What are the qualifications to become a registered nurse?

project...........

In the US, you need either an associates degree in nursing or a bachelors degree in nursing, and then you sit for the licensure exam, the NCLEX, and once you pass, you are licensed and qualified to work in any just about any position with RN in the title.

The college courses vary, but you will always need the basics like biology, chemistry, anatomy & physiology, some level of math (but not higher math like trig or calculus), English, psychology, sociology, history, arts, etc. The nursing courses teach you the fundementals of nursing such as patient assessment, disease pathology, skills performance (things like wound care / dressing changes, catheter insertion, IV insertion, tracheostomy care, etc.), communication skills, critical thinking skills, etc. You learn about care planning for your patients, your legal responsibilities, your ability to delegate tasks to other employees, and other things relating to your scope of practice.

first you need to go you school for nursing then you need to take your state boards

Each school has their specific list of required courses that need to be completed either prior or during the nursing programs. In general, the prerequisites are anatomy & physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology, and some basic General education courses. Some schools have addition requirements.

To be the State requirement to take the Boards (NLCEX) they are generally no drug or felony convictions and pass a State approved nursing course.

Each State and School is different so you have to do some leg work (or internet work) and see the list of requirements.

If you are applying to several different nursing schools, make sure that the class, such as Anatomy, meets the requirements for both. On the other hand, you may find yourself repeating courses because the class number (Bio 2) was not what they wanted (Bio3).

Good Luck - We need more nurses, we will welcome you to the ranks.