Free online courses for registered nurses provide professionals with the continuing education their profession requires. These resources allow busy nurses to learn new skills in spite of their hectic schedules. Just make sure you select the appropriate nursing specialties to further enhance your career.
Features of Internet Nursing Programs
Web based courses have different features. Some lay emphasis on skill enhancements. Others focus on specific areas like psychiatric emergencies, pediatric nursing, management etc. Before you join, check what the course goal is. This will give you an opportunity to take the right action.
Some Internet courses for example, instruct nurses on taking care of patients with specific ailments. Usually the site will be specific about the course they are offering. Before you sign up, assess if they require membership at the American Nurses Association. If so, you have to sign up for it. The contact hours you will get varies per site. Some courses that offer guidance on how to use infant formulas offer 1.4 contact hours for instance.
Many Options
Well designed nursing sites courses have several packages. This enables them to cater to different nurses with varied specialties. You should have no trouble going over them. The sites list the available courses, their objective, procedure, accreditation statement and other important information.
Most of these courses offer high quality and detailed information. A course in infectious disease and control will teach nurses how bacteria spreads, their level of resistance and so on.
Other Information
Some websites require demographical data about their students. This can be avoided if you pay a small fee. This practice is not mandatory, but you should examine the website first. Look for sites that are complete.
An increasing number of online services offer “webinars”. These are broadcast on the Internet live or prerecorded. They are accessible 24 hours a day. They are filled with many kinds of information including nursing board certification, alternative medicine and many others.
These can mean as much as 30 credit hours. This can be done without ever leaving your home. The continuing education courses are self paced, so you can work out a schedule easily. There are also many universities that offer certification courses on the Internet.
That there are many free online courses for registered nurses should come as no surprise. It is one of the most in-demand professions in the US today. Because competition is tight, the free education online can be very beneficial.