Shelly Said:

any nursing schools online for RN or BSN?

We Answered:

UoP has a very good online bridge program to BSN.
http://www.phoenix.edu/programs/degree_p…

Don't forget to do your prerequisites at a local community college, much less expensive then doing it all online.

Due to state licensure and clinical requirements, even if you do find an ADN program completely online, I would NOT suggest this as your friends and family might get sick of you practicing your technique for blood draws and IV sticks on them. Most local community colleges (AZ: http://www.cochise.edu/deptsdirs/healths… ) offer two year degrees, thereby making you eligible to stand before your local state board of nursing for licensure.

If this is something you are really interested in WELCOME!!
You may want to peruse the message board at some sites such as: http://allnurses.com to get an idea what RN's, LPN's, CNA's, and Student Nurses are saying about nursing in todays world.
Best of luck.

Claire Said:

WHERE DO I FIND BEST ONLINE NURSING SCHOOLS FOR LPN TO RN NEAR MA?

We Answered:

You can easily compare info about these schools in this site - schools.iblogger.org

Lloyd Said:

What is a good online nursing program for LPN to RN?

We Answered:

How could one learn nursing from a web site? Don't you have to actually do the work, in person, on patients? I could see if some of the academic credits were available on line, but not the entire RN program. I, for one, would not like to be tended by a nurse who had not learned "hands on," as it were.

Robert Said:

USA - Nursing Degree (RN) Possible Online?

We Answered:

Please do NOT throw your money away at University of Phoenix. For-profit schools are definitely not the way to go. U of Phoenix does say they help you find clinical experiences near where you live, but they offer you very little support in this area, and they offer you very little support as a student in general. So why pay them twice as much (or more!) per course when you can go to a locally based school, get the support as a student that you are PAYING the school to give you, and let them arrange your clinical experiences for you for far less money?

Local colleges and universities will offer at least some portion of the courses for your degree online - at least many of your non-nursing courses (English, Math, History, Psych, etc.) can probably be completed that way.

You can choose one of three routes here in the US to become an RN. The first is a hospital-offered "diploma" program which is about 2-3 years, and honestly they are going the way of the dinosaur and you would be hard pressed to find one of these programs.

The second option is to obtain an Associate's Degree from a community college or a university that makes an Associate's Degree program available to their nursing students. An ADN is formally a 2-year nursing program, but you must complete pre-requisite courses in biology, chemistry, anatomy & physiology (all with labs) and perhaps a few more courses before you can apply to the school's nursing program. So technically it might take you 3 years. It's also recommended you complete as many of those non-nursing courses as you can prior to starting the nursing core, because it will be very demanding. Once you start the nursing core, the courses are sequenced and it will take two years to complete. You have both classroom (theory), skills labs (to practice hands-on with other students, mannequins, computer simulations, etc.), and then you will have at least one day per week of clinical rotations. They usually start you off in a long-term care facility like a nursing home and you function at the level of a nursing assistant, doing basic patient cares and assessments, etc. The following semesters they bring you into hospitals and rotate you through acute med/surg, psychiatry/behavioral health, maternal/newborn, pediatrics, and perhaps a few other observational experiences in places like the OR.

The third option is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), which is offered by universities. You get admitted to the school as a freshman, during your freshman and sophomore years you complete many general education courses along with those science courses that are pre-reqs, then you apply to the nursing program during your sophomore year and start the nursing core during your junior year.

The difference in the courses that you get with the BSN is you take more general ed and electives, and as far as the nursing courses you get more in-depth nursing theory such as history, care models, research, etc., they teach more about leadership and management, and you get a semester long course in Public Health which the ADN students do not get, which makes you eligible to be certified as a Public Health Nurse, if that interests you.

You can always complete the ADN and later take a BSN completion program which commonly ARE found online, offered by local not-for-profit schools in your area. The bonus of taking your ADN first is that you might get to work a year sooner, find an employer who will pay tuition reimbursement and they can pay for your BSN completion.

IMO, I wouldn't waste my time going for the LPN (licensed practical nurse) first and then going for the RN, but some people do like to have that bit of work experience first and having some money in their pocket while in school. But being an LPN first is not required, nor will it necessarily make you a better RN, because in most job settings, the LPN and RN functions are very different than you might think. You might have the advantage in some basic patient care skills, but you won't have any advantage in terms of the broader picture of the RN profession.

Good luck to you!

Joel Said:

Any ideas for online nursing schools??

We Answered:

I was just at the National Student Nurses Association convention in Baltimore and remembered a school that was advertising an online Bachelor's program...so I dug thru all my flyers and found it. The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Nursing offers part-time or full-time classes conducted online. Their website is www.nursing.ouhsc.edu. I know there were more schools than just this one that offer these online courses. If you haven't already, go to www.discovernursing.com and do a search for nursing programs. Including online programs is an option in their search criteria. I hope that helps! Also, take all your prerequisites at your local community college if you are able. It is so much cheaper and will allow you more time to research the different schools. Good luck!