Enrolling in an online RN to BSN program lets you earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree faster than you expected. These programs transfer some of the credits from your RN program to reduce the amount of time that you spend in school. Many colleges design their programs specifically for busy nurses and allow them to take classes that work around their own work schedules. Some nurses worry that enrolling in an online program will hurt their chances of finding a job later and of making more money. This isn’t something that should concern you because there are now many accredited and well-respected online BSN degree programs.
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Top 10 Best Online RN to BSN Programs
How Online RN to BSN Programs Work
Online RN to BSN programs usually focus more on the tasks and duties that nurses do behind the scenes rather than what they do with patients. The classes that you take will cover subjects like nursing administration, which includes managing and hiring workers, as well as classes on nursing ethics and advanced epidemiology. Instead of taking standard 16-week classes, you’ll take classes that run for just four to eight weeks. This gives you more time to handle all your other obligations, including work and family commitments, as you finish your degree.
Average Nursing Salaries
According to Payscale, which ranked the average salaries associated with different nursing jobs, nursing directors make the highest average salary. A nursing director is a nurse responsible for multiple nurses working in the same facility. Directors handle duties like creating the weekly schedule for all workers, interviewing applicants who apply for open jobs and working with human resources to create benefits packages. Payscale found that nursing directors make more than $82,000 a year. Other nursing jobs that come with a higher than average salary include nursing managers, nursing case managers and register nurse supervisors.
Online Salaries
As so many nurses have limited time in their schedules, many who want to complete a BSN degree turn to the Internet for help. Depending on where you work, you may even get tuition assistance from your employer. Teaching hospitals often have RN to BSN programs available online and offer cheaper tuition rates for students who work in those hospitals. With so many students earning their nursing degrees online, employers will not look down on you or offer you less compensation because you earned your degree online. That degree may even show employers that you have strong computer, decision-making and time management skills.
Dangers of Diploma Mills
The main thing you need to worry about when choosing an online school is that you choose an accredited program. BSN programs that lack accreditation are an example of a diploma mill. A diploma mill cares more about making money off its students than actually helping those students succeed. If you attend one of these online schools, you’ll have a hard time finding a nursing job because employers do not know if you developed the right skills or even if you have experience working with patients. You should check the accreditation status of the college and its job placement rate among graduates before enrolling.
Colleges design BSN programs for students who want to work in the nursing field, but many now offer online options for working nurses. Once you finish one of these programs, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a job or achieving fair compensation for your education and experience.
