The medical, as well as the dictionary, definition of a nurse is the healthcare professional engaged in the practice of nursing. Nurses are men and women responsible for the safety and recovery of chronically ill or injured people, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide-range of health care settings. Nurses are involved in medical and nursing research. Nursing schools are educational institutions, where aspiring nurses undergo training to become a full-fledged nurse. The nature of training and qualifications varies considerably across the world. Currently, nursing schools offer more than 350 master's programs in nursing. The degrees awarded by various schools may differ, but the core or essence of most masters programs remains similar.



Training

Nursing is one of the most satisfying careers to pursue, but is not what you see in movies or soap operas. It is hard work, and learning to become a nurse requires dedication and long hours of study and preparation. Unlike many other disciplines in which the academic curriculum has foundation courses with many related subject areas, nursing schools offer courses usually build on one another. As such, a weakness in one area may cause academic problems in the remainder of the nursing sequence. In nursing schools, some programs are specially designed for students who are already registered nurses, but want to give their career that extra boost. The students should make certain whichever school they attend, is accredited by the National League for Nursing (NLN).

There is an ever-increasing demand for nursing school graduates in hospitals, schools, clinics, public health agencies, and many other establishments throughout the world. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) predicts a nursing shortage of 12% by year 2010 or an estimated shortage of 260,000 professional nurses. For prospective nursing graduates that represent an astounding opportunity, to safely secure their career both on a personal and financial level. The opportunities presented are all the more, for students graduating from top nursing schools.

Capitalizing on these mind-boggling figures, the number of nursing schools in recent years has grown exponentially. Therefore, the aspiring student must verify the credentials of nursing schools, before actually enrolling in one. Nowadays, a variety of online nursing schools have also spawned for working professionals. These online institutes allow the students to attend their classes virtually, and complete the training modules from the comfort from their homes. However, the sustainability and dependability of such online nursing schools is very much in doubt, since the students need on-site clinical training if they aspire to work in the healthcare industry.