About Registered Nursing

As of Jan. 1, 2010, a baccalaureate degree in nursing will be the minimum educational requirement for initial registration as a registered nurse in Alberta. Students in Alberta must graduate from a nursing education programs program leading to initial entry to practice approved by the Nursing Education Program Approval Board (NEPAB).

Many registered nurses work directly with patients. They assess and treat sick or injured people. Other RNs perform groundbreaking research or teach others how to become registered nurses. There are many opportunities – it all depends on what interests you.

There are many paths registered nurses can take, such as:

• Long term care – working with patients who need care over an extended period of time. This may include elderly people, chronically or terminally ill patients and people with disabilities.
• Intensive Care – providing constant care to patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries.
• Pediatrics – caring for babies and children.
• Forensics – scientific investigation of abuse, violence, crime and traumatic accidents, or nursing in prisons.
• Community Health – working in community-based settings like schools, clinics and health centres.
• Rehabilitation – working with patients, usually after an injury, to improve everyday physical activities like standing, walking and eating.
• Mental Health – caring for mentally ill patients.
• Occupational Health – helping workers return to work after injury or illness.
• Home care – providing care in a patient's home. This may include elderly people, chronically or terminally ill patients and people with disabilities.
• Maternity – helping deliver babies, assisting in Caesarean section deliveries and caring for mothers and their newborns.
• Neonatal care – working with premature babies or babies born with problems like a heart defect or drug addiction.
• Geriatrics – working with elderly people, possibly in a nursing home setting.
• Oncology – caring for cancer patients and helping family members of cancer patients cope with the disease.