February 17, 2014 Reflection Essay On Nursing Education
Is nursing a profession or an occupation? How is this related to nursing education? To become a nurse in New York, one must go through an intensive program and training. People take many routes to become an LPN or RN, nevertheless they follow a strict curriculum to achieve their goals. Personally, nursing school was probably the most difficult experience of my life. Hours were spent studying for my dream of becoming a registered nurse. Therefore nursing is a profession not just an occupation. Registered nurses are not perceived as professionals because historically they didn’t go to school. They went through training in a hospital and that’s how they learned. Today they have training which is clinical rotations in hospitals or nursing homes, as well as lectures. That is where a foundation is built. This relates to nursing education because educators are known as professionals. And in order to become a nurse educator you must be seen as a professional first. We are given a very bad reputation and with that we strive harder. That is why I believe that the standards in hospitals for nurses are higher and higher. Nurses used to be able to have a job with an associate’s degree. Now a BSN is required in most facilities. To become a nurse educator, one must first graduate with their BSN, and then have a master’s degree and doctorate. As the day go by, nursing is becoming more of a studious profession, rather than just an occupation or a job.