Online Nursing Degree - What You Can And Can't Get From It

An online nursing degree sounds like a dream come true, with the long waiting lists to get into traditional nursing schools. First, let's list down the most important benefits of going to an online school: no need for long commutes saving you time looking for parking spaces and gasoline money and flexible schedule so you can still look after your family and even work.

But before you get all too excited about the idea you should know this: there is no nursing degree that can be obtained completely online. It's just unacceptable to study online without any experience in the health care field whatsoever, and then finish with an Associate's Degree in Nursing in hand.

What you can take online are "bridge" programs for licensed practical nurse (LPN) to registered nurse (RN) degrees, paramedic to RN, and even respiratory therapist to RN degrees. These types of programs are not only offered by private career colleges such as Chamberlain, they are also offered by some community colleges and state universities - which means are usually much cheaper than the "career colleges".

The reason for this is pretty clear; a nursing student's learning is not only limited to the classroom but is also focused on the his/her training in a health care setting. In fact, the time spent in hospitals supervised by an RN, caring for patients is just as important, perhaps even more, for a student nurse. Realistically, nobody would want to have their health and life in the hands of a nurse whose entire education was obtained online.

If you're already an LPN degree holder, then you can proceed right away to an online program but make that crucial call first to your State Board of Nursing and make sure that you will be enrolling in an accredited school. Be aware too that there are states that don't honor LPN to RN program, or allow only this type of program but not a paramedic to RN online course. Bottom line is, your degree should allow you to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam as soon as you complete the program.

There are also LPN to BSN nursing school programs online, and RN to BSN, and Master's Degree in Nursing online programs. Once you take have conquered that all important first step of getting licensed as an LPN or paramedic, it becomes much easier to progress with your medical career.

So while you can't get your nursing degree online from start to finish, online nursing degrees do exist in the form we've discussed, and offer you great flexibility and the ability to advance your career and command a higher salary.