Nurses are always at the front lines of health care. No matter the career path you take in nursing, chances are that you will be prominent in the treatment of patients. From nursing assistants to nurse practitioners, the role of nursing in health care is expanding. If you are a nurse, you need to be on top of the latest developments in the world of health care.

The good news is that the Internet provides access to some great resources. Whether you are looking for news about the latest treatment, or looking for nursing salary information, you can stay one step ahead with the help of a good news website. If you want to know what’s happening in the world of nursing, and in the world of health care in general, here are 20 great sites to visit:

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During any doctor or hospital visit, nurses can be found everywhere and are often more likely to spend more time with the patients than the doctors themselves. However, this was not so 100 years ago. Since even before then, there has always been the need for caring and compassionate nurses, and there are many nurses who have risen to fill that void. However, with the success of nurse and doctor themed films and television programs, nurses can suffer in the gap from perception to reality.

To help illustrate this – and hopefully clear up a few misconceptions – we have listed the 15 best movies about nursing. From the documentary of actual nurses to the far spun tales of nurses gone wrong, they feature both the best and worst in nursing. You can also watch a few of them to learn the history of nursing in addition to being entertained. [click to continue…]

Being a nurse means long hours put in for job preparation, as well as once you’re on the job. At these forums and messageboards, nurses and aspiring nurses discuss the ins-and-outs of the job and certification requirements in the various nursing departments. Whether you’re already in nursing school or looking for a career change, scoping out these forums and message boards .

Nursing Forums and Message Boards

Get the inside scoop on nursing certification from these forums and message boards where industry professionals chat.

1. All Nurses This is one of the major online nursing communities. Stop by and learn all about certification in your state and get information on any specialized certification you may need to practice in certain areas. This site also focuses on a nurse’s health to ensure you’re in tip-top shape for taking care of patients.
2. Ultimate Nurse Forum This is a must-read for nurses and aspiring nurses. It has forums dedicated to certification to become a CNA, LPN/LVN and more. There’s also a busy section over unionized nurses.
3. We The Nurses This site is packed with information over certification, training, clinicals and everything else you need to know about becoming a nurse. It also talks salary, nursing on television and how to prepare yourself for a new department.
4. Nurse This busy nurse forum is ready to answer your questions when it comes to classes, certification and training in hospitals and doctors’ offices. For those looking to scope out the different areas a nurse can work in, this message board is a must-read.
5. Nurses Forum When it comes to tests and certification, this nurse forum helps you keep track of what you’ll need to do to become licensed and hired for a job. Many overlook certification requirements in the early stages of nursing school and it’s important to have your ducks in a row before moving on to the job hunt.
6. Nursing Voices This nursing message board has many different forums, but the student forum is especially helpful for those deciphering certification and credentials for landing a job. Veterans and newbie nurses post frequently, giving you a taste of how the industry has changed in the past few decades.
7. Nurse Connect Think of this site as a social networking site for nurses. Nurses chat about certification and licensing in their respective states and keep each other informed on the regions that are booming in terms of job opportunities. It also discusses hot topics like social media’s role in patient updates for families.
8. The Student Nurse Forum For all of the student nurses that are looking to plan their career path, this is the blog for you. Learn all about clinicals, the tests you’ll need to take to become certified in a certain area and how to study for these exams with the help of the site’s study aides.
9. Student Doc At this site, students of the medical community gather and talk about certification, clinicals and the other various parts of training for the medical field. Nurses have their own forum and discuss CNA and LNP/LPV pre-requisites.
10. Just Us Nurses Here nurses rant and rave about their jobs and give aspiring nurses the real deal on what to expect once they’re on the job. It also talks about certification by state and offers advice for those looking to move jobs while staying in the nursing profession.

Blogs and Sites for Nurses

For a better understanding of what’s required of nurses and what certification and licensing you can expect to obtain before working, check out these top blogs and websites aimed at nursing or the medical community.

11. Nurse Credentialing Find out everything about nursing credentials and how to prepare for exams. There’s also a section over any updates regarding credentials, which can be tricky to keep up with since rules and regulations are always changing.
12. Test Prep Preview There’s no such thing as being too prepared. This site allows you to take practice tests for free and it’s easy to look up the certification exam you’re taking. This site should be bookmarked by anyone studying for nursing exams.
13. AZ Mom in Nursing School You’ll quickly become addicted to this fantastic blog penned by a mom/nursing student. It’s half nursing school trials, half family drama and makes for a fun read for those who know the struggles and stresses that training for any medical degree brings on.
14. Nurse Teeny This nurse doesn’t hold back when it comes to the good, the bad or the ugly in the medical community. Nursing is a grueling profession that’s physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting at times and this blog shows you how one nurse is juggling responsibilities.
15. Registered Nurse RN This site is great because it gives a little history on nursing. It also discusses certification and licensing and how to plan a career in the field. It also talks about on-the-job skills like communicating effectively with doctors and other hospital or office staff.
16. Nursing School Network This nursing blog will get you prepped for school and confident about taking your exams for certification. This blog talks scholarships, online nursing programs and how to take your skills to the next level by going from a RN to a BSN or BSN to MN.
17. John Hopkins Nursing Blog This blog is penned by students at John Hopkins University and gives you the real deal when it comes to nursing school. Learn how the aspiring nurses are handling responsibilities at various stages of nursing school and how they prep for exams.
18. Nursing Ninjas There’s nothing like getting facts on nursing school and certification exams straight from the source. This site serves as a mega directory of sorts for all things nursing school and is eager to dole out advice on career planning and making the transition from one department to another.
19. Nurse’s Watch You’ll be entertained by this blogger/nurse who isn’t afraid to talk about where she came from and the journey she’s taken to become a nurse. It is an inspirational read for anyone in or outside of the medical community and just the thing an aspiring nurse needs to read before exams.
20. About a Nurse This blog is dedicated to the ups and downs of nursing school. It serves as a feed of sorts, garnering nursing school blog posts from around the web to give you a taste of what aspiring nurses are going through.

Certification for nursing programs takes time, but at this stage, you should be well-prepared for such a task. Look to these nursing forums and messageboards, as well as blogs and websites to give you an edge. Nursing is a career that requires someone with a leveled head and calm demeanor, as well as the technical skills learned in school. Studying for certification will help you gain the discipline needed to thrive in this fast-paced environment.

If you want to know about the history of nursing in America, you don’t need to burn gas to travel to an archive. Museums, libraries and other resources have provided plenty of digitized materials to learn about this topic. We also included a few resources outside the U.S., especially when that information pertained to the Red Cross, WWI, WWII or other situations where nurses across the world worked together. [click to continue…]

Nursing is a profession that seems to draw people with compassion and a desire to help others. Throughout history, nurses have been on the front lines of military conflicts, and have provided their caring expertise in hospitals and clinics around the world. If you decide to go into nursing, you will be in good company. Here are 25 of the most famous nurses in history. [click to continue…]