Characteristics And Benefits Of Accelerated Nursing Programs
An individual who already holds a degree is eligible for acceptance in many different BSN accelerated nursing programs. He or she can even get a master’s degree or a doctorate level degree in a nursing program. These programs, which can be completed in as little as one year for some of them, speed up all aspects of the schooling process.
Characteristics of Accelerated Nursing Programs
There are more classes included in a short span of time. The curriculum is very condensed with very little to sometime no time off between classes. The challenges are quite rigorous and require a complete commitment of an individual’s time and energy. The courses involved include anatomy and physiology, biology, pharmacology, even administrative and communication courses at some point.
Prerequisites For Nursing
The main requirement for acceptance in an accelerated nursing program is a completed bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing profession. Most schools require a grade point average of 3.0 or better throughout the completed degree. There are schools that will accept a lower grade point average. The higher grade point average requirement is the criteria used to determine the individual’s qualification to successfully complete the rigorous components of the accelerated program.
A solid foundation in basic courses such as the sciences and some other fields allows the student to build on this foundation with core knowledge and nursing-specific skills. This is possible to accomplish with a substantial foundation of prior learning and educational experiences. Some specific courses included in this educational foundation are anatomy and biology along with communication and psychology. This range of required basic courses demonstrates the possible broad range of professional responsibilities a nurse could experience in his or her career.
A cluster of courses that are accepted from a previous degree are the social sciences prerequisites. If a course is missing from the group, a student is still accepted with requirements to complete this course along with the courses of the “accelerated nursing programs”. Different programs do have different standards, acceptance policies, and requirements. These differences do not necessarily elevate any program to level of better than their competitors. The basic characteristics to expect in any program are that it is fully accredited and is capable of preparing the individual to take and pass the NCLEX-RN.
Benefits of choosing a Nursing Career
A nursing degree offers many opportunities in many different areas than ever before. Satisfactory employment is available in several healthcare settings outside of hospitals. These areas include outpatient facilities, doctor’s offices, visiting client’s homes and many more. The need for new nurses is expected to grow to 580,000 by 2018 and 800,000 by 2020. The average salary for nurses is expected to increase to much more than the current $61,000 range. Nurses are the largest single group of employees on a hospital staff. Their existence exceeds that of physicians by four to one. The higher levels of education will place them in a position to command much higher salaries. There will be an enormous in job opportunities.
The cost of a nursing degree varies with the programs. At most colleges and universities these costs are comparable to other degree programs. At most universities this range was $26,340 at public universities and an average of $100,572 at private universities in 2008. A bachelor’s degree in nursing cost between $28,000 for state residents and $93,000 for out-of-states residents at the University of Washington. The University of Pennsylvania charged an average of approximately $150,000. An online nursing degree is available at a rate of $100 to $150 per credit hour. Most of these programs require 180 credit hours to complete a nursing degree. This averages the total cost for the bachelor’s degree is approximately $20,000. Additional expenses such as textbooks, lab fees, and basic living expenses must be included costs projections.
The requirements for achieving the bachelor’s degree in nursing include satisfactory completion of 125 degree related hours. Remedial courses are not accepted towards the degree requirements. A grade point average in all courses of 2.0 or higher is a requirement. Each degree related course must have a grade of C or higher. Removal of all deferred grades, special credit course grades in nursing courses, and Incompletes by three weeks before the end of the last semester prior to the individual’s graduation is required. All course work in nursing courses must be completed within six years of enrollment. A completion of a minimum of 51% of courses within the nursing major is a requirement. The graduation Intent to graduate application completion is required at the start of the last semester. A successful graduation is achievable with good research and prior preparation.