Nursing is such a huge and exciting field. No matter how much you know—there’s always more to learn, and the best nurses approach their careers with that mentality. If you get excited about the prospect of becoming a registered nurse (RN), you might well be wondering what exactly your nursing training will look like.

What kind of courses will you take? How long will you be in school? Is a Nursing school much different than other college programs? Sometimes being able to picture the journey up close can help you make important decisions. If you are curious about nursing training, read on and get a closer look at the road to becoming an RN.

Nursing training: Programs and courses

No matter which path you choose for a degree in Nursing, your core curriculum will include courses on a variety of essential nursing topics. Nurses need to know about quality and safety assurance in nursing, for example—and they also need to know how to administer IV fluids. This mixture of both theoretical and practical knowledge makes nursing training a little more interesting than your average college program.

Whether you pursue an Associate’s degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), you will have to pass the NCLEX-RN exam. Nursing programs of any kind need to teach students the fundamental material they need to pass that test.

After that, the courses you take in a Nursing program will vary depending on the path you choose. Let’s take a closer look at two popular options.

The Associate’s Degree in Nursing route

The Associate’s degree in Nursing (ADN) is the shortest path to working as an RN. It appeals to students who want the minimum credential they need to start working as an RN as quickly as possible. ADN programs from career-focused colleges can be completed in as few as 18–24 months.^* The ADN route is a great option for those who many not be able to commit to the time and financial investment a BSN requires.

These programs will have a blend of general education (math, language, social science) and Nursing courses. This ensures Nursing students have a well-rounded education while still providing an in-depth understanding of how to complete important nursing duties.

This foundation of hands-on nursing knowledge gives ADN nurses the ability to complete a BSN program online if they do decide to return and pursue a Bachelor’s degree later on.

Specific Nursing training courses for the ADN

Rasmussen University’s Associate’s degree in Nursing program includes Nutritional Principles in Nursing, a course that introduces students to chemical processes that occur on a cellular level related to nutrient intake. Emphasis is placed on the body’s ability to meet basic health and wellness needs as it pertains to a diverse set of clients across the lifespan.

Another important course is Professional Nursing 1, the first of a two-course series that teaches students to build a skill set to meet health needs and exercise clinical judgment as a nurse. This class involves theory, lab and clinical components. Students must demonstrate their proficiency in all knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to provide safe, quality care to complete the course.

If you’re looking for a career in an in-demand field, look no further than nursing. The profession is projected to grow by 15 percent through 2026, which is much faster than the national average for all occupations. As the healthcare industry strives to keep up with the strain placed on it by an aging population, more and more nurses will be needed.

This increased demand in healthcare can sometimes be more than a facility can handle. That’s where a traveling nurse comes in—they travel across the country to the places most in need of them. With each new location comes fresh challenges, people and adventures.

What is a traveling nurse?

Before we dive into the benefits, let us answer your first question: What is a traveling nurse? A traveling RN goes from facility to facility around the country, helping to fill shortages in certain areas. Because nurses are badly needed, a traveling nurse is temporarily stationed to fill voids. Assignments for traveling nurses can range from 13 to 26 weeks and are available for many different types of nurses. These nurses are considered independent contractors and often work for travel nursing agencies that specializing in finding assignments and negotiating pay and benefits.

10 Perks of being a traveling nurse

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of what traveling nurses are and how they fit into the healthcare system, let’s take a look at some of the perks of life as a travel nurse. Traveling nurses enjoy a unique mix of benefits. Most prominently, they experience a stable, in-demand career and the exciting variety that travel brings. But that’s not all—keep reading to learn more about some of the best perks of being a traveling nurse.

1. Your schedule will be flexible

Travel nursing positions vary in length of time, location and position. You can specify your positions based on your needs. Travelling from one new place to another is exciting, but it can also be draining. Flexible scheduling allows you to take a break when you need to between contracts or arrange to be near your family for important events. In many positions, you can also arrange your weekly schedule for longer weekends and shorter work weeks.

2. You’ll be well compensated

Nurses work hard and are compensated well. As a travel nurse, you have an opportunity to make even more money than your stationary counterparts.

“Traveling nurses typically see higher pay packages compared to staff nurses,” says traveling nurse Jacqueline Nguyen, RN.

This is especially true if you have a specialty or work overtime. Certain locations will also pay more than others. This financial stability can allow you peace of mind as you explore new territory in your travels.

3. You get to see the country in ways most people don’t experience

What’s the biggest perk of being a traveling nurse? The traveling, of course! Living out of a suitcase may not be for everyone, but for those with an adventurous spirit, travel nursing can take you and your career to new heights.

