Degree On Line-Accomplish Your Nursing Degree Online
The numbers are staggering. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the Department of Labor, states that there will be one million new nursing job openings. What makes this number frightening is the American Hospital Association reported 126,000 positions were left unfulfilled in 2005. If that isn’t enough, the DoL projects the total shortage to top 1 million by 2016.
It’s warnings like this that makes one understand why the government started sites as an online nursing job bank with a $10 million financial aid package attached to it. If that doesn’t imply now is a great time to get an online nursing degree, nothing will.
This could go a long way towards explaining why online nursing degrees are one of the fastest growing areas in the college online world. An incredible number of schools are offering a plethora of different degrees, as diverse as the alphabet soup of different types of nurses (RN, LPN, NP, etc.).
A key reason is nursing has come a long way from the days of Florence Nightingale. They work with much more than just a thermometer, lamp and a stoic attitude. Their work arenas have expanded way beyond the hospital and doctor’s office, too. These days, many provide at-home long term/home bound care. The most ambitious have set up their own offices, providing lower cost health alternatives as nurse practitioners.
The number of patients is growing at a rapid pace thanks to baby boomers now entering retirement age. This includes nurses themselves, and the numbers needed just to replace those who are now getting to old to work is also getting larger.
Online colleges have been moving rapidly to help fill this void. Degrees available generally come in four key categories: two-year Associate programs, four-year Bachelor of Science degrees, more general nursing diploma programs for physical therapists, medical billing and similar functions as well as accelerated nursing programs. From there, more ambitious nursing professionals can consider going on for a Masters of Science in Nursing, with an appropriate hike in pay.
No one denies that being a practicing nurse is an easy field. The incredible, and growing, shortage means working under a considerable amount of stress. Compounding this is many of the institutions that need nurses the most are not in the most choice locations, operating with the latest in medical technology or with the most desirable individuals, both patients or fellow professionals. At the same time, the ladder for rapid advancement is readily available to anyone who wants to climb it.
In all though, it looks like the demand for nurses of all stripes, candied or other, is not going to disappear anytime soon. That alone means there are more than a few nursing college programs offering an equal number of degree on line opportunities. It sure does sound like a perfect opportunity to apply for the accredited degree of your choice.
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