Looking for Chicago travel nursing jobs could be a handful, especially if you are just starting off and you do not know where and how to begin. Usually, if you are a travel nurse and want to accept a job in Chicago, you have your agency to help you with that, but if you don’t have, here are tips and trick on how to get a job as a registered nurse in Chicago:
How do I become a registered nurse in Chicago?
Entry Level Practice Nurses
- Identify whether you want to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or a registered nurse (RN)
Chicago nursing jobs for new grads usually let you choose between the two. The difference between the 2 is that, in order to become a licensed practical nurse, you need to complete a one year program that teaches you about basic patient care while being a registered nurse means you have to complete a one or two years associate’s degree (ADN) or a four year bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN)
Education is the key, the longer you study, the more in-depth and specialized your knowledge on your chosen specialty will be, which eventually leads to more opportunities that would open up for your career.
- Meet the relevant prerequisites
If you are taking part in the LPN, you need to finish high school or your GEDs. If you want to be a registered nurse and take up ADN and BSN programs, you have to complete a number of prerequisite courses in subjects that include math, english, statistics, and biology.
- Pass the appropriate NCLEX exam
The NCLEX-PN examination is usually only for the licensed practical nurses while the NCLEX-RN examination is for the registered nurses.
Advances Practical Nurses
- Earn a graduate degree in a nursing specialty
You should do this through attending programs that are accredited by the United States Department of Education. The Nurse Practice Act of Illinois include the following curriculum must be followed:
- Advanced nursing patient assessment and diagnosis
- Ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic and therapeutic tests
- Ordering and using nursing medical, therapeutic, and corrective measures in treatment
- End-of-life and palliative care
- Advanced counseling
- Patient education
- Health education
- Patient advocacy
- Advanced pharmacology
- Become nationally certified
If you want to become nationally certified, you must meet the requirements of the agency that you are registered with. Illinois recognizes the following specializations:
- CNP- Certified Nurse Practitioner
- CNM- Certified Nurse Midwife
- CRNA- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
- CNS- Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist
Aside from those, Illinois also recognized that following bodies that provide national
certification
- AMCB
- NBCRNA
- SUNA
- ANCC
- AANP
- NCC
- PNCB
- AACN
- ARN
- ONCC
- ABCM
- AANN
- American Board of Occupational Health Nurses
- AHNCC
- American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification
- PSNCB
- HANCB
- BCEN
- CCI
- ABCGN
- DNCB
- IBLCE
- INTNSA
- INCC
- National Board of Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses
- SVM
- WOCNCB
- ONCB
- BONENT
- Apply for you Illinois APN license
In applying for your Illinois APN license, you use the Advanced Practice Nursing Licensure Application, where you will decide your specialization. There are also some other pieces of documentation and fees that you will need.
If you had a license from a different state in the last 5 years, you must include in there the Document CT-APN, send this to the Board of the state you first got your license at, then send it back to Illinois.
If you have completed your studies but have not taken up any of your certification examinations, you could ask for a temporary permit, which is valid for 6 months.
If you want to apply for prescriptive authority, you have to complete the MId-Level Practitioner Controlled Substance License, in which you would pay an additional 5 dollars for.
- Renew your license by May 31 of each even-numbered year
This part, you could complete online. You need to send in a copy of your national certificate, proof of continuous education (CE- 50 Hours in the past 2 years), your RN license and the necessary fees that come with it.
How much do BSN Nurses make in Chicago? Well, registered nurses make an average of $69,556 a year, depending on the specialty that you chose since the salary of a nurse depends on where they work and what part of the hospital or healthcare facility they work at. Keep up with your education and keep learning if you want to one up your nursing career.
More Stories
Choosing the Best Care for Your Dog During Vacations
What To Do In Calgary In Winter | 2022
Is Tulum Safe? (Updated 2022)