Education and Nature

Every state in the nation requires registered nurses to periodically take classes in order to maintain their licensed status. This is actually a good requirement, and ensures that nurses get up-to-date information on the latest trends and practices in the health care field. But RN continuing education courses can be very difficult to fit into an already full schedule, which is why many men and women are now choosing to fulfill their state-mandated requirements via online classes.There are a number of websites that currently provide RN continuing education courses in convenient online formats. Their delivery methods range from interactive web-based classes to audio podcasts and video conferences. You can even choose to get printed course materials delivered to your home or attend live classes in person at a local community college. There are so many choices that you’re bound to find RN continuing education courses that fit your personal lifestyle.Deciding between one delivery method and another or between one educational institution and another really just comes down to a matter of personal preference. Obviously, you’ll want to make sure that the place offering RN continuing education courses is fully accredited and recognized by your state’s licensing board, but beyond that, most nurses base their choices on convenience, affordability, and the kinds of classes offered.Prior to making your decision, it would be a good idea to find out how you can establish proof of completing your RN continuing education courses. Some sites allow you to print off certificates of completion once you finish the final exam. Other schools prefer to send you a transcript or other official paperwork that you can either keep for your own personal files or submit to the state licensing board. The actual method doesn’t matter so much in the end. As long as you can show some kind of proof that you satisfied your RN continuing education requirements, you’ll be fine.For a successful experience in RN continuing education classes, you should go in with the right attitude. If you merely look at this as a hassle that you have to go through every so often, then you’ll probably have a bad time of it. But if you instead approach this as an opportunity to learn new, useful skills that will help you be a better nurse to your patients, then chances are you’ll put forth a greater effort and will enjoy yourself a whole lot more.If you’re looking for a convenient, affordable way to satisfy the RN continuing education requirements and maintain your license, then check out the online courses that are widely available today. You’ll be able to work on your CEUs in your free time and not have to worry about fighting traffic as your commute to campus. Stop procrastinating and go register right now!

Online learning is web-based. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year. Anyone in the nursing profession can access it if he completes a simple registration process. Even before registering, some web sites offer demo versions for preview. The nurse who is enrolled in the course [let’s call her the ‘end-user’] can follow the course at her own pace, unlike in a typical classroom setting. Tutor-student and student-student interaction is possible at highly effective levels, thanks to computer-based facilities like email, messenger, voice mail and mail rings etc. Nursing students and teachers from different parts of the planet can interact with each other and share ideas instantly just at the click of a button. Professional networking has taken on a new turn in the right direction.Technical requirements needed for most online programs are very simple: Just a standard personal computer and internet connection. Most courses don’t require more than Adobe Acrobat Reader, Shockwave and Flash. These are free downloadable programs with multimedia capabilities such as animation, digital audio and video. In the past, students had to go to college to get educated. But today the `world wide web’ is at our door with just the click of a button.Several universities, including the University of Phoenix, Arizona, the pioneer in online education in the US, offer excellent accredited professional courses on the Net. The American Nurses Association offers excellent Online Continuing Education courses with tests, some of which are free to its members. Their official website, http://www.nursingworld.org, hosts a free e-newsletter service called `The Nursing Insider’ and provides ample information on their current Continuing Education courses. Its homepage has a `Continuing Education Archives’ link which takes the user to a short list of Continuing Education modules [hosted from 2001 to 2004] which are no longer offered. However, the user can download the modules as abstracts or full versions and use them for research purposes, according to a notification on the web page. The articles are available as `Full’ as well as `Page turner’ versions.Besides all these, online learning saves the user’s time, money [for instance travel costs to meet with experts], job or family.Hence, it’s time for interested parties to `log on’.