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Maryland RN Certification and Schools - MD
By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: February 16th, 2010
Maryland is not unique in its paucity of qualified registered nurses. The Statewide Commission on the Crisis in Nursing was authorized by Maryland at the start of the century to investigate causes for and make recommendations to reverse the increasing shortage of qualified nursing personnel in the state.
In one of its surveys it found that most RNs and LPNs (licensed practicing nurse) found that excessive paperwork and hours to be challenging parts of the job, and that nurses sought to offer quality patient care and bristled at anything that prevented them from their goal.
If you have the compassion for people and the passion to work in this challenging, rewarding and lucrative field, you may benefit from the many open positions nurses are able to fill. It’s not an easy job. The schooling is long and the days are filled with emotional, difficult work. Attention to detail and patience are skills you must hone. But the reward of nursing people back to health is unmatched by many other fields and the demand for your talents can be found all over Maryland and beyond.
Educational Requirements for Registered Nurses in Maryland
The Maryland Nurses Association counts several campus based and online Maryland RN schools where you can earn an associate’s degree in nursing and eight universities where you can earn a bachelor’s degree.
After high school, if you think nursing is for you, attending a junior or community college to earn an associate’s degree in nursing is a quick way to start your career in just two years.
If you want to open the door to more opportunities, consider attending a university where you can earn a bachelors of science in nursing. Your compensation in the long run may very well offset the additional two years you spend in school (compared to earning an associate’s degree), and you will find more positions are available to you with your B.S.
There are also schools where you can take a bachelor’s degree you’ve already earned and obtain a second, nursing degree, springboarding off the general classwork you’ve already taken and focusing only on nursing skills.
Beyond that, you can earn a master’s or a doctorate degree in nursing, which will allow you to pursue much higher paying and much more challenging jobs with more responsibility, including the authority to prescribe medicine, in some cases.
Through campus or online programs, aspiring Registered Nurses in Baltimore, Columbia, Silver Spring and Ellicot City, Maryland may be able to prepare themselves for the possibility of employment in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state including the Franklin Square Hospital Center, Holy Cross Hospital, John Hopkins Medicine and Prince George’s Hospital Center.