A nursing school is a type of educational institution, or part thereof, providing education and training to become a fully qualified nurse. The nature of nursing education and nursing qualifications varies considerably across the world.
History of Nursing Schools
United Kingdom
Florence Nightingale was one of the pioneers in establishing the idea of nursing schools from her base at St Thomas' Hospital, London in 1860 when she opened the 'Nightingale Training School for Nurses', now part of King's College London.
Her intention was to train nurses to a qualified and specialized level, with the key aim of learning to develop observation skills and sensitivity to patient needs, then allow them to work in hospital posts across the United Kingdom and abroad. Her influence flourished and nursing is now a course taught at a number of British universities. Apart from the nursing school of King's College London, the direct descendant of Nightingale's school, the University of Manchester was one of the first English institutions to offer the course at degree level.
Entry level courses, sought by most universities, are often five Standard Grades/GCSEs, including English, maths and a science (preferably biology), and two Highers/A-Levels. Mature students, over the age of twenty-one, have the option of entering upon completion of a college access course, and experience in jobs such as being a health/nursing assistant are also worthy for consideration into the course.
Currently, nursing is a three-year course in the UK, with students choosing the branch they want to study from day One e.g. adult, child, mental health, learning disability, or combinations of two (called dual-field). The course consists of a balance between course work in classes and practical placements in a health care setting. The first year is foundation, where students learn anatomy and physiology and basic health care. Newly qualified nurses then have to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in order to apply for jobs and legally practice.
United States
The history of nursing education had a long and varied role in the United States. Before the late 1800s little formal education was available to train nursing students. Education was primarily based on an apprenticeship with a senior nurse who taught bedside care within a hospital or clinic setting. Over time this model changed dramatically. A short chronology of Schools of Nursing in the United States is:
- In 1873, the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, of New York City, was founded. It was the first school of nursing in the United States to be founded on the principles of nursing established by Florence Nightingale. The School operated at Bellevue Hospital until its closure in 1969.
- In 1889, The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing was founded in conjunction with the creation of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. As one of the earliest hospital-based nursing schools in the United States school leaders consulted with Florence Nightingale on the program of education. These same nurse leaders also established what would be become the National League for Nursing Education and helped in establishing the American Nurses Association.
- In 1909, the University of Minnesota offered the first university based nursing program. It offered the first Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and graduated the first bachelor's degree educated nurse.
- By 1916 13 universities and 3 colleges had developed bachelor's nursing degree programs.
- In 1923, the Yale School of Nursing was founded. It became the first School of Nursing to adopt the educational standards from the 1923 Goldmark Report that was requested by the Rockefeller Foundation. The curriculum was based on an educational plan rather than on hospital service needs.
- In 1956, the Columbia University School of Nursing became the first in the United States to grant a master's degree in a clinical nursing specialty.
United States Curriculum
Pre-requisites often include math, English, and other basic level courses. Basic courses in biology, anatomy and physiology are required. Depending on the nursing school, credits can be taken elsewhere, and transferred in, although limitations on time span between taking pre-requisites and applying to nursing programs exist, usually around 5 years, although some schools don't set parameters.
Core coursework includes anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Additionally, a strong emphasis is placed on procedural education such as insertion of intravenous and urinary catheters, sterile dressing changes, proper administration of medications, physical examinations, caring bedside manner, and other vital skills. After the first semester basic skills are obtained, students rotate through Obstetrics, Mental Health, Medical, Surgical, Oncology, Critical Care and Pediatric Units to get a holistic view of nursing and what it encompasses. Many nursing students and nursing schools use medical and healthcare educational software as a study or training aid.
Many schools offer an accelerated Bachelor's degree in nursing program. A variation of the Second Degree BSN is the Accelerated BSN. In addition to giving you credit for having completed your liberal arts requirements, an Accelerated BSN program will allows students to complete their undergraduate nursing program's course requirements more quickly than students enrolled in a traditional BSN program. Accelerated BSN programs usually take 12 months to complete, though some programs may run for 16 to 24 months.
The traditional BSN programs may take much longer time. For example, in California, where nursing is a relatively high-paid and in high demand profession, the completion of BSN (including pre-requisites, major courses in the program, and General Education courses of college) may take 5 to 6 years. A 3.0 GPA is often an entrance requirement for many programs. Some more prestigious schools require much higher GPA score to be competitive. Many programs now also require TEAS-V test scores to evaluate potential students for entry. Also, there are other options of Associate Degree for RN and LPN programs (which in term of nursing training is much shorter and the scope of practice is different than RN). Lastly, the Master level is for experienced RNs to reach a higher education and may expand their scope of practice.
In the United States, students graduate from nursing education programs qualified to take one of the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) exams, the NCLEX-PN for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) or the NCLEX-RN for Registered Nurses RNs.
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Degrees granted
- Diploma in Nursing
- Associate of Science in Nursing
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Master of Science in Nursing
- Doctor of Nursing Practice
- Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
See articles on individual degrees for variations on the exact name.
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