An Important Advice To Nursing Students - Do This Before Going To An Online School

So you have a degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse, or paramedic, or respiratory therapist, and you want more. You want to advance in your career, you want to earn more money, you want to open up more avenues for employment.

An online nursing school is a superb way to pursue that registered nursing degree. It will allow you to work while you go to school, to take classes during the times that are convenient to you, and to save all of that time and money that you would have had to spend commuting to a "brick-and-mortar" school.

You can also download many of your course materials from online, as well. And you can join online study groups to help you pass your tests and get passing grades in your classes.

But - and this is crucial - there is one thing that you MUST do before committing to an online school.

You MUST check with your state Board of Nursing to ensure that the online nursing school that you are considering is approved in your state. If it is not, you might up spending a year or two, and many thousands of dollars, on your schooling - only to learn that you are not eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN in your state. That would leave you the option of moving to another state that does accredit that particular nursing school - or just watch your investment go down the drain.

In addition, you should know that some states allow an online program for LPN to RN, but not Paramedic to RN. The State of Florida, for example recently announced that they would not approve a certain online nursing school's paramedic to RN program - leaving many students who were midway with the program out in the cold.

So before you commit to an online nursing program, you must contact your state Board of Nursing to find out if they approve the program. Do not depend on the online nursing program to tell you; they are not the final voice of authority in this matter. It is only the Board of Nursing that can approve a school's program, give the go signal for a student to sit for the NCLEX-RN, and subsequently work as an RN in the state.