Adolescents don’t always know what they want to be when they grow up, and then again, they tend to change their lives a lot. If your teen has shown a healthy interest in the nursing career path you should encourage them and expose them to the practical reality of being a nurse. When you take your teen to a doctor’s visit, make sure you mention their chosen career path to the nurse on duty. You never know when a casual encounter may help your child to find the best DNP programs and get a noteworthy letter of recommendation. Encourage your child to learn what it takes to be a nursing professional and encourage him or her to do even more research on this career field to help make an educated decision.

Take Your Child to Career Fairs

Career fairs geared toward teens may include a lot of fast-food companies, but there are also going to be various healthcare provider-based businesses present. Getting your teen to talk one-on-one with nursing students, healthcare facility administrators, hospital directors, and hiring managers will allow them to feel out the medical field before making a choice. Nurses can also work with private practices, so career fields may expose your child to only the most common places that nursing professionals work.

Have Your Teen Tour a Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

Show your teen what being a nurse is like by visiting hospitals that give tours. You and your child can go everywhere from the cafeteria to the parking lot to see what a day in the life of a nurse is really like. This will also give your teen the opportunity to ask questions that apply to specific healthcare facility rules. Visiting hospitals can give your teen and family a great chance to find out if nursing is a good career choice down the road.

Visit Nursing Schools with Your Child

If you want your teenager to pick an MSN to DNP online school then pull up a few websites that offer nursing degree information. Before your teen starts to send out college applications, you should have a feeling of what schools are looking for in new students. Learn about minimum SAT score results, GPA prerequisites and other attributes that local nursing schools seek out in applicants. Going on campus can also help your teen to see if they’d rather go to school in a location that is close to home or further away.

If your child decides to become a nurse then you need to know what school offers fair tuition rates, as well as good post-graduation and employment statistics. Part of your duty is to lead your child to the right information, but you also need to refrain from trying to do all the research for your child. As your teen finds more detailed insights into the nursing careers, you’ll become more comfortable with letting them take the next steps toward becoming an independent adult with a promising career ahead.