Training begins with courses that orient students to the world of nursing. These courses give students an understanding of where in the health care system they might choose to work and what options exist for specialties. They learn what roles nurses play in day-to-day patient care. Critical thinking and decision-making skills are part of basic courses. They learn the legal and ethical issues involved in nursing as well as how to conduct themselves as professionals.
Nurses must know what to look for when they are working with a patient. The ability to detect signs of such illnesses as stroke, cardiac arrest or respiratory distress is critical. They learn when and how to take vital signs. Prospective RNs learn how to take health histories in diagnostics classes. They learn how to weigh variables such as age and physical condition. This is an area of study that is usually done in a clinical setting.
No one can become a registered nurse without a sound foundation in biology. In biology classes, nurses learn about viruses, bacteria, fungi and other microbes that cause disease. One of the reasons nurses must know this is so they can control the patient environment and protect patients and others from contagion.
Students take classes in pharmacology to learn about medications, the uses of different drugs in healing, and how to administer them. Courses teach how drugs are classified and how dosages are controlled. Nurses learn what to watch for to prevent unfavorable or dangerous reactions to drugs.
In pathophysiology training, nursing students are taught how diseases affect the human body and how the body reacts to them. They learn how to recognize changes in the body when disease is present. Classes teach how the healing process takes place and how medical intervention affects the course of illnesses.
To work as a registered, nurses must hold a bachelor's degree in nursing. Nurses who wish to specialize get a master's degree in nursing. Nurses must do their clinical internships in a medical setting. After graduation, students must pass a national licensing examination, known as the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, to obtain a nursing license. Some states may have additional licensing requirements.