Nurses may work independently, sometimes in rural areas, or they may work as part of a larger healthcare team including physicians, technicians and therapists in an urban hospital environment. The wide range of nursing specialties means that prospective nurses can choose from many interesting niches in which to work.

Getting Started in Nursing

Students who wish to purse a nursing career must first complete a suitable nursing course. The type of nursing course is determined by the nursing job to which the candidate aspires. The foundation for nursing jobs consists of an education in both the theory (academic) and the practice (clinical) of nursing. Both forms of education are taught by well-qualified nursing and medical professionals, usually using state-of-the-art clinical facilities.

Courses that lead to full certification at the college level usually take four years to complete, while nursing courses leading to practical nursing or vocational nursing certificates, rather than to professional degrees, may take only two years to complete. Other advanced nursing courses, including those leading to post-graduate degrees, focus on specialized topics and may take months or years to complete.

What are the types of nursing degrees?

There are several different educational pathways into nursing. Community colleges and small local institutions usually offer an Associate of Science in Nursing degree, while universities and four-year colleges often provide Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, and sometimes also offer Master of Science in Nursing degrees and even Doctorate in Nursing degrees. Because of the constant advances in medicine and healthcare technology, it is expected that nursing students at all levels will continue to learn and be involved with education throughout their careers. The following are brief summaries regarding the three most common professional nursing degrees.

Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN)

This degree is usually available through community colleges and nursing schools, and typically takes two years to achieve. Students who receive the ASN degree are qualified to apply for licensing as Registered Nurses (RN).

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

This is a four-year college degree in nursing granted by a college or university. Beyond being qualified to sit for the Registered Nurse (RN) examinations, recipients of this degree are also considered qualified for entry-level roles as nursing administrators or as nursing researchers.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

This is an advanced post-graduate degree, and it is sought by those who are already nursing professionals, yet who seek additional knowledge and plan to work in nursing administration, health policy, or nursing leadership roles.

In summary, the above graduate and post-graduate nursing degrees are available in many different specialties, including acute and emergency care, geriatric, pediatric, neonatal, obstetrics, and psychiatric care, just to name a few. And, the need for nurses continues to increase as the population grows. Indeed, students who successfully complete nursing courses are likely to enjoy exciting and rewarding nursing careers.

Schools for Nursing – How to Choose?

When considering nursing school rankings, there are only two sets of rankings one should really pay attention to:

1. U.S. News and World Report (2)
2. NIH Research Funding (3)

Once again, it is important to understand that choosing a nursing school is not a blind decision and one should put some thought into understanding why a particular nursing school ranking is good or bad.

• Student Feedback: Students past and present are in the best position to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a particular nursing school. When choosing the best nursing school, survery interviewers greatly value feedback from current students and alumni as their experience at the nursing school can help several future students decide whether or not they would like to attend the same nursing school.
• Recruiters & Employers Feedback: Recruiters and employers of nurses who graduate from certain nursing schools are routinely interviewed about their experience with nurses who graduate from the particular school. At the end of the day, the best nursing schools will produce superior quality nursing staff for employers and if employers are happy and satisfied, it is an extremely positive sign for the nursing school.
• Staff & Employee Feedback: Feedback from professors and other staff and employees of a nursing school are very important when determining the best nursing schools.
• Statistics & Facts: Several factual details such as teacher-student ratio or the average GPA are important considerations when surveyors are deciding nursing school rankings.

It is important not to base your decision about schools for nursing solely on nursing school rankings. It is important to remember that reports and surveys that list the best nursing schools do tend to over-emphasize the importnance of statistics. This means, several personal and more logical factors may not have been taken into consideration. So while you should most definitely have a look at nursing school rankings, do not make your choice based solely on these rankings.

• Accreditation: As always, before you start your nursing degree, it is absolutely imperative to ensure your degree has proper accreditation certification.
• Tuition Fees: How much your nursing school charges for tuition fees is an important factor because if the very best nursing school charges a bit too much, you might not be able to afford it.
• Method of Delivery: Ifyou are pursuing your degree online, you must choose a school that offers its program online. Or if you prefer a distance learning school with more traditional book learning materials, then choosing a school of nursing that offers the same.
• School & Class Size: School and class size may be particularly important if you are not learning online as too many students in one class can mean poor teacher-student interaction. Also, while some prefer a smaller school, others prefer to attend larger nursing institutions.
• Exam Pass Rate: The best nursing schools will have an excellent pass rate as students will be receiving top quality education. If too many students are failing at a particular nursing school, you might want to reconsider your choices.
• Location: While location is not important for nursing schools online, it is important if you have to attend class every day. While this is not an important factor for nursing school rankings, it is important to keep in mind when choosing a school as a conveniently located school is usually a much better option.
• Specialties: If you are interested in a particular specialization of nursing, remember to choose a nursing school that offers that specialty you are interested in.

Top Online Nursing Training Schools

Nursing is a competitive field and even the schools preparing you for the career are just as competitive. It is therefore very hard to pick the very best school. However, some of the schools listed below are of particularly good repute and are very well suited for students looking for good online nursing training schools.

• Vanderbilt University
• Chamberlain College of Nursing
• Chamberlain College of Nursing
• Gonzaga University
• Grand Canyon University
• Kaplan University
• Keiser University
• Walden University

References:

1. Guide to Nursing School Rankings – All Nursing Schools
2. Nursing School Rankings – U.S. News and World Report
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – National Institutes of Health