Nursing is one very popular discipline for which you can find free online classes.
Some of the classes might directly relate to a nursing course you’re taking, whereas others might have lessons that could be useful later down the line in a different aspect of the vocation.
There are supplemental online learning materials for all types of college majors from accredited colleges and universities. These courses are usually designed and carried out my college professors and lectures who have a firm grasp on their material, and a good eye for how to relate that material to a student online. Though these classes aren’t a substitution for those in a traditional degree program, they can serve as a great supplement to a student’s current classes.
Let’s take a look at three great classes related to nursing from three outstanding institutions of higher learning.
Nursing Fundamentals
The first course directly relates to nursing. It’s offered from Kaplan University and it’s simply called Nursing Fundamentals. The course is broken down into several modules that deal with various introductory topics relevant to nursing, from patient care to problem solving.
The class gives in-depth lessons on what it means to a nurse and explains how vital their role is in the healthcare system. The Kaplan class begins by discussing the philosophical and theoretical purposes of a nurse, but then goes into lessons that directly relate to the job. You’ll learn the basics of moving a patient, checking their vitals, and assessing their condition in this class. It’s quite a helpful primer!
Health Information Systems to Improve Quality of Care in Resource-Poor Settings
Moving up the collegiate ladder, we have a class offered from MIT. The class is called Health Information Systems to Improve Quality of Care in Resource-Poor Settings and it’s taught by Drs. Hamish Fraser and Leo Celi. The class proposes a number of innovative techniques and technologies meant to assist health care officials in areas where medical supplies and facilities are nonexistent.
In detailed video lectures, the doctors teach their students about the importance of extending quality health care to needy areas. They also discuss the logistical concerns of introducing medical practices in foreign areas, and the sociological dilemmas that arise when it occurs. It’s a dense subject, but one well worth a student nurse’s time.
Introduction to Psychology
This class from Yale University doesn’t directly pertain to nursing, but some of its tenets will certainly be interesting for nurses in training that are interested in better understanding and communicating with their patients. The Introduction to Psychology course is taught by Prof. Paul Bloom, who teaches his students about the fundamentals of the subject in a series of compelling video lectures.
The topics range from the nuances of human communication to those of human desire and emotion, morality and even mental illness. You might be intimidated to try this course, but if you give the video lectures a chance you’ll see that Prof. Bloom does a great job of instructing his students (and you) on some of the biggest questions that compelled psychology throughout the 20th century.
Discover the roadmap to guide talented men and women along their journey from considering nursing as a profession to their first position as a registered nurse with Getting the Most From Nursing School: A Guide to Becoming a Nurse by Robert Atkins.
Aniya Wells is a freelance writer and blogger whose writing interests are decidedly consumer-focused. In an age in which consumers have access to unprecedented amounts of information, Aniya hopes to help her readers decode this information to make better decisions about online degree programs, personal finance, parenting, health, and more.