How many years of college do you have to do to be a nurse?

Answer 1

There are a number of factors that will determine how long it will take someone to become a nurse.

Some of the factors that have to be considered:

• can you go full-time, part-time or just take 1-2 classes at a time?
• do you want to be a licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), nurse practitioner (NP) or other specialist nurse?
• what can you afford?
• what schools are available to you - local, distance, or online

LPN programs can be done in 9 - 12 months, full-time, depending on the school's course schedule. These programs can be affiliated with a community college or a separate technical school.

RN programs can be completed in 2, 3 or 4 years.

• A community college program will take 2 years, full-time, resulting in an Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN).
• A hospital-based program will take 3 years, full-time, resulting in a Diploma.
• A university/college program will take 4 years, full-time, resulting in a Bachelors Degree in Science - Nursing (BSN)
• Some local community colleges and universities partner together to offer a 2+2 program, whereby you take your first 2 years at the community college and the remaining 2 years at the university. The advantage to this is that it will cost you less and all your community college courses will be accepted by the university.

Although the LPN program is the shortest, it has the least return on your money. LPN's will typically do almost all the same work as an RN but will not be compensated anywhere near as much. So, if you can afford to take an extra year to get the RN (ADN), then do it.

Some facilities may pay an RN more depending on her degree, but given the nursing shortage, most will hire an RN and pay her more based on experience, position sought or shift to be worked, not the degree obtained.

If you think you will want to work in nursing management, education, or specialty you will need The Bachelor's Degree and higher.

Answer 2

There are a number of options, however I strongly recommend to choose a nursing degree through a college or university rather than a hospital based program. The associates degree takes approximately two years to complete once you start the professional phase of the program. There is also a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree which would take approximately four years to complete.

Answer 3

An associates degree would be approximately two years, and a bachelor's degree approximately four years. However, with nursing it's a little more complicated than that because of the intensity of the program, and the prerequisites required before entering the professional phase coursework particular to nursing. To give you an idea, the following is particular to the associates of science degree in nursing.

First, the associate's in nursing is typically an associate's of science degree (AS). It is designed as a two year program of study once the student enters the professional phase nursing courses. There are some community colleges that do offer an AS in nursing. Courses included - in general - are as follows. * Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II * Microbiology * Chemistry (inorganic and organic and biochemistry) * English Composition I and II * General Psychology * Principles of Sociology * Humanities Electives The above are general education requirements. The professional phase courses are: * Nursing I * Nursing II * Nursing III * Nursing IV Each college may have its own curriculum layout. In addition, nursing programs today are somewhat competitive. You should contact the community college and request information on their admissions requirements. Start with your home county community college. If they do not offer the program, then check with the surrounding counties.

In addition, the cost of a nursing program is expensive compared to other associate degree programs. It is not the tuition as such, but the clinical fees that brings the cost up. Make sure you have your finances in order, and make sure you apply for financial aid assistance if needed.

Lastly, many individuals are going into nursing programs today. In comparison, only a few graduate because of the intensity of the clinical phase. The reason is that they take too much of a credit load. For example, one community college I know of combines Nursing I with Human Anatomy and Physiology II in the same semester. This is too much for most students. I would strongly recommend you complete all of your critical science courses first, and as much of the other general education courses as possible before going on to your professional phase nursing coursework. When you start the nursing courses, you want to concentrate on nursing, and just nursing. This will give you a better chance of completing the program in good form.

Answer 4

There are three options to become a registered nurse as follows. * diploma program (typically three years, not recommended for individuals who do not have an already existing degree) * associate degree (two years as a full-time student once the student starts the professional phase of the program) * bachelor's degree (BSN) (four years as a full-time student) For the source and more detailed information concerning your request, click on the related links section (U.S. Department of Labor) indicated at the bottom of this answer box.

Answer 5

You need eight

4, 6, or 8, all depending on what level/speciality of nurse you wnat to be