Online Nursing Degree Programs Offer New Career Opportunities

Nurses, are you hoping for a chance to impact the future of healthcare and make policy changes that will affect every member of your profession? Are you looking for a job promotion, or have you started feeling burned out in the daily routine of patient care? Before you put away your stethoscope, add new life to your career with an online nursing degree program.

During the 1990s, a few distance learning degree programs experimented with distance education degrees for entry-level nurses. Most of the students who enrolled in these programs were Licensed Practical Nurses who wanted to become Registered Nurses. Clinical experiences were very limited, though, and these colleges developed poor reputations based on the performance of their students after graduation. For this reason, no online degree universities in the U.S. currently offer an associate degree in nursing online.

This associate degree is the basic requirement for nursing licensure, and allows nurses to take state exams and care for patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Many healthcare organizations, however, require supervisors to have nursing degrees at the Bachelor’s or even Master’s level, though, so getting a promotion without an advanced nursing degree is somewhat difficult. Because of this, many nurses decide to further their education and go back to nursing school online.

Online degree programs in nursing are ideal for experienced nurse who don’t want to spend all their free time attending college at a traditional college campus. Instead, online nursing degrees offer job flexibility and mobility without years of financial or family sacrifice.

For those who don’t want to earn a nursing degree online at the advanced level, other degree programs in healthcare management or information technology are often a great choice. They allow nurses to work in healthcare in a related job, while taking away the daily pressure of working with patients or dealing with unfriendly managers or physicians.

Most of the time, students who decide to earn a nursing degree find fulfillment in helping people and caring for the sick. Sometimes, though, these nurses also find themselves skilled at supervising or teaching others. Most colleges and universities require nurses to have at least a Master’s Degree in Nursing in order to teach. An online nursing master degree is the perfect way to meet these requirements and still have the flexibility to work while attending school.

If you already have an Associate Degree in Nursing, learn more about how online nursing degree programs that will help you to advance your career and increase your professional options. Degree.com lists a numbers of accredited online nursing programs, offered by several different online degree universities. Spend some time learning more about these programs, and decide which one would work best for you