You’ve had your mind set on becoming a nurse and attending nursing school for quite a while, and now that the time is almost here, you’re raring to go.

The lead-up to starting nursing school is undoubtedly an exciting time. You have a host of new people to meet, skills to master and a lot of the relatively unknown occupying your mind. Now’s a great time to tap into that excitement and get as prepared as possible for the start of your nursing school experience.

That doesn’t mean you’ll need to immediately go out and buy fresh scrubs in every color or start flipping through NCLEX® practice questions, but there are several helpful things you can do to make the transition to nursing school a smooth one. Keep reading for some practical tips on preparing for nursing school.

7 helpful things you can do before starting nursing school

1. Build a support system

You’re about to enter a whole new stage of life. Being a full-time student can be taxing on your self-confidence and mental health. Having people in your corner to check in with you and remind you how hard you’re working and how far you’ve come can give you a big boost. Whether that’s a partner, friend, parent, mentor or therapist, keep them close.

Keep an open mind about meeting new friends in nursing school too. Your cohort will be along for the ride with you, facing many of the same challenges. They can encourage you and keep you accountable to your studies. You might even want to organize a study group to quiz each other.

You may also need to level set some expectations with friends and family. You might have to cut back on social commitments or change how you hang out. Study breaks with loved ones may look more like walks and a good meal than a whole beach day or staying out late. Let them know you may need some time to figure out what your new rhythm looks like. Not everyone may be supportive, but don’t forget to thank the ones that are.

2. Focus on your health

Get set for a strenuous stretch by building up healthy habits now. Whether you’ve been meaning to recommit to an exercise routine, learn some nutritious recipes, start taking vitamins or nail down a better bedtime routine, now is a great time to make it happen. Building consistent healthy habits now will only benefit you as you transition into the routine of nursing school.

As you likely know, making sure you’re caught up on immunizations is a must for entrance into nursing school. While you’re visiting the doctor, it may be a good idea to take care of an annual physical, too. It might not be the most exciting thing, but getting yourself set up with health insurance and in the habit of tending to your own health is a good habit to start as soon as possible.

3. Get your financial house in order

Needing to manage your money is a fact of life and one that doesn’t necessarily get easier once you’re in school. Take the time to get a better handle on your financial circumstances. If you haven’t already, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), as it is the key to receiving any government-based financial aid you may be eligible for. But that’s not all you can do to ease potential financial stress while you’re in school.

It will take some additional effort, but be sure to seek out and apply for additional scholarships. Take some time to figure out how you’ll budget for living expenses and what changes are needed to make it work. If you’re a military service member or veteran, you have additional options to help you afford college.

Beyond awards, grants and student loans, you can also help your budget the old-fashioned way—with a job. Working as a patient care technician, certified nursing assistant or phlebotomist can help you get your foot in the door at a healthcare provider before even starting nursing school.

If you aren’t looking to get additional certifications before school but you still want to work in a healthcare setting, try seeking out direct patient care positions that typically don’t require any medical experience, like a transporter or dietary aide.

Working in healthcare before nursing school can help you save up some cash while getting a primer on medical terminology. The experience can also further solidify your desire to become a nurse.

4. Stock up on essentials

While telling you to go shopping might seem contradictory to our last point, there are some commonly useful items that can help as you prepare for nursing school. Whether you’re an in-person or online shopper, here’s a list to consider:

• Your favorite frozen foods or ingredients for simple meals
• Compression socks for long days on your feet
• A watch with a second hand for counting respirations and pulses
• Notetaking device (notebook, tablet, etc.)
• Basic school supplies
• Textbooks (if not provided)

It’s a small step, but knowing that you have all of the assorted supplies you’ll need to hit the ground running can be a confidence booster.

5. Start studying

You’re going to have a lot of information to process soon, so why not get a head start on some of the basics? If you are so inclined to do some prep studying, there are a few topics that might give you the most benefit:

• Brushing up on medical terminology/anatomy and physiology
• Practicing basic unit conversions to prep for pharmacology
• Memorizing basic lab values (BMP, CBC, ABG)
• Practicing fundamental nursing skills: head-to-toe assessments, manual blood pressures, taking pulses, counting respirations, etc.

Keep in mind, some nursing students have strong opinions on whether “prep study” time for nursing school is necessary. While it can help you get into the right headspace and help establish a study routine, understand that it won’t be a cure-all that makes every academic subject a breeze.

6. Find a go-to planner

You can just about guarantee nursing school will feel a little overwhelming at first. The best way to counteract that feeling is by breaking everything thing down into steps and getting organized.

