it, an individual who has practiced nursing for a few years is a nursing assistant, a school dropout or someone who has any kind of qualifications or experience can apply to obtain this degree.
While trying to achieve a graduate certificate in nursing, if the student wants to specialize in any field such as surgical nursing, child care nursing, psychiatric nursing, or family nursing, they can go for it.
But the duration required to specialize in these fields is going to add up to the normal course duration, which means the graduation time can vary according to your choice of specialization.
2. Post graduation
A lot of nurses do not come back for further studies after a bachelor’s degree, but that’s where the mistake lies. A postgraduate degree can not only enhance your skills for high-quality patient care but can also provide you with a high raise.
A Post-graduate nursing student can choose to specialize in various niches, like rehabilitation nursing, aged care nursing, critical care nursing, mental health nursing, and more. It aims at making professionals develop advanced care skills to treat critically ill patients in high-intensive situations.
A post-graduation degree is basically 2 years long if done full-time, but it can also turn into a four-year part-time study if the student wishes to. Beyond that, there are further certifications a student can obtain depending on their field of interest. If you’ve earned your MSN, you have the option of taking a post-master’s nurse practitioner (NP) certification in specific specialization to further enhance your career.
To be eligible for any postgraduate degree, having a bachelor’s degree in nursing is a must requirement.
Make sure what are the other requirements, as they may vary from institution to institution. Also, if you are an international student, many universities demand proof of language proficiency, so do not skip it.
3. Vocational education & training studies in nursing (VET)
There are numerous diplomas and advanced diplomas available if any nursing student wishes to pursue a degree in vocational education and training. These courses enable students to qualify for division two or enrolled nurse level.
However, a student must realize that a degree in VET does not register them as a full-fledged nurse, this is just an additional way to upgrade your qualifications.
To be eligible for VET studies in nursing, a nurse must complete year 12 or a relevant equivalent degree overseas. While applying for this course, it is also important to ensure that the institute has access to the latest types of equipment and offers good facilities and clinical placements, so that you get access to the best training possible. Again, if you are an international student, having proof of language proficiency is a must.
The average salary of a VET nurse is around $32,800 dollars, so that makes it a very lucrative field to enter.
Over to you…
Nurses are a very essential and crucial part of the healthcare industry. A good, highly-skilled team of nurses can really elevate the management of healthcare, no matter what hospital or area they are specialized in.
Especially nowadays, after the world has been through the pandemic, it has become extremely important to provide advanced training to the nurses of today and tomorrow, so that they are well-equipped to face any challenges in the future.
