Getting Your Online Bachelor Degree in Nursing: Why a Bachelor Degree Is a Good Choice
Your online bachelor degree in nursing will prepare you to start or advance your career as a registered nurse, or RN. As one of these highly skilled professionals, you will be a jack-of-all-trades in the health care system. RNs are in charge of a variety of vital and often life-saving duties on a daily basis. Perhaps most important of all, nurses offer emotional support to patients and their families during their private times of need.
Health care is currently the nation's fastest growing industry, and RNs constitute the largest number of employees in this field. Through the year 2016, this occupation will only continue to grow as health care providers generate 587,000 new job openings for nurses.1
Not only are career opportunities excellent for registered nurses, but nurses who have earned their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) rank as the most sought after professionals when compared with nursing peers who have simply earned a diploma or a two-year associate's degree.
An Online Bachelor of Nursing Degree Means Higher Earning Potential
With the nation facing a national nursing shortage,2 job openings are plentiful for nurses with a variety of educational backgrounds. However, RNs who have completed their four-year online bachelor degree in nursing earn upwards of $20,000 dollars more than licensed or vocational nurses.3
While the salary difference between nurses who hold a bachelor degree in nursing and those with a two-year associate degree (ADN) isn't as pronounced, an online bachelor's degree in nursing really pays off through the career advancement opportunities it affords you.
Boost Yourself up the Career Ladder With an Online Bachelor in Nursing Degree
Earning your online bachelor degree in nursing offers you both immediate career benefits and future professional growth opportunities. An associate degree just can't compete with this. Nurses who have earned an online bachelor degree in nursing receive advanced training in key areas such as leadership, communication and critical thinking.1 These skills are vital to nurses hoping to enter specialized fields like consulting or health care policy work.
Similarly, careers in administration and education aren't open to nurses unless they possess a bachelor or master degree. Graduate study programs are also limited to bachelor degree holders; nurses must have their BSN degree to enroll in master-level programs for clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners.1
Diversify Your Employment Prospects With an Online Bachelor Degree in Nursing
As with all professions, education translates to higher earning potential and better career growth within the nursing profession. But what many nurses don't realize is that less than 60 percent of nursing jobs are found in hospitals.1
With an online bachelor of nursing degree, you'll have the opportunity to gain vital clinical experience in non-hospital settings. This will allow you to explore career paths that other nurses may not consider, such as working in blood donor centers, in ambulances as a critical care transport nurse, or even as a home health care provider for elderly or disabled patients.
Wherever your interests lie in health care, earning an online bachelor degree in nursing will improve your chances of attaining your ideal nursing career and being paid handsomely to do a job you love. What more incentive do you need? Begin exploring your online bachelor degree in nursing options today.