Finding a planner or a calendar system you love can help with that. Visualizing your schedule and adding in your tasks can help you clearly see what needs to get done and when.

If you don’t have one that works for you, try out some planners or calendars to see how they fit your life. Whether you’re a digital or analog kind of student, there are a ton of options out there.

7. Indulge in some you time

With a flurry of work, study and more coming up soon, try to carve out some time prior to enrolling to tackle something that’s strictly for you. Whether it’s a fun road trip, a hobby or a goal you’ve long wanted to accomplish, the time before nursing school is as good as any to focus on yourself and your happiness.

Take in some relaxation time and charge yourself up for what’s to come. While you’re doing this, take note of what keeps you happy and going strong. These are the things you’ll need to lean on during the tough days you’ll likely have.

Every job has its ups and downs, and learning more about those specifics can help you understand the daily life of a home health nurse even better. Aside from the large variable of being in a patient’s own home, there are some other benefits and challenges to consider.

Con: Less team support

Home health nurses often perform their visits solo. Without the benefit of a care team or an entire unit working with you in a medical facility, home health nurses need to develop a wider array of skills to respond to problems that might arise. “With home nursing, you are mostly on your own,” says Beth Hawkes, MSN, RN-BC and owner of Nurse Code. She explains that you primarily need bedside care skills for the constant work, but you also need to develop the ability to respond well without aid in the case of an emergency.

Pro: More autonomy

The challenge of working alone is also a perk in certain ways. Hawkes says home health nurses have a great deal of professional autonomy. The skills you develop while needing to make choices on your own, field new variables and respond to different patient and family situations are extremely valuable skills for the nursing field at large. It’s an excellent role for people who like to work with more independence and have more agency in how they do their job.

Con: There’s a lot of documentation and paperwork

Home health nurses need to be highly meticulous with things like medication tracking, checking and double-checking dosages, timetables and pretty much every aspect of the treatment plan. Much of that needs documentation as well.

“We often spend hours intercepting mistakes,” Hawkes explains. “While you sleep happily obliviously, nurses are constantly checking and checking, protecting you from even the smallest mistake. When you wake up, we say, ‘Good morning!’ and leave it at that.”

Pro: It’s very individual-focused

Home health nurses have the added personal connection of being in a patient’s own residence. While this has its drawbacks, there’s no denying that it’s more intimate to work with someone in the place they call home. Hawkes says the best part is developing good relationships with patients and creating a care plan tailored to their specific needs and situations.

What qualities make for a successful home health nurse?

RNs need a unique set of characteristics to do well in this unique healthcare career. With no team of medical staff just down the hall, home health nurses need to be confident in their nursing abilities—and in their roles as patient advocates.

“Being a good advocate for your patients means calling the doctor when something isn’t going the way it should and monitoring your patients to ensure they’re safe,” Pourron says. Performing well independently and advocating or explaining patient needs to the physician are two skills that a great home health nurse needs.

Compassion and communication are also vital qualities. “Communicating with the family about their needs and arranging your visits around their schedule lets them know they are important,” Pourron says. She adds that educating patients and their families about disease and the recovery process is crucial in helping them reach their health goals, so home health nurses should be willing to devise creative teaching strategies!

How do you become a home health nurse?

The first step to becoming a home health nurse is to get educated. But with so many educational tracks for nurses, what makes the most sense for you? We used real-time job posting analysis software to review the listed education requirements of over 85,000 home health nursing jobs and found that 75 percent of these jobs require less than a bachelor’s degree.² That means most home health nursing positions will be available to nurses who complete either a or Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) program and pass the appropriate NCLEX® exam for their level of practice.

Once you’re licensed, you’re fully qualified to work as a home health nurse—though some employers may want to see prior experience working in general nursing settings.

We’ve established that RNs and NPs are important, distinct roles. But how do they compare from a healthcare professional’s point of view? Michelle Bliss, an oncology/hematology nurse practitioner, says the most apparent differences are tied to NPs increased scope of practice—and the level of responsibility that comes with it.

To illustrate, Bliss offers the example of working with patient lab results.

“RNs are expected to review labs but are not responsible for interpreting those labs, while NPs write the orders for the labs, interpret them and diagnose,” Bliss explains.

Depending on the setting, there may be differences in the total number of patients an NP or RN interacts with in a given day—often RNs will be assigned to a smaller subset of patients in a specific unit while an NP will need to check in with all.

Scope of practice differences can often mean different work expectations and hours, as well. As an RN, Bliss says she typically worked her shift and went home.

