St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH, and Franklin Pierce College recently signed an agreement to create a new program that will help nurses turn associate’s degrees into bachelor’s degrees over a two-year period. The program will help move nurses toward master’s degrees, which are necessary to become staff educators. That, in turn, should help to stem the nursing shortage in New England. Students interested in becoming nurse educators will make...  Read More »

When preparing your resume, use 12-point type, Arial or Helvetica font, and be sure to use quality paper in a neutral color (such as white or cream). When sending it, use a manila mailing envelope that is 8.5 x 11 inches so you don’t have to fold your resume. Source: Stressed Out: About Your First Year of Nursing, HCPro, Inc., 2006.   Read More »

A quick chat with… Jennifer Sheehan, a 3rd-year nursing student at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, NY: In five words or less, why do you want to be a nurse?Opportunity, smiles, making a difference What one thing do you need to do everyday before your first class?Relax, breathe, and refocus on why I’m doing this. What’s your favorite color scrubs?Hot pink! What’s the toughest class you’ve taken at nursing school?Pharmacology What’s...  Read More »

It looms large at the end of every nurse’s education. It’s a daunting, intimidating collection of questions meant to test knowledge on anything, everything, and then some other things. It is, without further ado, the National Council Licensure Examination. Or, as you like to call it, the NCLEX®. So, why is the test so scary? Is it the amount of information on it? Is it the reality that, upon successful completion, you are an actual nurse? Or is...  Read More »