Nurse Training Options for Becoming a Registered Nurse
While it is still technically possible in some states to obtain licensure as a registered nurse without benefit of a college degree, that is an antiquated choice for nurse training and not a particularly wise one. The number of course requirements that most states set forth in order to qualify people to take the nursing certification exam are such that you are better off going through a college degree program designed to qualify you as a nurse.
There are three college degree options available; the associate’s degree, the bachelor’s degree and the entry level master’s degree. For any of them, you need to consider taking college prep courses in high school. Check the entry requirements at a few schools with nursing programs and take heed of their requirements. There may be a little more math required than you’d like to see in high school; there may be four years of English required. Different colleges have varying requirements, but some of them are pretty much universal. That’s early research that you should do.
Nurse Training with an Associate’s Degree
Community colleges and many online schools have associate’s degree programs in nursing. These two year courses of study (often less in an online environment) give the student the basic core courses required for virtually any college degree, along with the nursing course program that you need to prepare for RN licensure.
An associate’s degree is a reasonable choice for a student who is working full time or has family obligations and wants to reach the certification examination as quickly as possible. An associate’s degree also puts you half way or further towards a baccalaureate, which may become important later in your nursing career as you seek to move up the professional ladder.
The Bachelor’s Degree for Nurse Training
Despite the shortage of nurses in this country and the immediate opportunities for employment, if it is possible it’s probably worthwhile getting a bachelor’s degree in the course of pursuing a license as a registered nurse. The bachelor’s degree allows you to engage in a certain degree of specialization, if you wish to focus on, for example, pediatric nursing or gerontology. Nursing placement agencies and health care facilities will look on a nurse – even a rookie nurse – with a baccalaureate as a more experienced hire.
A bachelor’s degree to go with registered nurse status also will qualify you for management positions within the industry. Every nursing shift on every medical unit needs a nursing supervisor; with very few exceptions, those are people with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Many bachelors’ programs in nursing have management courses to prepare the student for just that eventuality.
Entry Level Master’s Degree for Nurse Training
This degree is for people who already hold a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field and want to break into nursing. These programs are twelve to twenty four month commitments, usually something under two years. They are designed to provide the medical training for an entry level nurse; setting aside all of the other collegiate requirements for a master’s which have been met with the baccalaureate.
