Streamlining Your Nursing Education Through Online Learning
Like many career preparation programs, nursing degrees can now be completed largely online. This flexible route is a great way to get your credentials while balancing other responsibilities. The stresses of another job. The hectic obligations of ordinary family life. That said, it’s not a route most people would first think of taking when preparing for a job that requires face-to-face interactions like healthcare. Is getting your BSN online a good idea? In this article, we break down how the path to a nursing degree online works and why it may be a good fit for you.
Can You Complete Your Entire Degree Online?
Not quite. You can do most or all of the classroom work virtually. However, nurses also need to gain clinical experience by working in the hospital setting. During their clinical rotations, they spend many hours working on various hospital floors. This is done both to get the nurse used to the stresses of working with real patients in sometimes dire situations, and to help them get a small taste of what it is really like to work as a nurse.
This aspect of nursing education cannot be skipped, even for remote students. This means you will need to find a program that can cooperate with hospitals in your general area. It shouldn’t be very hard to find options that suit your needs. Still, make sure to learn more about the program you are interested in’s clinical requirements and supporting network of hospitals.
So, What Can You Do Online?
Everything else. Remote learning programs are good options for people who are self-driven and able to work well from home. They provide better flexibility and save you the headache of commuting. They are also often more affordable than physical schools, which is certainly an added bonus. What programs can you complete online?
BSN
Your BSN or Bachelor of Science in Nursing, is everyone’s first step to a career in the field of nursing. You can’t avoid it. This program usually takes four years to complete and can be accomplished largely online—save for the clinical requirements described above.
New Certifications
Many nursing jobs will require the applicant to get a new certification. For example, let’s say you want to be a diabetes educator. You probably don’t quite have the credentials. Here is the good news: if you already have your BSN getting this job will require only that you attend a (relatively) short class and complete the ensuing requirements. Many certification programs can be completed over the course of a weekend—and online.
Graduate School
If you want to get a graduate degree—the required credential for people who want to become nurse practitioners—you may be pleased to learn that you can complete many of the educational requirements online. While you will almost certainly need to acquire clinical experience, the program's classroom requirements can be completed remotely. Getting a degree online is efficient in its own right. That said, are there ways to make things a little faster?
What Is The Most Efficient Path To A Nursing Degree Online?
For people who don’t want to wait 4+ years to start working in their new career, there are potential pathways to consider. These are the two main options:
Accelerated Program
Accelerated programs are excellent options for people who already have college degrees. Because you have already acquired a bunch of college credits, you won’t need to go back and take English Lit 101. You can focus only on nursing education, completing your degree requirements in as little as one year instead of four.
Direct-To-Hire
Direct-to-hire degree programs effectively allow you to bundle your undergraduate and graduate studies to get the two degrees in approximately the time it might have taken other people to get one. This is an accelerated program that is only available to students with proven academic success. That said, if you are eligible and capable, it is a great way to get started with a bang. Nurses who have graduate degrees make more money and are eligible for more advanced careers.
Nursing is highly regulated so you will always need to make sure you are meeting the state and federal requirements for your degree program. Because of these regulations, "short cuts" are rarely available. The options described above serve as rare exceptions that may be worth considering if you are eligible.
Are There Any Reasons Not To Take The Path To A Nursing Degree Online?
There are a few. The main reason someone might decide that traditional classroom learning is best for them is because—well, it might be best for them. Not everyone learns well in front of a computer. Working from the comfort of home may be more appealing than working in a classroom, but it is also full of distractions. This is particularly true for people who have children. Convenience is nice, but it’s ultimately best to choose the route that will help you most thoroughly prepare for life as a nurse.
The other thing to keep in mind? Colleges have nice stuff. What’s more, you are paying for it. Let’s say you decide to use ABC's online nursing program. Great, right? It’s a good school. The program has produced plenty of success stories. Here’s the problem: you are paying ABC's prices but you aren’t getting the ABC experience. You aren’t walking the quad. You aren’t using their rec center, or benefiting from any of the same infrastructure that students of their physical program get.
Not everyone will care. Some surely might. College straddles an unusual line. It is both an investment and an experience. Online learning has many benefits, but the experiential element is largely forsaken in favor of convenience. As long as you are ok with that, it’s not a problem. On the other hand, if you want the experience of going to class in your pajamas, staying out late on Tuesday nights, and watching terrible student-led improv, these aren’t experiences you’ll find online.
Ultimately, education is all about finding the path that works best for you. Figure out how you want to become a nurse, and then look for programs that meet those requirements.
