Looking for an Online Nursing Degree? More colleges and universities are offering online degrees in nursing than ever before and by all accounts, the number should continue to grow. Nursing itself has an interesting and colorful history. All the way back to the time of Jesus nursing has been recognized all be it not always in the honorable manner in which we see it today. In the very early days Monks would comfort the sick and injured and later on the task was assigned to law offenders, kind of a “community service” sentence. It wasn’t until the mid to late 1800’s that Florence Nightingale legitimized the role of nursing in healthcare and established a school for nursing. Nurses generally provide care and have decision making responsibilities in the absence of the treating physician but are also charged with carrying out physicians orders.
These days, nurses are in hot demand and it has been speculated that with the aging baby-boomers, the demand will continue to grow at an ever increasing rate. Today’s nurses have a lot of choices when it comes to degree programs and specialization and the advent of the Online Nursing Degree makes nursing an attractive career choice for many more potential students. There are programs that require only a year or two of concentrated study for nursing assistants or Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) all the way to Doctorates in Nursing and MBA’s in Health Administration. It all depends on how far the student wants to go in the nursing field.
Below is a list of the basic degree designations and divisions. There are many specialty certifications available within each degree designation.Some may even look to related schooling such as an Online Psychology Degree.
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Registered Nurse (RN)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
- Nurse Practitioner (NP)
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
- MBA in Healthcare Administration
Initially, only post degree education was available online but there are more and more schools offering all levels of nursing training online.
One thing to look at with any online degree program is the type of “distance learning” or teaching model the program uses. there are typically two major types of online learning, Synchronous and Asynchronous. Synchronous programs have the online students following an actual on-campus class requiring them to be connected and participatory on the day and time the actual class is held. Asynchronous programs offer much more flexibility in that there is no requirement to attend or be logged on at a specific time, only a minimum per week and assignments and homework still have due dates. This type of program suits many people who are working or otherwise unable to attend class at a specific time.
Earning an Online Nursing Degree can be very satisfying and lead to a successful career in the nursing field. Remember that nurses are currently in hot demand and expected to be increasing in demand over the next decade. If a nursing degree interests you, look into the programs offered online as they will most likely grow in number as well.
