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Bachelors Degree Necessary For Nurses!

Many working nurses might have to obtain bachelor degrees, and online nursing school offerings could very well be their means of attaining them. Requirements seem to be in the process of changing.

At this time approximately eighteen states have laws in the works that would require nurses (within ten years of earning an associate degree) to enroll in Bachelor of Science nursing degree programs, according to an Inside Higher Education article published in February. As this report tells it, a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching asserts that all working nurses should have bachelor degrees. If you are interested in getting more information about online nursing school research the internet.

Increasing numbers of students of all ages are reportedly already expressing interest in nursing degrees. The percentage of college freshmen planning to pursue a nursing degree was only 1.7 percent in 1988 and grew to 4.5 percent in 2008, according to a Higher Education Research Institute report cited in the Dallas Morning News. Professionals seeking job stability and to fill what’s been called a nurse shortage are, at the mid-career level, also becoming interested in nursing, the Dallas Morning News reported. And preliminary results from an American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey shows that 2009 enrollment in entry-level nursing degree programs at the bachelor level increased for the ninth year in a row. Enrollments in graduate nursing programs also surged during this time, the association noted.

It’s gotten so the demand for nursing programs at the college level is outstripping the supply – and online nursing school programs are making up for a shortage of seats on traditional campuses, reports from the National League for Nursing and Dallas Morning News stated. For any additional information about nursing degree check the internet.

And colleges are moving programs in nursing online at a fast rate, the Inside Higher Education article reported. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of fully online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs grew from 96 to 129. In all, the article noted, more than 600 Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs exist. While the immediate future might see the nurse shortage filled, educational opportunities might have to expand as a means of producing enough nurses to accommodate aging baby boomers, a 2009 Health Affairs article suggested.

Nurses are reportedly learning and working in different ways as a result of technology. It seems more and more that videoconferencing, hand-held devices and online learning strategies are a part of many nursing degree programs. And with healthcare educators reportedly also placing greater importance on viewing patients holistically, students in some programs are said to care for virtual patients as part of their coursework. Nursing degree programs require clinical training, and many online nursing schools accept transfer credits for clinical hours that have already been logged. Some online nursing degree programs combine in-person and Internet-based offerings to accommodate clinical offerings. Others are challenged by clinical offering shortages and, according to the National League for Nursing, are as a result experimenting with “simulated” clinical trials.

Striving for higher academic standards for nurses is not new, according to a March report in the Journal of Professional Nursing. The profession since 1965 has considered requiring bachelor degrees, writer Ellen Olshansky, a Registered Nurse, reported. Optimum nursing care involves a greater need to understand and apply new technologies and put new findings into practice, Olshansky noted. For an abundance of information about nursing school check out the web.

Still, the recent Carnegie Foundation report has spurred controversy in areas such as college affordability. At least one non-profit college that discovered many of its associate nursing degree recipients would pursue a bachelor degree if the price was right charged what’s considered a competitive $207 per credit hour, the Inside Higher Education report noted. Students can also apply for grants, scholarships and fellowships to offset costs associated with pursuing a nursing online degree.

Nursing school scholarships, grants and fellowships are offered by schools and federal and state governments. When exploring schools for nursing, be aware that companies such as Johnson & Johnson and organizations such as the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses, Health Occupation Students of America, National Association of Hispanic Nurses and United Daughters of the Confederacy have also made tuition assistance offerings available.