Simple Tips on What Next After BSN

What Do You Do After Graduating with a BSN?

You made it through!! You are bad ass and it shows. You have

navigated through the hectic assignments and short deadlines not

to mention the mountain of paperwork and here you are, a

graduate ready to take over the world.

So you have graduated from nursing school and all the pomp and

color had died down and you are wondering what next in this

nursing career journey.

You are probably wondering whether to further your career or

join the world of professionals.

Below are tips to help you navigate through your career

1. Prepare for the NCLEX Exam

As a nursing student in the U.S or Canada, getting registered as

an R.N is fundamental for your career growth. As most students

do, you prepare for the NCLEX exam as you approach

graduation. The standard requirement for any aspiring RN and licensed practical nurse has been to pass the NCLEX, a requirement

that was instated 1994.

Hence after graduation, you are definitely expected to undertake this exam. Thus, continue revising for your exam. You can use

readily available resources provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) on their website to familiarize

yourself with he exam. The NCSBN develops the NCLEX exam to test the competency of nursing school graduates in the U.S.

and Canada. One of the best ways to ensure you increase your chances of passing the exam is by getting yourself a good and

reliable NCLEX prep course study materials.

1. What are the best NCLEX prep courses?

As a first time exam candidate, you most definitely want to increase your chances of passing that particular exam. We have

compiled a list of the best NCLEX prep courses to help you navigate through this exam. 

• Nurse Achieve — Uses an adaptive mock exam technology that provides the student with unlimited attempts to the exam until he or she gets it right and offers detailed performance reports thereafter.
• Kaplan – Seemingly the most widely used prep course, Kaplan conducted a survey whose results showed that a student who had used their CATs (Computer Adaptive Tests) were 7x more likely to pass the actual NCLEX-RN. 
• Hurst Review — This prep course boasts of offering up to 98% the best first time attempt pass rate, making it reliable for all first timers.
• NCLEX Mastery — If you are studying on a budget, then this will be your most preferred option for you as it is the most affordable offering on-the-go study plans and a flexible subscription plans of 1, 3 and 12 months.

2. Find That Perfect Job

Once you pass your NCLEX exams and are now a fully registered RN ready to practice, it is time to hit the job market. Decide

which kind of nursing job you refer. Do you want a part time job or a full time job? Consider the specialty too, your options here

could ne the E.R, pediatrics, long terms care, etc. all depending on your passion for care.  Your fist option is to look at job

placement services. Recently, a lot of job placement services have merged and they partner with healthcare service providers and

help students get jobs in these partner institutions.

You can also check the career sections of healthcare facilities you wish to work in look at the open positions that suit your interest.

3. Experiment and Explore with Your Nursing Career

Once you get that job, do not get into a comfort zone. Nursing is the one career that give you the option to grow into whomever

you want to be career wise. As such, look for a department which you are passionate about and get lots of experience in it. The

good thing about this stage of your career is that you can easily change departments if you feel like one is better than the other. The

opportunities are easily available. Explore them.

4. Enhance Your Nursing Career

• Pursue an MSN – Masters of Science in Nursing

As you continue to work in the wards, you will discover that there is more to nursing than just patient care. You may find yourself

gravitating more towards nursing leadership or policy management, probably you want to specialize in a given area of nursing

studies. In that case, enroll for an MSN – Master in Nursing program, which you can complete in about 27 months and specialize

in the area you feel most interested in. One of the many reasons why most RNs prefer to pursue the MSN is the financial rewards

as MSN accomplished nursed are paid better than their counterpart RNs by an average of almost $10,000 annually.

When going for your MSN program, you can opt to apply for scholarships to cut down on cost especially if you plan to study full

time. Some of the best MSN degree scholarships that you can consider are;

• TYLENOL Future Care Scholarships which awards 10 scholarships worth $10,00 and 25 scholarships worth $5000. .
  • The American Association of Nurses Practitioners (AANP) Scholarship that awards between $2000 and $5000.
  • The March of Dimes Graduate Nursing Scholarship that amounts to $5000.
  • The Nursing Economics Foundation also amounting to $5000
  • The Nurses Educational Funds. Inc. (NEF) Scholarship that awards anything between $2000 to $ 10,000.

•  Pursue an NP – Nurse Practitioner

You may opt to work as a Nurse practitioner outside the hospital setting and with this, there are several options and less stressful

options available when compared to the hospital setting. Recently most nurses have explored their skill and are trying out other

nursing practitioner job opportunities such as;

• Medical writers
• School nurse practitioner
• Public health nurse
• Online urgent care center worker
• Health coaches
• Remote psychiatric nurse practitioner
• Occupational Health NP
• Nurse Informatics

Conclusion

Whatever you choose to do after completing your BSN greatly shapes your future as a nurse. Be sure to take your time as you

decide on your career path and always be flexible to change. As you advance your academics, let Elite Custom Writings walk with

you every step on the assignments and paperwork.