Which Online Nursing Degree Is Right For You?

With the high demand for registered nurses nationwide, more and more aspiring nurses are considering online nursing degrees.

Online degrees offer some wonderful advantages. You can take classes at whatever time of day is convenient for you. You can work full-time and still earn a salary while getting your degree. You can bring your laptop with you and study and send in homework assignments while you are on the bus or subway, at the beach, or at the coffee shop. You don't have to spend time and gasoline driving to a college campus, searching for parking, walking half a mile to your building, walking back....

But remember that online nursing degrees also have their limitations.

For a start, you'd need to have a prior health care degree or certificate to qualify for online nursing studies. Yes, there is currently an online program that caters to students without any health care experience, but this school -- the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh -- is an exception rather than the rule. In this university, they accept only a limited number of students per program run. What they require is that the student should have a previous bachelor's degree, and completed the required science courses plus other prerequisites. Only then will you be qualified for an accelerated second bachelor's degree. Most of the program is online, but you must go to the campus in Oshkosh several times, AND not every state offers the clinicals which are required for the program.

The more common types of online programs are those which enable an LPN or paramedic to "bridge" to the more advanced Associate's Degree in Nursing, which can help you achieve a registered nurse status. Some of the more popular online nursing schools are the Chamberlain College of Nursing, the Excelsior College, and other nursing schools as well.

You can also, after you get your associate's degree in nursing, take online classes to get a bachelor's of science in nursing. This frequently will result in a higher salary, and also, if you want to progress into managerial positions, you generally need at least a BSN.

Online programs for masteral degrees in nursing are also available.

Also, you can take many of your prerequisites online - English, psychology, nutrition, etc. You need to have those completed before you are accepted into an LPN to RN bridge program.

For information and links to a bunch of great online nursing degree programs, click here: http://nursingschoolprograms.com/online-nursing-degree-programs

IMPORTANT NOTE: Not every state accepts these online nursing programs. For example Florida does not recognize Excelsiors paramedic to RN program, so if you took that program, you would not be able to sit for the NCLEX-RN test in Florida. So if you want to make sure that you don't waste time and money taking an online nursing program that's not accredited for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, you should definitely check the accepted online nursing schools with your State Board of Nursing first.

Which nursing programs online are best for your career needs? Visit us to learn more about these online nursing programs as well as the traditional programs that are available today.