Online Nursing Programs: An Overview

While nurses may lack the perceived glamour and high earnings of doctors and physicians, they stand shoulder to shoulder with their more esteemed colleagues in their commitment to and love for their profession.

It’s clear that it would be difficult to stay in the nursing profession unless you were absolutely and wholeheartedly passionate about it. On a regular basis, nurses contend with difficult shifts, long hours, weekend work, and emotional trauma. But in spite of the challenges, many individuals embrace this profession and give it their whole lives.

Career Mobility Important for RNs

However, just because nurses devote their entire lives to serving patients doesn’t mean they don’t have the same goals and aspirations as other professionals. They want to grow in their roles, take on more responsibility, manage teams, make strategic decisions, and earn more money, just like most professionals.

For registered nurses (RNs) who start their careers with bedside patient care but have ambitions of branching out into other areas of specialty, continuing education is the way forward. Most of these RNs earn their licenses to practice after completing an associate’s degree in nursing or a hospital-administered diploma. While both the programs provide excellent training in the technical scope of nursing, they don’t offer the same growth opportunities that a more advanced nursing degree can provide.

Online Nursing Programs

For many RNs, taking a sabbatical from work to return to school full-time is not an option. But thanks to the availability of online nursing programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, they can balance their careers and their continuing education. Plus, a number of employers provide educational benefits and subsidized training for their nursing staff in order to attract and retain talent, which can reduce a registered nurse’s financial burden of attending school.

An online RN-to-bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program is the first step registered nurses can take toward progressing in their career. A bachelor of science in nursing degree program can provide the advanced theoretical expertise that may be required to qualify for senior roles.

Advanced Nursing Degrees Online

A bachelor of science in nursing is also required for entry into a master’s in nursing program. A master’s in nursing could lead to more specialized nursing positions such as nurse manager, advanced practice nurse, nurse educator, and more.

Typically, the curriculum of an online MSN program includes courses on advanced nursing theory as well as leadership and management. Some of these online nursing programs may include a clinical training component that cannot be completed online, but requires working under the direct supervision of doctors and senior nurses in a healthcare environment.

RNs who want to make further inroads into their nursing education after completing their bachelor of science in nursing have plenty of options to explore. From a master’s in nursing administration that leads RNs away from direct patient care toward managerial and administrative roles, to a master’s in nursing education program that trains them to teach nursing, many graduate degrees are now available online.