What You Can Do With Your Nurse Education?

Why Study Online?

With many baby boomers retiring, there is a large nurse shortage growing by the day. The demand for nurses will create over a million new jobs, & is already lifting wages. Studying online allows you to improve your career and salary with flexible hours that work around your current schedule.

Each school offers unique programs and exclusive financial aid opportunities for students. We recommend requesting information from at least 2 schools so you can compare and contrast their programs.

Featured Online Colleges With Programs for Nurses

Not Sure of Your Career Options?

We interviewed over a half-dozen well known nurses to get their favorite education and career tips, opinions, & suggestions in our special Beyond The Books series.

Directory of Online Education Programs for Nurses

Online Schools of Nursing
Purdue University Global / Grand Canyon University / more...

Program Levels
Certificates / ASN / BSN / MSN / Doctoral Programs

Nurse Careers
Behavioral Health / Cardiac / Case Management / Cath Lab / Clinical Specialist / Community Health / Complimentary Health / Correctional / Critical Care / Developmental Disabilities / Dialysis / Emergency / Environmental Health / Forensic / Genetic / GI Endoscopy / Hematology / HIV / AIDS / Home Health / Hospice / Infectious Disease / Informatics / Intravenous Therapy / Legal / Maternal / Medical Surgical / Military / Neonatal

Customize Your Future

If you are considering a career as a nurse, you need to know all your options. There are education levels to choose, types of programs to consider, and then choices to make about your intended specialty. Interested in pediatrics, cancer, or care for aging adults? Or do you prefer a more heart-pounding, adrenaline-charged job?

Explore Program Levels

Degrees come in a few different forms: one-year or certificate / diploma, two-year Associates in Nursing, four-year Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN), post-graduate Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Ph.D. in Nursing. A one-year diploma typically prepares students to take their Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) exam. Graduates of a two-year school and upwards may qualify to take the Registered Nurse (RN) licensure exam. If you are motivated, nurses that study in a post-graduate environment are also called Advanced Practice Nurses.

Choose From Nurse Program Types

When it comes time to apply to your program there are still more granular options.

• Community colleges are very popular for nurses earning their Associate's. These programs are available regionally and offer very affordable, practical curriculums. Decide at a later date you want your BSN and jump right into an Associates-to-BSN upgrade available through many programs.
• Four-year programs divide teaching models fairly evenly between classroom theory and hands-on clinical work. A BSN offers the widest array of specialty career options.
• For nurses that aspire to advanced practices, a university environment is likely where most programs are clustered. Nurses at the PhD level are most likely tracked for educator and research positions.

Select a Specialty: Patient, Medical, and Setting

The category of specialties is where you can get really creative with your career. Consider the type of patient care setting in which you might be most comfortable. Each is distinctly different and may be dependent on types of patient and/or medical condition/disorder:

• Hospital
• Ambulatory Clinic
• Mental Health/Psychiatric Facility
• Long Term Care Facility
• Home Health
• Correctional Facility
• Diagnostic Lab
• Research Clinic
• Education/Administration
• Private Practice

Many nurses make their choice of specialization based on the patient population. Your program covers a wide sample of the various types of patients any nurse would come into contact with under normal circumstances. Patients may include:

• Neonatal
• Pediatrics
• Adolescents
• Adults
• Geriatric

Particular specialties may focus more precisely on the care needs of disparate communities or groups, such as women, veterans, and cultural and ethnic populations.

If you know you’ve always wanted to work with cancer patients or in women’s health you will likely be innately drawn to a specialty this way. An example of types of medical conditions/diseases/disorders include:

• Oncology/Cancer
• Orthopedic
• Neuroscience
• Gastrointestinal
• Ob-Gyn
• Labor and Delivery
• Cardiac
• Respiratory
• Pain

Fine Tune and Maintain Your Career

Burnout and stress accumulate in any job, but nurses are typically prone to both. Morale-building and innovative staffing solutions are the realm of nurse managers and leaders whose jobs demand they attune themselves to their nurses’ needs. Most nurses turn to their professional associations where more grassroots work is carried out as far as nurse policy and professional development. Specialists may network, pick up continuing education resources, and stay current with the latest techniques applicable to their nursing skills. All RNs are urged to earn certifications that indicate their level of expertise.

Credentials earned based on industry experience and skills tests, help professional nurses negotiate bigger salaries, win more job responsibility, and make logical leaps to closely related specialties. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that RN jobs are one of the top growth industries in the next decade. Explore your chances for a nurse career.

 

Get Your Free Information on Nursing & Healthcare Programs

 

Campus Based Courses for Student Nurses

Many colleges across the country offer offline courses for nurses. Chose your state below to browse your options. For your convenience we also maintain a sortable database of CCNE-accredited nursing degree programs across the country.

Locations