“It was rare to be contacted about work or a patient once you left for the day,” Bliss recalls. “As an NP, I sometimes get paged after hours, or have physicians call me at home, chart at home and often work late.”

The trade-off to having additional responsibility and educational requirements as an NP comes through when comparing earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 2020 median annual salary for nurse practitioners is $111,680.¹ For registered nurses, the BLS reports a 2020 median annual salary of $75,330.¹

How are nurse practitioner and registered nursing roles similar?

Clearly both NPs and RNs play a direct, hands-on role in patient care—but how else are they similar?

For one, both RNs and NPs can pursue specialization to focus their work on a specific type of care. For example, RNs may specialize in intensive care, pediatrics or as PACU nurses in post-anesthesia care—and that’s just to name a few. Nurse practitioners also have the choice to pursue specialized focus areas like adult-gerontology, psychiatric-mental health, pediatrics and more. One distinction regarding specializations you should be aware of is that NPs choose their specialty focus prior to or during graduate school, while RNs have the flexibility to change concentrations after obtaining licensure.

Work setting is also an area of significant overlap. Both RNs and NPs work in similar healthcare spaces, such as family clinics, hospitals and specialty settings like outpatient surgical centers.

For Liphart Rhoads, the similarities in the roles are rooted in nursing education.

“The similarities come down to initial education and philosophical views of patient, nurse, health and environment,” says Liphart Rhoads. “RNs and NPs tend to have the same holistic view of patients and health, which directs the compassionate care that they provide.”

Bliss also says that her nursing foundation continues to inform her work as a nurse practitioner.

“Nurses are taught to treat the entire person, to attend to physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the patients,” she explains. “My RN experience taught me how to talk to patients and families and made me more empathetic. Patients tend to entrust more personal things to their nurse, like financial and family concerns. This has helped me become more aware of things that can impact their care.”

Can registered nurses become nurse practitioners?

The good news for anyone torn between these roles is that making the transition from RN to NP is relatively straightforward. Specific eligibility requirements will vary from program to program, but most NP programs will at a minimum require candidates to have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and obtain RN licensure in order to enroll.

While it’s a straightforward path to educational advancement for most registered nurses, the effort and investment required of nurse practitioner students should not be taken lightly. Becoming a nurse practitioner is a significant step up in the decision-making and care hierarchy, and with that comes extensive training and education.

Love the idea of working in critical care nursing? The complex care, participation in intense procedures and narrow focus that comes with lower patient ratios can all have an allure. While the patients these nurses tend to are often too sick or sedated to carry on a conversation or say thank you, critical care nurses don’t mind—they just want to see their patients get better.

These units are unsurprisingly filled with specialized equipment and tools to help do just that. One tool you may have heard about is the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine. Whether you’ve ever worked with an ECMO patient or not, you may be intrigued by this machine and the trained staff who know how to use it.

Furthering the intrigue is that working with this specialized equipment isn’t just for respiratory therapists or cardiovascular perfusionists. Experienced ICU nurses who fulfill certain requirements can also be called on to help. Read on, and we’ll walk through what ECMO is, what ECMO nurse specialists do and how to become one.

What is ECMO?

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a last resort therapy for some of the sickest patients in the hospital. It allows the heart and lungs to rest by pumping the patient’s blood into the machine, which oxygenates and warms the blood before pumping it back into the body through plastic tubes.

It can be used to help very sick patients with heart or lung conditions get the rest they need. It’s often used as a “bridge treatment” to help patients with cardiac or respiratory failure before and after cardiothoracic surgery. Often, ECMO patients are treated with mechanical ventilators as well. During this treatment, patients are sedated and given pain medications to make them more comfortable.

It’s important to note that ECMO is only a “life-sustaining treatment.” It does not cure or treat the disease or injury that led to heart or lung failure. This means that if the original condition is not improving, it may be very hard for the patient to get off ECMO support. This can make for difficult decisions about the patient’s quality of life going forward. It’s also important to note that this specialized treatment option isn’t universally available. Typically, only large medical centers have the resources to support ECMO care, so this can compound some of the challenging care decisions made during times of great demand.

Seeing a patient on an ECMO machine and ventilator can be a lot to take in—both mentally and emotionally. While you’ll start to understand more about the machine and process as you gain more experience, it can still be difficult to watch. “I will never forget the first patient I personally took care of who was on ECMO,” says Nakisa Baher, RN-BSN and ECMO nurse specialist at Bryan Health Medical Center. “You never really get used to seeing ECMO in action.”

What is an ECMO specialist nurse?