“It’s exciting to travel all the time at first, but after a while, it’s exhausting. Living in a different and new city means wanting to do everything. It has helped me step out of my comfort zone, gain more confidence and learn so much more about nursing and myself,” says Nguyen.

It’s also an opportunity to meet interesting locals. Travel nurses can extend their contracts to stay in a location longer if they wish. It allows them to see how nursing varies across different parts of the United States. And it provides a new way for family and friends to visit and explore, explains Nguyen.

4. You’ll likely receive other perks and incentives

Worried about the trouble of continuously searching for new contract positions? You don’t have to go it alone—travel nursing agencies will find assignments for you. Additionally, many agencies will cover the costs of travel and find or provide free or reduced-price housing. Some will even cover utilities. These perks are above and beyond the standard benefits you’ll receive, such as health and dental coverage.

5. You’ll get to explore what you love about nursing

Another perk of being a traveling nurse is the ability to dabble in a variety of areas in order to help you decide which you like best. That way you’ll be confident once you decide you’re ready to settle in one place and take a permanent position.

“One of the perks of being a traveling nurse is the experience with different hospitals. I worked in for-profit, nonprofit, trauma centers and community hospitals. It was nice to experience the different types, and I found that I loved teaching hospitals,” says Nguyen. “I liked trying out a hospital and only having to commit for 13 weeks. Even if you hate it, you can do anything for 13 weeks.”

6. You’ll learn skills beyond nursing

Not only will you be able to hone your nursing skills, but you’ll develop a variety of other valuable skills as well.

“As a traveling nurse, I gained experience with different types of ICUs and patient experiences that I may not have gotten staying at one hospital as a staff nurse,” says Nguyen.

You will encounter an assortment of different people and situations, which will force you to be adaptable, think critically and learn to communicate effectively. When applying for future nursing jobs, you’ll be able to draw upon your experiences to demonstrate these practical skills that will help you on the job. There’s also something to be said for developing the life skills needed to pick up and move to new locations, find your way around and get acquainted with your surroundings.

7. You’ll meet all kinds of people

“Meeting new people is definitely a perk of travel nursing, whether it be travelers or staff,” says Nguyen

As you go from facility to facility, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with people from all different walks of life, which broadens your perspective. You’ll also be able to build your network while working alongside a variety of healthcare professionals. You never know when one of those relationships could translate to a future job opportunity.

8. You’ll have job security and room for advancement

Like we said earlier, demand for registered nurses is projected to grow more than twice as fast as the national average rate. Add to that a comfortable 2016 median annual wage of $68,450 and a career in nursing becomes even more coveted—and with the nursing shortage, you know you’ll be needed more than ever.

Travel nursing can help your career in the long run, too. Your experience as a travel nurse will provide you with a unique chance to see many sides of the nursing profession in a relatively short span of time. This will help you pinpoint the direction in which you’d like to pursue—and in nursing, you’ll have a multitude of options to pick from when you decide to advance your career.

9. Workplace politics are minimized

Office politics can be found in any workplace, and nursing is no exception. In high-stress jobs, tension between coworkers can run even more rampant. But when your assignments typically range from three to six months, it’s easier to avoid the drama. If you’re placed in a facility with unfavorable office politics, don’t worry. Traveling RNs get to enjoy a variety of workplaces, and you’ll be back on the road in no time.

10. You’ll get to help people who really need it

Nursing is one of those professions where you’ll directly impact people’s lives on a daily basis. It’s not an easy career, but nurses are an instrumental piece of the healthcare puzzle. Your influence as a traveling nurse will be even greater because you will likely be sent to areas that are in desperate need of help. You’ll be at the front lines of care, seeing the fruits of your labor right before your eyes.

Nursing and teaching go hand in hand. Bedside nurses routinely educate their patients about treatments and help bring new members of their nursing unit up to speed. Educating others can be an immensely enjoyable part of the job, so it’s only natural to wonder what it’d be like to shift gears and become a nurse educator. 

Talk of a nurse educator shortage may also be putting this potential nursing career path change into sharper focus. Even the best bedside nurses need a change of pace—but would you be a good nurse educator?

Being an educator means not only being a knowledgeable nurse but also being able to pass on this expertise to the next generation of nurses effectively. So, what are the qualities of a good nurse educator?

To help shine some light on the qualities of a strong nurse educator, we spoke with Dr. Georgia Smith-Vest, assistant vice president of the Rasmussen University School of Nursing, to give you the inside scoop.

To be a good nurse educator, you need

1. Patience

Patience is important for being successful in both a patient care setting and as a nurse educator. While your days as a nurse educator can potentially be shorter and you won’t be dealing with patients who may have no interest in learning, helping students understand course material requires some perseverance.

