Home Care Nursing |
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Registered Nurse
Career Profile
Registered Nurses in the home care profession provide patients with treatment and education for health care issues. Responsibilities of a home care RN include observing, assessing, and recording patient symptoms, reactions, and progress; and conducting patient education. Depending on their area of specialization, RNs are responsible for administering treatments, performing therapeutic procedures, conducting health screenings, and supervising other nursing staff such as Licensed Practical Nurses or Licensed Nursing Assistants. Because of the independent nature of the position, most home care agencies prefer that Registered Nurse (RN) staff have at least one-year of medical/surgical experience.
Education, Training, and Certification
Registered Nurses (RNs) have to go through one of three types of accredited nursing programs: a diploma, offered by a few hospitals; an associate's degree, offered through community and liberal arts colleges; or a bachelor's degree, offered through colleges and universities. After completing education and training, RNs must complete and pass a state board of nursing exam to receive certification to practice nursing in New Hampshire. Thereafter they are required to perform specified continuing education units (CEUs) annually to maintain their licensure. There are no known hospital-based diploma RN programs available in New Hampshire.
In addition, HCANH periodically offers educational programs with and without CEU credit.
Nursing Schools and Colleges in the Granite State
- Colby Sawyer College, 100 Main Street, New London, NH 03257, 603/526-3700, www.colby.sawyer.edu.
- New Hampshire Community Technical College at Berlin, 2020 Riverside Drive, Berlin, NH 03570, 603/752-1113 or 1-800/445-4525, www.berlin.tec.nh.us.
- New Hampshire Community Technical College at Stratham, 277 Portsmouth Avenue, Stratham, NH 03855, 603/772-1194 or 1-800/522-1194, www.stratham.tec.nh.us.
- New Hampshire Technical Institute, Concord's Community College, 31 College Drive, Concord, NH 03301, 603/271-6484 or 1-800/247-0179, www.nhti.edu.
- Rivier College, 420 Main Street, Nashua, NH 03060-5086, 603/888-1311, www.rivier.edu.
- Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH 03102-1310, 603/641-7000, www.anselm.edu.
- University of New Hampshire, 4 Garrison Avenue, Durham, NH 03824, 603/862-1360, www.unh.edu.
Source: New Hampshire Area Health Education Centers, New Hampshire Health Careers, available at www.nnahec.org/health_careers_catalog.html.