A rehabilitation nurse is a healthcare professional who specializes in physical therapy and occupational therapy. The job duties of these nurses include assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the treatment of patients with disabilities or injuries. Rehabilitation nurses work in hospitals but can also find employment at clinics or other medical facilities. There are several steps to becoming a rehabilitation nurse: learning about the education requirements, choosing where to work after graduation from college and applying for certification in your chosen career field.
Learn about the education and training required to be a rehabilitation nurse.
The first step to becoming a rehabilitation nurse is to understand the education and training required. In general, you will need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). You will also need to apply for licensure as a registered nurse (RN) with your state board of nursing.
In addition to these requirements, most employers require two years of experience working in the field before they hire new employees into their programs. This experience can be obtained either through an internship or by working with another healthcare provider such as a home health agency or hospital outpatient department during residency training periods
Determine whether you want to work in a hospital or out of one.
You should also consider whether you want to work in an outpatient setting or an inpatient setting. Outpatient rehabilitation provides more flexibility in your schedule and can be more convenient, but it may not offer the same level of care as an inpatient facility. Inpatient rehabilitation offers structured care, but it may not allow for as much flexibility in your schedule or location. Consider your lifestyle and personal preferences when deciding which type of facility is right for you:
Consider doing an internship or practicum to get hands-on experience before you graduate.
As you prepare to enter the field of rehabilitation nursing, there are several things that you can do to make sure that you are prepared for what’s ahead. One way is through an internship or practicum. This is considered a great way to gain hands-on experience before graduating from school.
A good way to find out if an organization offers internships or practicums is by contacting them directly and asking if they have any openings available at this time in their program. If so, follow up with application materials as soon as possible so that they can be reviewed by staff members who manage these types of opportunities within the organization’s structure.
Once accepted into an internship or practicum program (or both), it will be important for students to understand how these programs operate so that they get the most out of them during their tenure there!
Find a job or volunteer with a hospital or medical facility that has a rehabilitation unit.
To begin your search for a job or volunteer opportunity, look up hospitals and medical facilities in your area that offer rehabilitation units. This will give you experience working with patients who have been injured or are disabled and help you decide if this is the right career path for you.
Apply for certification as soon as possible after graduation so that you can begin working in your chosen field sooner.
As soon as you graduate from the program, apply for certification. This will help you get a job much faster and make it easier for you to advance within your organization.
Certification is also important because employers are increasingly looking at certification when they’re hiring new employees or promoting existing staff members. If you have earned your RN license and have achieved some level of specialization through further education or training (such as becoming a rehabilitation nurse), then this says something positive about your ability as an employee–and thus makes it more likely that someone will hire or promote you over another candidate who has similar experience but no formal qualifications.
Being a rehabilitation nurse is rewarding and fulfilling, but it can take some time to get there
Becoming a rehabilitation nurse is rewarding and fulfilling, but it can take some time to get there.
The first step is to earn your nursing degree from an accredited nursing school. After that, you’ll need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam before applying for jobs with hospitals or medical facilities that offer rehabilitation services. Many schools allow students who have already earned bachelor’s degrees in another field access to their graduate-level programs without having taken any prerequisite courses–but if yours didn’t give you this option, you might want to consider taking some general education classes before starting your RN program so that when it comes time for licensing exams (and later on when applying for jobs), everything goes smoothly!
Once licensed as RNs with experience under their belts and good references from employers at hand, many aspiring rehabilitation nurses decide where they want their careers headed next: whether that means working directly with patients through home health care agencies; managing large populations within hospitals; or even becoming educators themselves through continuing education courses offered by professional organizations such as American Nurses Association (ANA)
If you’re interested in becoming a rehabilitation nurse, the first step is to learn about the education and training required. You can then decide whether or not this is the right career path for you by considering factors such as location and pay scale. If so, then apply for certification once you graduate from school so that when ready start working immediately!
