It sounds to me that nurses are 1) overworked and 2) underpaid. It also doesn't seem particularly rewarding.
That may be true.
But if it wasn't for nurses, who would take of the sick? Doctors? Yeah right, that's why they went to school for 9+ years -- so that they wouldn't have to do the hard work.
Don't get me wrong, I think they're intelligent, but it takes a certain kind of person to be a doctor and a certain kind of person to be a nurse. I just happen to be the nurse kind. :)
The medical field is a little different from the tech field when it comes to certifications. The tech field holds little value for certifications once a certain level of experience is reached. While I'm not in the medical field, I'd bet that interview processes are quite different; tech interviews are straight to the point, and if you can answer it on paper, you can do it at your workstation. How to perform a medical operation, however, is harder to test in an interview, so using certifications to assert that the interviewee knows the process makes more sense.
Ahh, I see. That makes sense.
Btw Christina, I was actually talking with my mom (who's an RN) about a week ago about degree programs (started by mentioning how funny it is that for software developers getting a Masters doesn't change your job positions much, and how a PhD in CS precludes most programming jobs), and she mentioned that nursing was pretty similar. She has an Associates, but the only difference between her and someone with a BS or MS is that the higher degree tends to be helpful for getting a more managerial position. There may be some small pay difference, but as far as the actual nursing goes, she's doing the same stuff as her co-workers who did get the higher degree.
Yes, I've interviewed RN's and have talked to both of my teachers who have their BSN in nursing. And they say the same thing. But the reason for …
Because in this particular case, certification is the only way to advance, whereas in normal scenarios you have stepping stones like BS, MS, PhD etc.
Simply put, in your case its the only certification and a requirement and hence its a must.
Right. But what I was trying to say, is certifications are still good to have along with experience. Yes, of course everyone should advance with degrees, I think they say a whole lot more about your knowledge than certifications. That's why after I get my certification, I will be studying to get my BSN and MSN in nursing.
