Importance of Continuing Education and Certifications

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
            A little fun fact about me is that I am truly a lifelong learner to the core. I love learning something new every day, even if it has no relation to nursing. One of my favorite things in nursing is the vast education and certifications that are possible after you graduate. To me, the only problem is going to be what to choose first! However, many don’t think like this. And that’s okay! I am a firm believer in staying where you are if you love where you are. However, I love change as well, always want to improve myself, and continuing being the little lifelong learner I’ve always been.
            Regardless of what specialty you love, there are so many certifications and additional education that can boost your knowledge and patient care as a nurse! They also help to keep you up to date with the new technology, methods, and evidenced-based practice out there from research studies and credible trials.
            Additionally, it was always my original dream to be a doctor. When I was seven years old, I got a doctor’s coat for Christmas from Santa and didn’t take it off until it didn’t fit. As I got older and learned the true role of a doctor, I started to dislike the profession all together because I wanted to serve, protect, and help people at their most vulnerable. And the best way for me to do that was to be a nurse! Was I upset that my childhood self didn’t get her dream to be a doctor? No way! Because I can STILL be a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or get my PhD! All the advanced certifications and education opportunities are just another reason why I believe that the nursing profession is the best profession.
            And yes, we are still in undergraduate school and going BACK to school can seem so far in the future and impossible. But like I said in my past blog post, the WHY factor is so important to your continuance of education. Because while undergraduate nursing school is pretty much mandatory to be a nurse, being a lifelong learner as a nurse is NOT as required. I encourage you to research what certifications and educational opportunities are available in the specialty that you would like to be. I encourage you to get your first nursing job after undergraduate and look at their tuition reimbursement rates. I encourage you to want the best for your patients by being a lifelong learner. But most of all, I encourage you to dream. Make the little child you were proud of who you are today.
 
Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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