Factual Essays
Lifelong Learning
Healthcare Traveler, September 1, 2010
Journal Article
Author: Kuhar, Mark S
ISSN: 1077-5676
Volume: 18
Issue: 3
Start Page: 20
Travelers can benefit from an ongoing dose of career development, from degree programs to CEs to alternative education.
The arrival of fall means going back to school for youngstersand for adults, it is always a good time to assess where you are in terms of career development. For travel nurses and allied healthcare professionals, this means taking care of those CEs and, in many cases, making an effort to add to your skill set or knowledge base through other means.
According to Nola Lowther, RN, EdD, PhD, CNP, a nurse educator who has taught at both the University of Akron and Kent State University nursing schools in Ohio, stepping outside the box can help a medical professional do his or her job better and engage patients in new ways. "Nurses get a sound education in the basics, when you consider anatomy, physiology, and all of the other courses they take," she says. "But there is a lot more to education than nursing basics."
Lowther points out that while nursing is a healthcare profession, it is also a "people profession," and it requires a wide range of skills and a steady stream of perspective. "Dealing with people from a variety of backgrounds with many types of socioeconomic factors in play means nurses have to relate to patients on multiple levels and with varying degrees of professional and personal skill," she explains. "A well-rounded education helps us get to that point."
For a traveler, it is not a huge leap to see the benefits of a diverse educational background. "Being a travel nurse in and of itself says something about a person's penchant for risk-taking and their level of curiosity," Lowther notes. "The desire to add to their educational base fits into who they are. I know nurses who have continued their education while working and obtained degrees in history, music, and other
Healthcare Traveler, September 1, 2010
Journal Article
Author: Kuhar, Mark S
ISSN: 1077-5676
Volume: 18
Issue: 3
Start Page: 20
Travelers can benefit from an ongoing dose of career development, from degree programs to CEs to alternative education.
The arrival of fall means going back to school for youngstersand for adults, it is always a good time to assess where you are in terms of career development. For travel nurses and allied healthcare professionals, this means taking care of those CEs and, in many cases, making an effort to add to your skill set or knowledge base through other means.
According to Nola Lowther, RN, EdD, PhD, CNP, a nurse educator who has taught at both the University of Akron and Kent State University nursing schools in Ohio, stepping outside the box can help a medical professional do his or her job better and engage patients in new ways. "Nurses get a sound education in the basics, when you consider anatomy, physiology, and all of the other courses they take," she says. "But there is a lot more to education than nursing basics."
Lowther points out that while nursing is a healthcare profession, it is also a "people profession," and it requires a wide range of skills and a steady stream of perspective. "Dealing with people from a variety of backgrounds with many types of socioeconomic factors in play means nurses have to relate to patients on multiple levels and with varying degrees of professional and personal skill," she explains. "A well-rounded education helps us get to that point."
For a traveler, it is not a huge leap to see the benefits of a diverse educational background. "Being a travel nurse in and of itself says something about a person's penchant for risk-taking and their level of curiosity," Lowther notes. "The desire to add to their educational base fits into who they are. I know nurses who have continued their education while working and obtained degrees in history, music, and other