ECMO specialist nurses are registered nurses trained to manage the ECMO circuit for critically ill patients. While these nurses have backgrounds as staff critical care nurses, their focus as the ECMO specialist is the machine and knowing how to troubleshoot it in an emergency.

Many ECMO specialist nurses have backgrounds in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) and often work separate shifts as a staff nurse in addition to their shifts as an ECMO specialist. The staff nurse caring for an ECMO patient must think about all of the patient’s needs while the ECMO specialist is hyper-focused on the patient’s vitals and how they are responding to the ECMO treatment.

Aside from ECMO nurse specialists, ECMO specialists can also include respiratory therapists, cardiovascular perfusionists and physicians who have undergone ECMO training.

Have you been seeing more tattoos around recently?  Once considered by many to be a taboo practice reserved for rebels, sailors and other rough-and-tumble types, this act of expression has moved from the fringes to the mainstream, particularly with the younger generations entering the workforce.

As the popularity of tattoos has risen, so have questions about their visibility in the workplace and whether their presence can cause issues for those who possess them.

Can nurses have tattoos? Are there any guidelines to stick to? Does it even matter in the eyes of employers?

These questions are especially pressing for would-be nurses who already have tattoos (or have their hearts set on getting one soon)—so what’s the verdict on tattoos in nursing?

We’ve gathered together answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about nursing and tattoos by consulting those who work in the healthcare industry. Keep reading to see their answers along with some real-world examples of specific hospital policies.

5 Major questions about nursing and tattoos answered

1. Can I get a tattoo as a nurse?

Let’s take on the biggest question right away. The simple answer is yes. A tattoo is unlikely to disqualify you from working as a nurse, though there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

Depending on your place of work, there may be rules about the types of tattoos and visibility restrictions, but these can vary greatly from place to place. In the following questions, we’ll dive more into the distinctions about what different workplaces may require of their tattooed employees.

2. What are some common hospital rules regarding tattoos?

While restrictions on tattoos may have historically been in place, many hospitals are updating their rules to match the shifting attitudes of the public. For example, the Mayo Clinic® updated its tattoo policy in 2018 from requiring employees to cover all tattoos to allowing visible tattoos “if the images or words do not convey violence, discrimination, profanity or sexually explicit content.”² The policy goes on to state that tattoos containing such messages must be covered with either bandages, clothing or cosmetics, with the employer reserving the right to use discretion with this policy.

Mitch Peterson, clinic supervisor at M Health® Fairview®, notes that policies on tattoos have evolved over the years. Like Mayo Clinic, his organization’s policy used to be “no visible tattoos,” but in his years working, it has become more flexible. Their current policy states that “directors may ask that tattoos be covered if they may be offensive to patients or may affect safe patient treatment.” Peterson adds that in his experience both as an employee and as a supervisor in administration, he has “never once heard of an employee who had to cover their tattoos.”

While anecdotal, these examples should give aspiring nursing some degree of comfort about how tattoos will be perceived by employers. Keep it clean or covered, and you’re likely in the clear.

3. Is it legal for a hospital to ask me to cover up a tattoo?

It is important to note that most healthcare tattoo policies will have an element of employer discretion, meaning it can be the administration’s call to determine whether a visible tattoo is appropriate. Tattoos are not part of a protected classification under the law, so it is perfectly legal for an employer to ask you to cover a tattoo if they think it violates the workplace policy.³

Whether you agree with their determination of appropriateness or not, keep in mind you likely won’t have many avenues for appeal beyond looking for another employer. That said, if one employer takes issue, there’s a good chance others will as well.

4. Are there any precautions I should take before getting a tattoo?

Tattoos are a personal choice of artistic expression, but it is possible to take some precautions if you have any worries about them affecting your employment options (or would just like to avoid any covering-related hassle). Susan Gentile is a nurse at ChoicePoint Health, and the first piece of advice she gives is to familiarize yourself with hospital policy.

“Before getting a tattoo, take out some time and study your dream facility’s rules and views regarding tattoos,” says Gentile.

She would advise you to pay attention to the type of tattoo you are getting and the location, and if you are uncertain about its appropriateness at all, to opt “for a small tattoo that is easily coverable by cloth.”

5. What do I do if I have a tattoo and am not sure if it’s appropriate?

The best course of action is to have that discussion with someone in the field or at your desired place of employment. “If you are comfortable with it, discuss that with a hospital supervisor, HR or employee services, as they will be able to give you guidance,” says Peterson. “They will have a good understanding of what would be considered appropriate in their clinics given patient demographics, considerations for other staff members and any other concerns you may have.”