Do Nurses Have to Do Continuing Education?

Do nurses have to do continuing education

The career of a nurse can be very stressful due to all of the work they have to do to get their job with all they have to do.

Not only do they need to go to school, but they also need supervision from people who have authority in the hospital to be able to work.

Though that isn’t all they have to do.

Do nurses have to do continuing education?

Every two years nurses will have to complete 30 hours worth of continuing education which will teach them relevant information on new medical situations.

Our medicine and technology in hospitals are always evolving so it’s important that the nurses who are taking care of these people are always learning new things as well.

Nurses and doctors have the responsibility of making sure that the patient is in the best place possible to make a full recovery.

It’s always scary when managing someone else’s health, but it’s an important responsibility to be able to make the world a better place.

See also: Responsibility of a Nurse

This is something people have to do especially if they want promotions in the workplace.

It’s hard to know who is the best for a certain job, but people who are willing to do the most and have the best results should always be chosen.

In just about any workplace, you will be forced to do more if you want to not get laid off or choose a promotion that’s more favorable as you get older.

It’s something you should generally do even if you don’t want all of these things.

The patient puts a lot of faith in someone that they’ve never met before and that trust deserves respect.

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Do nurses have to do continuing education or not

Do nurses need continuing education?

Nurses don’t always need continuing education based on where they are in their careers.

Some nurses have peaked in terms of what they have accomplished and don’t feel like working anymore in their life.

In that cases, they are going to stick to the skills that they are good at right now and not learn anything new.

Of course, there are benefits of continuing education, but most people don’t want to be able to take different classes after they’ve done so much work to become a nurse.

See also: How to Become a Neonatal Nurse

When it comes to a job like this there is never enough learning.

Though people are taught a lot in school and train very hard to become a nurse in a real hospital, there is always more they can learn.

There are always flaws in what hospitals are currently doing and they need to be able to learn from others to assist in the recovery of their patients in the best way possible.

Nurses should do continuing education for their own benefit, but they aren’t going to lose their job if they decide not to do it.

Some nurses are very comfortable with where they are in their careers.

It’s something that will benefit you if you really want to pursue it.

It’s not for everyone but there are some things outside of your own career that you can benefit from.

One is that the patients are able to trust you a lot more.

Being a patient requires you to put a lot of faith in someone that you’ve never met before.

This takes a lot of patience and hard work but it’s worth it to make the service that you’re going to provide much better.

You’re also going to earn the respect of your co-workers a lot more aside from other things.

See also: Are Nurse Practitioners Respected?

Why do nurses need continuing education?

Nurses always need to take care of the people who they are taking care of and that requires a good amount of experience to be able to do so.

Though there are always going to be fundamentals that are important for nurses to learn, they need to be able to learn new things to truly take care of patients in the future.

See also: How Can Nurses Improve Patient Outcomes?

The science around the world is constantly changing and diseases that we didn’t know how to deal with years ago, have consistent ways of dealing with them today.

From the perspective of the hospital, they want to hire the people who are the most qualified for the job that they are hiring.

Those are people who are willing to work long hours and are willing to learn to get the job done.

The employees that they hire at a job are kind of like assets.

They bring you here to the hospital so that you are able to have a net positive in the workplace.

It is a high-stress environment, but it’s one of the most fulfilling jobs since you’re saving lives. Though you do have to work long hours regularly.

See also: Why Do Nurses Work 12-Hour Shifts?

Nurses need this education because everyone is putting their faith in the nurse.

It’s only fair to them that the nurse confirms the confidence that other people have in them.

There is always so much at stake when someone goes to the hospital. Some people may die and other people may have permanent ailments.

That kind of stress isn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to choose an option that is for everyone.

Part of managing that stress is why people choose this over other jobs.

This is normal for just about every job that you can find in different places.

See also: Flight Nurse Interview Questions

How to get nursing continuing education credits?

To get credits you need to be able to train with supervised staff.

You can’t just study and read books because experience is really important.

There is so much that you gain from having the experience of being in a lab or running tests so that you see whether you have positive or negative results.

Some countries and places like to do this differently from others because there are always going to be flawed when it comes to going to different places.

It’s not always going to be the same as performing in a hospital-based on where you work.

Many times that you are required to do these kinds of things, the staff is going to over-prepare you since there is no real preparation when dealing with death.

Nurses also need to be able to react fast at a moment’s notice.

It’s that kind of drive that keeps someone who is able to survive once they get out of the hospital.

Sometimes, it’s that kind of reaction that ends up saving someone’s life and leaves them walking out of the hospital on their own.

Though, when those moments come, the nurses have to react with the exact steps at lightning speed.

Sometimes, you can even get these education credits online.

See also: How to Get ACLS Certification?

Some people may have health problems, or simply can’t make the commute to be able to go to certain places to get this done.

Online gives you a certificate that is delivered to you that you can show at interviews.

It has authority even across different states, and you’re also going to be learning more education that saves lives.

Even if you’ve been a great nurse in the past, everyone needs a refresher to be able to know how much is good in the long run.

See also: Do Nurses Take the MCAT?

How many continuing education credits do nurses need?

The majority of nurses in the United States, need 30 credits to get their continuation certification.

This could take anywhere from a few months to a year.

There are certain jobs like architecture or engineering, where people know just about everything they could practically use to make the experience better for the customer.

Unlike those jobs, in the hospital, there is almost no way of making sure you can perfect the saving of each life.

Doing this requires a commitment to learn more and be there with your patients as they recover.

Some countries require you to learn a lot more for continuation credits. Not all of them have as many drugs or the technology that America does.

See also: Do Nurses Get Drug Tested?

It’s not a good or a bad thing, but it’s something that a person who wants to do better has to think about.

The time that you need to contribute to get this accomplished isn’t as significant as you think it would be.

It’s an important thing that you have to do because there are so many different parts that the hospital needs to do.

There is just so much that is constantly changing and you have to keep up with it.

See also: What Motivates You Nursing Interview Question

Conclusion: Do nurses have to do continuing education?

There is a lot that needs to be taken care of in the hospital. You need to be able to take care of others regardless of what they did in the past or how they live their life.

It’s a stressful job that is going to cause many hours of your sleep to be lost among other things.

Technology is constantly changing which is why you have to keep learning regardless of how much you think you know right now.

See also: Will Nurses Be Replaced by Robots?

Even if you could memorize books based on medicine, that still wouldn’t be good enough to take care of others forever.

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About Ida Koivisto, BSN, RN, PHN

Ida is both a registered nurse and public health nurse. Her passion is to provide as much valuable information about nursing to the world as possible. In her spare time from work and blogging, Ida loves to work out at the gym and spend time with relatives.