Your career has a nurse can be a rewarding, fulfilling and challenging one. There are varied approaches for becoming a nurse, but you will have to enroll in a nursing school anyway. If you have a non-nursing bachelor degree already and want to pursue a career in nursing, an accelerated BSN degree is what you need to complete. Accelerated BSN programs are offered by nursing schools for students who want to become a nurse but don’t want to repeat or redo their bachelor’s degree coursework again. Here is a quick overview of an accelerated nursing program.
Facts about accelerated nursing programs
An accelerated nursing program, also called an accelerated Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, is a course meant for students who already have a non-nursing bachelor degree. The duration of the course is anywhere from 11 months to 18 months, and the course cost depends on the nursing school you choose, usually not exceeding $80,000. You can consider these programs even if you don’t have a science-based degree, although nursing schools have prerequisites. It might be necessary to complete other courses without a science-based degree, before starting with an accelerated BSN program.
What does the coursework include?
All accelerated BSN programs focus on intensive training and science-based subjects, and since the course is so rigorous, students hardly find time to take up part-time jobs, although that is not prohibited. You are expected to learn a lot of things during the duration of the course. From pharmacology and pathophysiology to basics of clinical nursing, nursing research, clinicals, you will learn it all in proper healthcare and clinical settings. You will also learn about ethics, community health, family health and leadership.
Finding a nursing school
This is easily the most important part of opting for an accelerated BSN program. You have to find the right nursing schools, and most of them do have a counseling department, so seek advice on whether an accelerated BSN program is right for your career in the first place. It is also very important to keep an eye on the career options, because you can do so much with a degree in nursing. Nurses are always in demand, and opting for a good school for accelerated BSN programs only adds heft to your resume.
Check online for accelerated BSN programs, find more on coursework, and do evaluate the requirements for getting an admission, which may vary with some schools.