Nurse Encourages Chicagoans To Pursue An Outside Minor
A nurse is more than just someone who weighs a patient, takes temperatures and hands over medication. Before aspiring nurses take steps to go into the medical profession, students and graduates must first choose what type of medical position suits them best: assistive personnel, registered nurses or licensed practical nurses.
The difference is primarily within the level of education. And according to Chicago nurse Courtney Crenshaw, a bachelor's degree in a nursing program is becoming more of a requirement than the suggested associate's degree that the Bureau of Labor Statistics states.
"There's a magnet certification, which is like a pro-nursing kind of mentality that hospitals take on," said Crenshaw. "Often those magnet hospitals or hospitals trying to achieve a magnet status will only hire the bachelor's degree nurse instead of an associate degree prepared nurse even though both have taken the NCLEX exam and both are RNs."
Crenshaw holds a bachelor's degree in Science and Nursing, with a minor in Intercultural Studies in Theology, and is currently enrolled at Northern Illinois University for the master's in Science and Nursing.
Her mother's duties as both a home school teacher for her and her brother and the primary caretaker for her grandmother sparked Crenshaw's interest.
"I really enjoyed watching my mom be a caregiver for my grandma. My mother was the glue that held all the components of my grandmother's care together. She was able to bridge the gap to help my extended family understand medical jargon while my grandmother was going through different treatments. My mom's role as a nurse led me to nursing."
And although there are a plethora of health-related courses that a nurse must take, Crenshaw encourages expanding one's studies.
"I have a minor through the ministry and theology department. I took a lot of trans-cultural courses in rural health and poverty. It gave me good perspective on learning to communicate in an area that I wasn't comfortable with right away."
Learning to speak up is also what Crenshaw encourages new nurses to do before taking on a new job.
"You can work in nursing homes, as a hospice nurse going door to door, in an inpatient hospital facility or you can teach. Make sure you have a great relationship with the manager. Those relationships can be so beneficial down the road for continuing your education."
Shamontiel L. Vaughn is a professional journalist who has work featured in AXS, Yahoo!, Chicago Defender and Chicago Tribune. She's been an Examiner since 2009 and currently writes about 10 categories on Examiner.com.
