Here is a guest post I did for RN FM Radio about From New to ICU and why I created it! I feel like it can be such a great resource for prospective nurses, nursing students, and regular old nurses. Hopefully you feel the same way too!
From New to ICU
Nursing is a specialty that requires a great deal of education whether you are a nursing student or a registered nurse. I recently started a website—From New to ICU—that is focused on helping nurses at all stages of their career! I’m passionate about nursing and helping nurses to develop themselves as medical professionals.
When I was applying for nursing schools, I found it very difficult to quickly find the admission information that I needed for a BSN program. I remember searching the internet for hours looking at the programs that were available to me. It was a process to even figure out what nursing schools require in order to apply to their programs. I was sifting through page after page of university websites to try and compile the information I needed to make a good decision. I had a prior bachelor’s degree which allowed me to apply for accelerated BSN programs rather than go the traditional route. I only evaluated two different accelerated programs because I had no idea how many were available across the United States! Because of this experience, I have created From New to ICU to make the decision of which school to attend and finding prerequisite information for admission much easier for future nurses.
From New to ICU is one of the most comprehensive nursing school information websites. It provides reviews of over 300 BSN, RN to BSN, and Second Degree Accelerated BSN programs. Information provided for each school includes prerequisite GPAs, admission tests, application information, etc. to help pre-nursing students find the right nursing program quickly. If this had been available for me, I would have made a much more informed decision about which BSN program I would have chosen. From New to ICU also acts as the liaison between future nursing students and the university counselors when there are questions about a particular program.
While creating From New to ICU, I realized that there is a great deal of education that can be provided to nurses after completing their formal education. There have been many topics that I have needed more information on as I have grown as a nurse. Because nursing is a profession in which you are always learning, I decided to create a “Nursing Basics” section which discusses various nursing interventions in great detail. Some of these tutorials include inserting IVs, assessing chest tubes, administering medications, and much more! There are always tips and tricks to be learned from older nurses, so why not share them?
Lastly, the “Nursing News” section has a weekly article posted regarding a topic that is either nursing or medically based. Some of the most recent articles have been focused on types of BSN programs, interesting diagnostic cases, and even how to do a thorough head to toe assessment. Nurses can subscribe to these weekly postings if they want an interesting read!
From New to ICU is focused on developing our current and future nurses. Nurses are a very influential force in the healthcare industry. The need for nurses will continue to increase as our population ages. From New to ICU is the perfect website to help nurses with continuing their education whether it be to complete their BSN or simply learn how to better read an EKG.
