Facts About Online Nursing Degrees

You finished nursing school, and since then you've done rewarding work as a registered nurse for a number of years. Or you're still new to the field, but have decided that going back to school – perhaps through online courses – will boost your career.

Whatever your specialty, and wherever you are in your nursing career, taking time to consider the benefits of going forward with more schooling to earn a bachelor degree in nursing (BSN) is a solid first step toward realizing that goal.

While you're mulling your options, don't overlook the abundance of online courses available in nursing education. From certificate programs to master degrees, online education has as much to offer as courses that can be found at traditional colleges.

But whether you're entering a brick-and-mortar school, or planning to pursue your degree through an online program, the questions you ask yourself are the same:

• What will a bachelor's degree mean for my career?
• What additional skills will I learn?
• Will I earn more money?
• Can I teach nursing with a bachelor's degree?
• If I choose to go the online route, how will it work, exactly?

First, consider what's happening in your field. In spite of the lingering recession, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates job growth for registered nurses in the next decade as one of the fastest in any occupation. Through 2016, the BLS estimates 587,000 registered nursing jobs will open, in addition to hundreds of thousands more opportunities to replace nurses who leave the profession or retire. Technological advances in patient care will create many of the new positions as new specialties develop, according to the BLS.

For someone already working as a nurse, earning a BSN would put you in a position to move into the specialties in great demand. They include critical care, cardiology, dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology and oncology.

In addition, having a BSN allows you to be considered for management duties, and fosters the recognition of you as a professional rather than a technical worker. The added expertise that comes with a BSN also translates into higher earnings, either through higher hourly rates or differentials paid for working in certain specialties. According to Nursing Link, a website that tracks industry trends, specialty nursing can yield salaries from mid-$70,000's (neonatal, gerontology and nurse practitioners) to mid-$90,000s (psychiatric nurse practitioner, nurse researcher).

For many years, the medical profession has been plagued by a shortage of nurses, a situation now compounded by the aging population and their greater need for health services.

Just as dire is the need for nursing professionals to teach prospective nurses. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the lack of qualified nursing faculty is a major reason why so many applicants - nearly 50,000 seeking degrees last year - are turned away from nursing programs. As a result, professionals who have advanced degrees, starting with the BSN, are at the front of the line when it comes to landing those teaching jobs.

Online education for nurses offers the convenience of working around your schedule without sacrificing the interaction with faculty and other students. Many courses offer "virtual office hours" with faculty and chat rooms with classmates to share study ideas and to offer support as you make your way through your classes.

Also, there are many accredited online nursing programs that can provide the training you'll need for proper licensing in certain specialties, such as public health nursing. For instance, Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, has developed the largest online program in the U.S. for registered nurses to obtain their BSN, and is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.