Not all students learn at the same rate—or in the same ways—so while some students may grasp a concept immediately, others may need further explanation. And it’s the job of a nurse educator to figure out how to present topics in ways that students can understand.

Furthermore, nurse educators may need to work one-on-one with some students or answer email questions as students grapple with tricky concepts.

The good news in all of this? You were in their shoes at the same point and can probably relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed. You can use that to build trust and buy-in from students (see point #2).

2. Empathy

Recall back to your days as a nursing student. Can you remember the heavy reading load, confusing technical terms and the nerves that come with taking on clinicals?

If you’re a nurse educator, your students are dealing with all these same stressors. Understanding what your students are managing and providing support for them through this phase of their life can make a huge difference in their lives.

Not only can it personally impact your students, but empathy also will improve the clarity and effectiveness of your teaching. By understanding your students, you have insight into how they learn and can tailor your lessons for maximum comprehension.

3. A love for learning

Even though your years as a nursing student are over, that love of learning you may have discovered along the way is still important for teaching.

Working as an RN, there were probably things you kept having to learn and adapt to. And if you enjoyed these moments that expanded your knowledge—and made you a stronger nurse—being a nurse educator could be for you.

This love for learning can transfer over to a classroom setting where you get to help students grow in their knowledge. There’s something so delightful about a difficult concept clicking for students and answering questions from a curious, engaged learner.

Indeed, Dr. Smith-Vest says nurses should consider becoming a nurse educator as their next career move “if they like seeing the ‘light bulb’ moment when they have taught someone a new concept.”

4. To be a good communicator

When you transition from nurse to nurse educator, your communication skills shift from working with patients and other healthcare professionals to working with healthcare professionals in training.

Communication is a huge part of a nurse educator’s responsibilities. They need to effectively explain a huge number of ailments, healthcare terms and nursing practices to their students.

Dr. Smith-Vest says nurse educators need “the ability to break down complicated and difficult material into relatable connection points, allowing the learner to link the new information to known concepts.”

Nobody likes a lecture that drones on or a dry list of definitions. This is your opportunity to draw on your experience as an RN to offer examples and give students a peek into what their future careers will be like.

5. A creative mind

Beyond livening up lectures and explaining topics so students understand, the best nurse educators teach students to be adaptable and prepared for all the challenges of being a nurse.

Because you are an RN, you know that you keep learning on the job, so it’s important for students to have a framework to keep learning and handle unexpected situations. As a nurse, you’ve seen your share of unexpected situations. This is why simple memorization—while helpful for basic definitions—is not the be-all-end-all classroom strategy.

Dr. Smith-Vest says, “It’s important for nurse educators to teach for meaningful learning such as concepts and critical thinking versus teaching facts for memorization.”

It’s definitely easier to just run through textbook terms, but if you have a creative mind, you can come up with ways to teach the practical topics that Dr. Smith-Vest mentions.

6. Professionalism

“It is critical for nurse educators to model professionalism in all aspects,” says Dr. Smith-Vest. “Students often have more difficulty with ‘soft skills’ than the technical skills required to be a successful nurse.”

As you may have experienced in your own nursing experience, skills like communication, flexibility and an eye for detail are extremely important for nurses to be effective. Professionalism is an overarching term that encompasses all of these soft skills.

Nurse educators can teach by example by embodying professionalism in their role. As Smith says, “Nursing faculty need to speak and dress professionally and create a professional learning environment for students.”

7. A heart for students

Perhaps the most important part of being a nurse educator is wanting to see your students advance. In turn, seeing students grow is an incredibly fulfilling aspect of this job.

Dr. Smith-Vest says one surefire sign that an RN would make a great nurse educator is “if they like empowering others and truly making a change in the student’s life.”

Whether it’s seeing students understand tricky topics, succeed through their first clinical experience or get their first nursing job, nurse educator can be an incredibly rewarding job if you have a heart for students.

As with the unique traits of this job, charge nursing has its own set of unique challenges. “In my experience, one of the more challenging situations as a charge nurse was being short-staffed,” says Paulson. “Keeping up with the demand was not easy and required some creativity!”

With another layer of responsibility on top of ordinary nursing duties, there’s no doubt that being a charge nurse is a demanding job. Additionally, being the one who everyone turns to for advice and help can be a high-pressure situation—not to mention having to keep your nursing knowledge and skills in tip-top shape as the expert in the room.

“[Y]our hands are always full as a charge nurse with tasks like handling call-ins, difficult patients, patients declining or needing more care and supporting everyone as needed,” says Paulson.

