With the national push for more BSN prepared RN’s, many nurses are considering completing a RN to BSN program. For the experienced RN these programs can be pretty straight forward, completed online or on campus and in as little as 12-18 months.
Completing a BSN program is major decision that needs careful planning.
Before enrolling in a program there are some factors to take into consideration:
Make sure the school is regionally and nationally accredited by proper authorities in your state. The last thing you want to do is complete a degree and not have it recognized by your state’s nursing board. Accreditation is also important if you want to continue your education towards a master’s or doctoral degree in the future.
Take a close look at the course requirements to see if you are ready for the commitment and rigors of being a student again.
Look at the course formats and make sure they suit your learning style. Courses can be delivered in a variety of ways: online, face-to-face, or hybrid. Inquire about day, evening and weekend classes that would work with your schedule. Whatever you choose, remember that going back to school will affect your lifestyle.
Last, but not least, inquire about the costs of the program and incorporate school expenses; tuition, books, supplies, ect into your budget.
In addition to working as a FNP, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at www.renursing.com for more ideas on how to reinvent your career
A recent national security breech has left consumers concerned about protecting their identity. Your personal information is floating around everywhere. Any place you have done business has a record of your personal information. The local retail chain you love so much. The mortgage company. The phone company. Everywhere.
How do you protect yourself if your information is floating around in cyberspace waiting for someone to steal and take advantage of? It’s not possible to erase what is already in cyberspace, but there are ways to protect yourself from identity thieves.
Review your credit history and review it often. Long gone are the days where you need to pay for a credit report. The three credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, allow you to check your credit once yearly for free, but you should do so more often to catch any suspicious activity. One idea is to get your free report from a different agency every 4 months so it will not only be free, but you will get an accurate picture from each agency since agencies may have discrepancies between them.
Sign up for email/text alerts when possible. I’ve caught identity thieves on two separate occasions because the company they stole from sent me a confirmation email. I was able to quickly take action, report the crime, and get my money back.
Change your passwords routinely. I know this is a pain, but its essential to safeguarding your online life. Make it a habit to change your passwords every 3-6 months to accounts such as your bank, email, online shopping, etc. Make your passwords hard for someone to crack by using symbols, numbers, and letters. And don’t use the same password for multiple accounts…once they crack one they have access to all accounts with that same password.
Invest in a good shredder. Shred all documents containing personal information before tossing them in the trash.
Be cognizant of who you give your personal information to. Make sure you enter personal information only on trusted websites. Never respond to an email requesting your login information and password. If the website or email looks fishy check into it before submitting information.
Implementing these tips will help keep your personal information safe and secure from cyber thieves. A few changes now can save a lot of heartache and lost money later. Next week I will cover what to do if the unfortunate happens. Stay tuned to learn how to get your life back on track from a stolen identity.
In addition to working as a RN, Nachole Johnson is a freelance copywriter and an author with her first book, You’re a Nurse and Want to Start Your Own Business? The Complete Guide, available on Amazon. Visit her ReNursing blog at http://renursing.wordpress.com.
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