Nurses’ role in rehabilitation empowers countless patients from all populations and walks of life to recover from illness and injury. Rehabilitation nurses help deliver and adjust rehabilitation care plans, and they can work in settings ranging from hospitals to clinics to in-home.
Experiencing a car accident, work injury, chronic illness or significant medical event can drastically impact personal independence and hinder a patient’s ability to achieve their life goals. Once the immediate medical danger has passed, rehabilitation and recovery become the most critical aspects of care, helping patients regain capabilities and lead more fulfilling lives.
The role of nurses in rehabilitation is especially personal, as they often provide care to patients from the onset of a condition until the achievement of their health goals. Explore what rehabilitation nursing entails, the skills you’ll need, the impact you’ll make on patients, and how Marian University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) track can prepare you for this and other nursing career paths in as few as 16 months.
What Is Rehabilitation in Nursing?
Rehabilitation is broadly defined as a set of treatments and interventions designed to help patients improve function, prevent the need for additional care, and achieve their health goals. This area of healthcare includes everything from exercise to regain limb function to interventions like hearing aids for hearing loss.
The need for rehabilitation is one of the most widespread global healthcare needs, with the World Health Organization estimating that one in three people today are living with a health condition that would benefit from rehabilitation. The most recent figures point to 2.41 billion people globally.
Rehabilitation nursing is a practice area focused on rehabilitation efforts, with nurses delivering care and patient education throughout the rehab process. Nurses help administer rehabilitation efforts in a wide range of environments, which can include:
- Dedicated rehabilitation centers
- Homes
- Hospitals
- Private clinics
- Schools
- Workplaces
With so many events and conditions that require rehabilitation, this area of nursing touches on nearly every demographic in society.
The Role of Nursing in Rehabilitation
The role of nurses in rehabilitation is just one of many within this practice area. Medical professionals from various career paths work collaboratively to assist patients as they recover from illness or injury. The care team in a rehabilitation setting can include:
- Audiologists
- Nurses
- Occupational therapists
- Physical therapists
- Physicians
- Psychologists
- Speech therapists
Among the many roles involved in rehabilitative care, nurses are the professionals who spend the most time with patients. Rehab nurses play a vital role in the patient care team, from delivering acute care to supporting long-term rehabilitation efforts. Nurses help reinforce lessons taught by other care team members, advocate for patients, communicate and coordinate with the rest of the care team, and educate patients and loved ones as they navigate unfamiliar scenarios.
Skills Needed for Success in Nursing and Rehabilitation
Nurses involved in rehabilitation work with patient populations across every demographic, but some of the core aspects of this practice area remain the same. Rehabilitation nurses should regularly exhibit skills and traits including:
- Communication
- Determination
- Empathy
- Patience
- Positivity
The role of a nurse in rehabilitation requires a holistic view, meeting patients where they are and accounting for factors beyond symptoms alone. Marian’s ABSN program employs a holistic outlook, and our values emphasize the dignity of the individual throughout every step of the care process.
The Impact of Rehabilitation Nurses on Patient Outcomes
For patients in need of rehabilitation care, rehab efforts can be the single factor that best helps them meet their goals and attain a fulfilling lifestyle. The current body of research in healthcare agrees that nursing care as part of rehabilitation “prepares patients for the rehabilitation process, leads to the continuation of rehabilitation, achieves desired rehabilitation outcomes, and improves patients’ quality of life.”
Patients who might feel overwhelmed by the path before them are encouraged and supported by nurses, and the nursing impact on rehabilitation leads to better-informed, healthier patients overall.
See the impact nurses make on patients every day, and why nursing is the most trusted profession.
Why Rehabilitation Nursing Is a Rewarding Career Path
The role of nursing in rehabilitation brings out some of the best aspects of a nursing career. Caring for patients who want to develop or regain functionality can be the largest factor in how well they recover and live a fulfilling life on their terms. Helping people achieve their life goals through progress in rehab is a direct, visible outcome of nursing care, and the deep bonds that rehabilitation nurses form with their patients can sometimes lead to long-term connections. This practice area, like any, has challenges, but for the right personality type it can be among the most rewarding.
How to Become a Rehabilitation Nurse
If this nursing practice area sounds like it could resonate with you, the path to becoming a rehabilitation nurse could be more accessible than you think. Earning a nursing degree through an accelerated pathway like Marian’s ABSN program can set you up to enter this career path sooner, provided you meet the admissions requirements.
Earn a Nursing Degree
The first step toward entering a rehab nurse career track is to earn a nursing degree. Typically, a BSN degree is the most accessible degree that will still provide a firm foundation in nursing practice and advance your future career opportunities. Marian University’s ABSN program in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Nashville, Tennessee, delivers an accelerated curriculum over the course of 16 months. Those who meet the requirements can enroll as a second-degree or transfer student, depending on your academic history.
Marian ABSN students can receive a comprehensive nursing education through:
- Interactive online-based coursework that balances flexibility with instructor support
- In-person nursing skills and simulation labs that help develop clinical judgment in a mock hospital environments across a range of patient care scenarios
- Clinical rotations with real patients at top area healthcare facilities
At the end of the 16-month curriculum you can graduate with a degree that typically takes undergraduates four years to complete.
See some of the benefits of earning a BSN degree, and the future options it can open up for your career.
Pass the NCLEX and Attain Licensure
After earning your nursing degree, the last step in the process toward becoming a practicing nurse is to pass the NCLEX. This licensing exam requires comprehensive nursing knowledge and tests a student’s clinical judgment across different care scenarios. Marian ABSN students preparing for the NCLEX can access study guides and instructor support along the way. Upon passing the NCLEX, you can attain licensure as a registered nurse (RN).
Enter the Field and Consider Earning Credentials
After becoming a licensed RN, you can pursue rehabilitation nurse opportunities with a wide range of organizations and clinical environments. At this point, you are ready to make an immeasurable difference in the lives of patients as they attempt to regain or develop strength, balance, coordination, and faculties like speech.
If you want to continue down this career path, you might consider earning credentials like becoming a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) through the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. This helps to build on your nursing degree and professional experience while showcasing your dedication and expertise within this field. Credentials like this can help open doors to new professional opportunities in the future.
Pursue Your Nursing Career Goals with Marian ABSN
With a better idea of nurses’ role in rehabilitation, the need for rehabilitation nurses and the ways in which they make a long-term impact on patient quality of life, you may have decided that this could be the career path for you.
Marian University ABSN can be the perfect foundation for a rehabilitation nurse career or any of a wide range of nursing career paths. With a comprehensive 16-month accelerated nursing curriculum, supportive instructors and three start dates per year in January, May and August, you can access a top-quality nursing education and enter your dream career path sooner. Submit your information and an admissions advisor will reach out to continue the conversation!