There are also relationship dynamics to contend with as a team leader. Good charge nurses need to be wary of favoritism and the individual needs of nurses on their unit. For instance, are you providing opportunities for teammates who’ve expressed interest to take on high acuity patients? Or finding ways to balance assignments for a nurse who’s been put through the wringer with challenging patients the past few shifts? These are considerations that can be challenging to navigate in some circumstances.

What’s enjoyable about being a charge nurse?

Before you worry too much about the challenges of this job, rest assured that there are plenty of rewarding aspects of being a charge nurse.

In exchange for the pressures of the job, charge nurses are entrusted with additional authority and responsibility. “I loved being a charge nurse because I had an overview of the entire unit,” says Paulson. If you’ve got a knack for leadership, then this job could be for you.

“I was also able to work with everyone, mentor new nurses and collaborate with the other ICU members,” says Paulson. “Being a charge nurse was an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience.” With the additional duties, there’s ample variety, so you’ll never have a boring moment.

And charge nurses get the joy of helping out the rest of the nursing team and seeing them succeed. The position lets you take a mentorship and advisory role to lift up the nursing staff.

Furthermore, as a charge nurse, you still get all the rewarding aspects of helping patients and the hands-on work that is typical of nursing positions.

Traits of effective charge nurses

What does it take to be successful as a charge nurse through both the rewarding aspects and the challenges?

First and foremost, Paulson says, “A successful charge nurse is an expert in the specific area or department they operate.” Because the rest of a hospital or department’s nurses depend on the charge nurse’s knowledge, charge nurses need to have above and beyond the typical nurse’s knowledge.

Charge nurses also need to be able to stay calm and levelheaded. When there’s an emergency or unfamiliar situation, the nursing team looks to the charge nurse for experience and advice. Amidst all these stressful situations, charge nurses have to be strong leaders.

“With experience comes many solutions to unpredictable situations,” says Paulson. “Charge nurses are a resource to the facility team and are important for keeping things operational.”

Finally, charge nurses need to be multi-skilled and adaptable. As Paulson says, “A glimpse of what a successful charge nurse should be able to handle: the ability to assess patients, lead the team, be a good mentor, provide support and see the entire unit.”

Ready to lead as a charge nurse?

Now you can answer, “What is a charge nurse?” This nursing leadership role has a lot of overlap with typical nursing duties with the addition of leadership responsibilities and added expertise.

Most of us dread the thought of needles and IVs at the doctor’s office. However, if you’ve had a nurse who managed to do the job in one stick or have had the unfortunate experience of being poked several times in one visit, you know what a difference a well-trained nurse can make.

When you’ve had an IV or watched a patient on a medical drama wince through one, did you know that some nurses can focus their careers specifically on this critical skill? These nurses—vascular access nurses—have experience and often special training to make this situation and other, more advanced, techniques as painless as possible.

What is vascular access nursing? What training do these nurses have? Keep reading to learn more about this nursing specialty that isn’t for the faint of heart.

What are vascular access nurses?

As the job title suggests, vascular access nurses are focused on the tasks and skills needed for accessing a patient’s veins. That might sound simple, but there’s a lot that this entails.

These nurses start IVs as well as other difficult-to-initiate lines like peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and central venous catheters (CVCs). And if a patient leaving the facility needs to have one of these lines, the vascular access nurse teaches the patient how to take care of the line at home, including the precautions to take to help prevent infection.

Through all these tasks, vascular access nurses work with doctors who tell the nurse what type of line to insert. They may also work with the radiology department to confirm the line’s placement. And obviously, they interact directly with patients when inserting lines.

You’ll find these nurses doing their job usually in hospitals, as well as surgery centers, long-term care facilities or units in nursing homes.

While this job has some similarities to IV or infusion nurses, vascular access nurses are responsible for setting up the IV line, while IV or infusion nurses are only responsible for giving a patient the medication or infusions that they need via an IV or other vascular access port.

Vascular access nurse training

What qualifications or certifications do vascular access nurses need?

The most important qualification a vascular access nurse needs is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree or an Associate’s degree in Nursing (ADN). While there are differences, both of these programs will prepare you for the world of nursing and position you to become a registered nurse (RN).

Additional professional certifications like being a Certified Registered Nurse Infusion (CRNI®) or having a Vascular Access Board Certification (VA-BC®) can set you apart and show that you’ve gone the extra mile toward this job. While these are recommendations or preferences for some jobs, other employers may require these qualifications.

Beyond certifications, having experience working with IVs and other types of vascular access is important for this career. Clinical experience in a nursing program can obviously teach you a lot about this and give you hands-on knowledge. Beyond clinicals, though, there are plenty of ways to add further experience to your resume, like working as a phlebotomist, and seeking out opportunities in units that regularly use IVs, PICC lines and CVCs—so intensive care, oncology and emergency units are all solid options for building experience.